This document discusses idioms and their relationship to semantics and pragmatics. It defines idioms and categorizes them on a spectrum from transparent to opaque. Various scholars' classifications of idioms are presented based on factors like formality, field of use, and comparisons. Idioms are used to make language more colorful and convey subtle meanings. Examples are provided. Idioms present problems for compositionality since their meanings are not derived from the parts. The relationship between idioms, context, and speakers/hearers is explored, noting how idioms can violate conversational maxims. Cultural differences in idioms across languages are highlighted.

1. IDIOMS
Interface between
Semantics & Pragmatics
Giovanna A. Rovai
nº USP 6464489
Ingrid Puche
nº USP 7193412
Roberto C.
Francisco
nº USP 6468198
Tatiana T. Sasaki
nº USP 6464663
Yoon Ji Kim
nº USP 6518190

4. TOSS

5. TOSS
COOKIES

6. ?
?

7. Toss one‟s cookies = to vomit

8. The spectrum of idiomacity
Semi-
Transparen
t Idioms
Transparen
t Idioms
Semi-
Opaque
Idioms
Opaque
Idioms

9. The spectrum of idiomacity
 Transparent Idioms
E.g. to see the light = to understand
 Semi-transparent Idioms
E.g. break the ice = relieve the tension
 Semi-opaque Idioms
E.g. to pass the buck = to pass responsibility
 Opaque Idioms
E.g. To burn one’s boat = to make retreat impossible.
Spill the beans = reveal a secret

10. Classification of idioms
by Jennifer Seidl & W.McMordie
 Informal Idioms
 Formal Idioms
 Verbal Idioms
 Idiomatic Pairs
 Idioms Used in Special Fields
 Idioms Related to Special Themes
 Idioms with Comparisons
Classification of idioms are very varied
according to each scholar

11. by Fernado
 Pure idioms
 Semi-idioms
 Literal idioms
by Halliday
 Ideational idioms
 Interpersonal
idioms
 Relational idioms
by Adam Makkai
 Idioms of Encoding
(Identifiable)
 Idioms of Decoding
(Non-identifiable)
And other authors
like McCarthy and
O’Dell..
Classification of idioms

12. Why using idioms?
‚People use idioms to make their
language richer and more colorful
and to convey subtle shades of
meaning or intention. Idioms are used
often to replace a literal word or
expression, and many times the idiom
better describes the full nuance of
meaning. ‛
(Gail Brenner, Webster's New World American Idioms
Handbook.
Webster's New World, 2003)

13. Examples
 A Piece of Cake:
A task that can be accomplished very
easily.
 Apple of My Eye:
Someone who is cherished above all
others.
 Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:
To take on a task that is way too big.
 Cup Of Joe:
A cup of coffee.
 Cut to the Chase:
Leave out all the unnecessary details and

14. More examples:

15. Couch Potato

16. Look daggers at somebody
to look very angrily at someone:
I suddenly noticed David looking daggers at me and thought I'd
better shut up.

17. Defining Idioms
 PROTOTYPICAL PROPERTIES
 CONVENTIONALITY
 INFLEXIBILITY
 FIGURATION
 PROVERBIALITY
 INFORMALITY
 AFFECT
(NUNBERG, SAG & WASOW, 1994, p. 492-3)

18. Semantics
 Meaning
abstracted away
from users
 Non-situation-
specific
meaning
 Sentence
meaning
 Referential
Pragmatics
• Meaning in
relation to
speakers and
hearers
• Situation-specific
meaning
• Speaker meaning
• Contextual
(SAEED, 2003, p. 17)
I
D
I
O
M
S

19. Semantics‟ Approaches
Referential
 Put words into
relationship with the
world is meaning
 Show how words can
„hook onto‟ the world
 Give the meaning of
words and sentences
by showing how they
relate to situations
Representati
onal
• A language
represents a
theory, a
model about
reality, about
the types of
things and
situations in
the world
I
D
I
O
M
S

20. Metaphors vs Idioms
• Metaphor: “An expression that describes a person or
object by referring to something that is considered
to possess similar characteristics.” Cambridge
Academic Content Dictionary
Examples: Life is a journey / She is a flower.
• Problem: By adopting fixed structures in a specific
culture, some metaphors produce idioms with
properties “that have no corresponding counterparts
in another language.”
Claudia Leah. Idioms: Grammaticality and Figurativeness.
University of Oradea.

