An analysis of Chinese Korean mistranslation on the Figurative language and Idiomatic Expressions of the Chinese novel, 'Sanchongmen(Triple Door)'

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 173-215
Author(s):  
Sun-hee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Figurative Language ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

scholarly journals Ratings of Affective and Non-Affective Aspects of German Idioms in Second Language Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Teodor Petrič
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Language Technology ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

AbstractIn this paper psycholinguistic and emotional properties of 619 German idiomatic expressions are explored. The list of idiomatic expressions has been adapted from Citron et al. (2015), who have used it with German native speakers. In our study the same idioms were evaluated by Slovene learners of German as a foreign language. Our participants rated each idiom for emotional valence, emotional arousal, familiarity, concreteness, ambiguity (literality), semantic transparency and figurativeness. They also had the task to describe the meaning of the German idioms and to rate their confidence about the attributed meaning. The aims of our study were (1) to provide descriptive norms for psycholinguistic and affective properties of a large set of idioms in German as a second language, (2) to explore the relationships between psycholinguistic and affective properties of idioms in German as a second language, and (3) to compare the ratings of the German native speakers studied in Citron et al. (2015) with the ratings of the Slovene second language learners from our study. On one hand, the results of the Slovene participants show many similarities with those of of the German native speakers, on the other hand, they show a slight positivity bias and slightly shallower emotional processing of the German idioms. Our study provides data that could be useful for future studies investigating the role of affect in figurative language in a second language setting (methodology, translation science, language technology).

Betrayed Sentiments: Joseph Anton and the Phraseology of Emotional Representation

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 534-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Szpila
Keyword(s):  
Distinctive Feature ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
Linguistic Representation ◽  
Emotional Representation ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

This article addresses the issue of the emotional construction of Salman Rushdie’s memoir Joseph Anton in terms of the conceptualization and the linguistic representation of emotions. To this end the essay explores the relationships between feelings and their linguistic expression as well as examining how emotions are represented in the memoir on the figurative level. In particular, the article looks at how idiomatic expressions, as part of the emotion lexis deployed in Joseph Anton, contribute to the emotional representation of its principal characters. The article claims that the memoir has an emotional structure imposed by a few central metaphors and sustained by idioms to figuratively frame its content. The study proves that Joseph Anton is not only heavily charged with emotions but it also utilizes a plethora of idiomatic expressions and figurative language, which is a distinctive feature of Rushdie’s novelistic works.

Consecutive interpreting performance. Women and men compared

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-306
Author(s):  
Agostina Verdini
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Consecutive Interpreting

Abstract Why are there so few male students attending the SSLMIT (Advanced School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators) in Forlì? Why are interpreters generally women? Is there a biological or social explanation linked to gender differences in speaking abilities? This study is intended to provide an experimental analysis of possible differences and similarities between male and female students of interpretation. On the basis of the theories put forward by Gender Studies and a series of neuro-linguistic investigations on simultaneous interpreters, it seems that women and men in fact differ in the way they speak, communicate and also in their practice of interpretation. For this study, the interpretation mode chosen is consecutive and the linguistic combination is from German into Italian; the sample is made up of 14 women and 14 men, whose first or second foreign language is German. The texts selected for the CI (Consecutive Interpreting) present different linguistic features, topic, reading pace and length. The first is a speech, which deals with economic-financial matters, shows a high density of numerical expressions and specific sectorial terms. The second text is an article about health, which presents a considerable number of idiomatic expressions and terms related to the medical field. The comparison between the deliveries made by the interpreters of both sexes and the analysis of the answers provided by the questionnaires handed out to the students show some remarkable gender differences. Overall, it seems that male interpreters perform better as far as numbers, dates, and economic vocabulary are concerned, while female interpreters are better at handling figurative language and words related to health. Consistent with this finding, women maintained a higher degree of fluency in the delivery of the second text, while men were more fluent in the first. Although these results do not claim to be of statistical significance, they show that differences related to sex may have an impact on the performance of interpreters.

scholarly journals A Semantic Analysis of Absent Subjects of Idioms in Gĩkũyũ

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Purity Njambi Kiguta ◽  
Moses Gatambuki Gathigia ◽  
Catherine Waithera Ndung’u
Keyword(s):  
Figurative Language ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Etymological Elaboration

Idioms have been studied for a considerable time by linguists with a view of explaining their meaning. In Gĩkũyũ, for example, the meaning of most idioms can be derived from constituents that form them. However, in some Gĩkũyũ idioms, the meaning is hindered by the absence of the subject in the idiomatic utterance or sentence. It is against this background that this study sought to conduct a semantic analysis on selected idioms in Gĩkũyũ. Thus, the objective of this study was to establish the absent subject in the selected Gĩkũyũ idioms through etymological elaboration and then conduct a semantic analysis of the idioms. The study was based on the Conventional Figurative Language Theory (Dobrovol and Elisabeth). The study employed the descriptive research design and purposively targeted 20 Gĩkũyũ idioms. Data was collected through focus group discussions involving 10 participants who are native speakers of Gĩkũyũ. The study used the content analysis method, which is within the qualitative research paradigm. The data was presented in form of tables and themes. The Gĩkũyũ idiomatic expressions and the established subjects were listed and their gloss provided. Through etymological elaboration, a semantic analysis of the idiomatic expressions was conducted. The findings of the study are that the absence of the subject in idioms greatly hinders their comprehensibility. Further, etymological elaboration is required in order to establish the absent subject. The findings therefore imply that whenever the comprehensibility of an idiom is compromised by the lack of the subject in the utterance, cognitive linguists should process the meaning by using etymological elaboration The study concludes that interpretation of idiomatic expressions in Gĩkũyũ can be enhanced by establishing the absent subject through etymological elaboration which provides clues that aid interpretation .Secondly, semantic analysis of the idioms enhances comprehensibility. The study recommends further research on absent subjects in Gĩkũyũ idioms that were not part of this study. Secondly, other idiom processing strategies for example contextualization (Copper, 2004) can be used to establish the absent subjects in idiomatic expressions. Thirdly, further research can be conducted to establish other aspects of idioms that hinder comprehensibility of idioms not only in Gĩkũyũ but also in other languages. The study will not only provide valuable linguistic knowledge on the study of idioms in Gĩkũyũ but will also encourage further research on idioms in other languages.

