Dictionary of idioms: Difference between revisions
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The English word '''[[idiom]]''' was itself derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B9%CE%B4%CE%AF%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%B1 '''“ἰδίωμα"'''] (idioma), which can be variously translated as [[peculiarity]], [[property]], or peculiar [[phraseology]]. Hence the [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/word word] has come to be used to describe the form of [[speech]] peculiar to a [[people]] or country and, in a narrower sense, to the forms peculiar to a limited [[district]], [[group]] of people, or even the [[technical]] [[vocabulary]] peculiar to a [[profession]] such as [[medicine]], the [[law]] or any of the [[sciences]]. This narrower sense is also described by the [[word]] [[dialect]] (Gr. διάλεκτος), also of Greek [[origin]]''.<br /> |
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'''A [[Bilingual dictionary]] of idioms''' is a [[work]] of [[reference]], containing a wide range of [[idiomatic]] [[expressions]] in a language with proposals as to their nearest [[equivalents]] in another language; it includes a comprehensive range of [[phrasal]] and prepositional [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verb verbs], [[colloquialisms]] and [[proverbs]], together with [[examples]] of their usage and [[translations]] or equivalent [[phrases]] in the reader’s language; and at the same time to achieve a coherent [[whole]], both through the choice of [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/entry entries] and their [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/translation translations].<br /> |
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These two [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aim aims] reflect the fact that such a dictionary is rather a [[lexicon]] than a simple dictionary in its narrow meaning, and is addressed to two [[categories]] of [[reader]]. <br /> |
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In the first place it is addressed to [[students]], by whom idiomatic phrases may often be misconstrued or mistranslated, representing at least a [[barrier]] to achieving ease with the use of idiomatic, or natural English, and at worst, costly [[mistakes]] in [[school]] or [[university]] [[examinations]]. <br /> |
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A [[reference book]] of this kind is destined to provide a complementary tool for student’s [[studies]]. Coming across an English idiom he doesn’t know, he can refer to this lexicon and hopefully, as the idioms are placed within a [[context]], find a reliable translation.<br /> |
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The second category of reader is any citizen of the world today who, whether a student or not, finds himself more and more often in the situation of having to speak a language other than his mother tongue. And this person will find a dictionary with [[illustrations]], [[words]] and phrases - a modern engravings of technological [[society]]; a book which he wants to carry with him (hence it must have a compact format), to leaf through and also to read, dipping into it less to verify a word than to become impregnated with a [[culture]]. The idioms are selected both for their occurrence in the language and for their “cultural reflection”.<br /> |
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Both categories of reader need this invaluable [[linguistic]] [[resource]], which [[complements]] the other references, [[dictionaries]], [[grammars]] and [[textbooks]] that students and users of English have at their disposal. Such a book provides a [[key]] to a [[meeting]] of the [[minds]] of these two speaking worlds by enabling a means of translation of modes of [[expression]] rather than simply of words.<br /> |
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The specific sense in which such a book is a lexicon of idioms is the sense in which it deals with those forms of expression, [[grammatical construction]], phrase and phraseology which are peculiar to a language and established in approved usage, which often have a [[signification]], or [[meaning]], other than the grammatical or ''logical'' one which is indicated by the words themselves. A natural consequence of this is that study of idioms will also illuminate the [[character]], [[properties]] and [[genius]] of the language and hence the character and manner of expression which is peculiar to the users of it.<br /> |
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Examples are included to embrace, at one end of the [[spectrum]], idioms which are, in both languages of each [[version]], almost word for word translations of each other (perhaps representing human idiom), while at the other end, phrases which at first sight seem to bear little [[resemblance]] to one another yet, on consideration, can be found to express [[ideas]] relating to their [[subject matter]] which could be said to be peculiar to the modes of expression found, respectively, in usage of both languages.<br /> |
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==See Also== |
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*[[Language]] |
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*[[Lexicography]] |
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*[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/word Word] |
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*[[Idiom]] |
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*[[Reference book]] |
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*[[Dictionary]] |
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*[[Bilingual dictionary]] |
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*[[Lexicon]] |
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*[[Dialect]] |
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*[[Idioms]] |
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*[[Idiom dictionary]] |
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*[[Saying]] |
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*[[Colloquialism]] |
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*[[Collocation]] |
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*[[Cliché]] |
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*[[Adage]] |
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*[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/catchword Catchword] |
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*[[Catch-phrase]] |
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*[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motto Motto] |
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*[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mantra Mantra] |
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*[[Proverb]] |
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*[[Phrasal verb]] |
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*[[Slang]] |
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[[Category:Dictionaries]] |
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