|
Idioms
and Euphemisms Every
language is laden with idioms and euphemisms.
If we are unaware of their presence we will find ourselves in a
state of confusion because we will assign literal meanings to them -- or
just ignore them. An
idiom is a word or group of words that cannot be literally translated
from the Source's language into the Receptor's because an idiomatic
meaning cannot be understood by literally defining its component parts.
The best way to explain the meaning is by using a few.
In the examples below, the idioms are underlined.
Rewrite the sentence and replace the idiom with words that
reflect what the sentence means to you.
Now
review the sentences one more time.
This time think about the words of each idiom literally.
Did you see some interesting mental pictures as you thought about
each sentence? Now you know
how someone unfamiliar with an idiom feels, especially if he or she is
from another culture, when they encounter idioms without being aware of
them. Even if you look up
the meaning of each word of the idiom in an English dictionary, you will
still not have a clue as to the meaning of the Source's meaning.
Some
very interesting things happen when unknown idioms pop up.
One time an American speaker traveled to China to fulfill a
speaking engagement. During
the speech he told the audience about the experience of giving his wife
a new fur coat. He said
that when he gave it to her "she was tickled to death"
and then he started laughing as he thought about how happy the coat made
her. It didn't take him
long to realize that something was very wrong! The
translator was unfamiliar with the idiom, so he translated it literally
-- "This man came home and gave his wife a new fur coat which
caused her to begin scratching herself so hard that she killed
herself." It took a
little time, but he was ultimately able to overcome this Unsuccessful
Communication Experience after explaining what he meant to the
translator. |