scholarly journals The loss of poetic effects: From indeterminate to conventionalised meaning

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-71
Author(s):  
Héloïse Vande Wiele
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Relevance Theory ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Semantic Change ◽  
Conventional Meaning ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Over Time

This study investigates the diachronic evolution of poetic figurative language and some of its aesthetic effects. It suggests that poetic expressions can lose their poetic force over time as they conventionalise through repetition. A hypothesis based on the concept of poetic effects developed in Relevance Theory (Pilkington, 2000; Sperber and Wilson, 1995 [1989]) and on the theory of semantic change (Traugott and Dasher, 2002) is proposed to explain this phenomenon. This hypothesis was successfully tested through three case studies, in which French idiomatic expressions that have originated in poetry were shown to have progressively lost their aesthetic power and to have become cliché phrases as they were gaining a clearer, more determinate and conventional meaning. The methodology makes use of various sources to determine the poetic power of an expression and its change through time: literary critiques, newspaper corpora, Google Ngram graphs, translations into foreign languages and date of appearance in the dictionaries.

Cultural Inequivalences from Albanian into English in the Translation of “Pallati I Ëndrrave” by Ismail Kadare

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Morena Braçaj
Keyword(s):  
Figurative Language ◽  
Cultural Translation ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Social Customs ◽  
Cultural Terms ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

This article focuses on cultural translation, especially addressing the issue of cultural inequivalences or losses occurring in the translation of “Pallati i Ëndrrave” written by Ismail Kadare. The main aim of this article is to investigate how different cultural aspects of source text are transmitted into the target text, causing cultural losses. As we might know, cultural losses are defined as the losses of cultural norms, social customs, idioms, and proverbial wisdom that are inherited through generations and comprise the identity of the source culture. Such losses occur during the process of correlating the verbal signs of one culture to another different culture and result mainly from misrepresenting the literariness of the source text and its pragmatic forces. Therefore, to present such cases, many examples of cultural losses are given, which are divided based on different type of losses in both version. Thus, in order to illustrate cultural aspects in literature, we analyze figurative language such as culture items, idiomatic expressions, proverbs in two texts: Albanian (the source text) and English (the target text). The analysis of examples have shown that translation of cultural aspects of the source text was communicatively successful, however, it failed to represent the culture-bound words which represent the implicit level of the source text. In this sense, we argue that figurative language and cultural terms of the source text are unfamiliar for target text and they should be looked at from the perspective of a cultural insider.

‘Idioms in the making’ and variation in conceptual metaphor

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Callies
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
West African ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Grammatical Variation ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
High Salience

Abstract This paper discusses the culture-specificity of figurative language use in varieties of English. Idioms as a special type of figurative language are understood as being conceptually motivated by underlying metaphorical mappings, also reflecting the nexus of language and culture. On the basis of data from large-scale web corpora of varieties of English, the paper examines the lexico-grammatical and conceptual variability of selected idiomatic expressions related to the source domains food and eating. The results show patterns of lexico-grammatical variation and innovation of idioms in (West) African Englishes and confirm previous research that points towards the high salience and frequency of food and related concepts of eating as source domains in conceptual metaphorical mappings in West African cultures. The paper concludes that food and eating seem fruitful points of departure for further studies on culture- and variety-specific “linguistic markers” across varieties of English.

Analyzing the Potential Benefit of Microcomputer Use for Teaching Figurative Language

1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Nippold ◽  
Ilsa E. Schwarz ◽  
Molly Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Language Intervention ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
Language Learning Disabilities ◽  
Promising Application ◽  
Experience Difficulty

Microcomputers offer the potential for increasing the effectiveness of language intervention for school-age children and adolescents who have language-learning disabilities. One promising application is in the treatment of students who experience difficulty comprehending figurative expressions, an aspect of language that occurs frequently in both spoken and written contexts. Although software is available to teach figurative language to children and adolescents, it is our feeling that improvements are needed in the existing programs. Software should be reviewed carefully before it is used with students, just as standardized tests and other clinical and educational materials are routinely scrutinized before use. In this article, four microcomputer programs are described and evaluated. Suggestions are then offered for the development of new types of software to teach figurative language.

The Figurative Language Machine Recharges Its Battery

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelia Kennison ◽  
Rachel Messer
Keyword(s):  
Figurative Language
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