21. Idioms, in general, are connected to
Culture
ENGLISH:
Kick the bucket To die
PORTUGUESE:
Chutar o balde Abandonar tudo/
desencanar

22. Kick the Bucket Bater as Botas

23. It’s Raining cats and
dogs! Está chovendo canivetes!

24. Linguistic Relativity
 The way we think about the world is
determined by our cultural and linguistic
background:
 Language mirrors cultural differences;
 Different languages, reflecting their
speakers’ cultural practices, might embody
different conceptual classifications of the
world;
 ‚Language is a guide to ‘social reality’.‛(Sapir,
1949b, p. 162 apud Saeed, 2003, p. 42)

25. Play one’s cards right
to do the correct things to
achieve a desired result:
If I play my cards right, I could be
hired as a consultant on that project.

31.  Idioms are related with
context (Pragmatics)

32. Pragmatics
“A pragmatic theory is a theory which has to explain how a
language is used to enable any speaker to
communicate with the other”
(Kempson,1975:136)
COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE (GRICE)
“ Participants will be expected to make their contribution such as is
required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose
or direction of the talk exchange in which they are engaged.”
Grice
4 conversational maxims
1. Quantity – informativeness
2. Quality – truthfulness
3. Manner – Don‟t be obscure, ambiguous...

33.  Idioms cause a break in the cooperation
act.
• When a hearer discovers a violation, he tries to reinterpret what was said.
Searle‟s analysis
1st – The literal meaning is
determined.
2nd – The meaning is checked
against the context.
3rd – If there is a conflict
between the literal meaning and
the context, it is reinterpreted
and a conveyed meaning is
delivered.

34. Relationship between speaker and
hearer
http://thebackrow105.wordpress.com/

35. Knowledge as Context
 Discourse context
 Knowledge of the preceding discourse
 Knowledge of the immediate context
 Formation of the discourse topic
 Background knowledge as context
Common-sense, encyclopaedic, sociocultural,
real-world knowledge
One calculates others would have before a
conversation due to belonging to a specific
community
 Also labeled common ground
(SAEED, 2003, p. 191-3)

36. Brazilian Idioms
Even among native speakers,
idioms may be hard to
understand
because of
different cultural backgrounds,
age groups, etc.

37. Let’s play Guess the Idiom!

45. Uhm... nevermind!

46. Idioms and Compositionality
 What problems do idioms present for
Compositionality?
 Idiomatically combining expressions ( e.g. take
advantage, pull strings) and Idiomatic phrases (e.g.
kick the bucket)
 Synonyms (Paraphrasing idioms)
 Passivization
(G. Nunberg, I. Sag and T. Wasow, 1994, pp.491-538.)

47. References
 NUNBERG,Geoffrey, SAG, Ivan A., WASOW, Thomas. Idioms.
In Language, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Sep., 1994), pp. 491-538.
Linguistic Society of America. Available at:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/416483
 SAEED, J. I. Semantics. 2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing,
2003.
 WESTERSTAHL, Dag. Idioms and compositionality. Available
at: http://www.illc.uva.nl/j50/contribs/westerstahl/westerstahl.pdf
 LEAH, Claudia. Idioms: Grammaticality and Figurativeness.
University of Oradea. Available at:
http://www.theroundtable.ro/Current/Language/Claudia_Leah_Idioms_Gr
ammaticality_and_Figurativeness.pdfPresentation available at:
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