English idioms and their Russian equiavalents

"Surprise! You've been driving us up a wall. Now it's your turn. And this time, for once, don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

Step 2. Idioms from the case.

Make a list of idioms in “The Case of Friendly Prank”, and beneath them write your guesses as to their meanings. Compare your results in class.

Step 3. Guessing the Meaning of Idioms I.

Listen to the tape and write the idioms that you hear in the blank spaces below. Then guess their meanings and write them on the lines beneath.

Exercise 2

Idioms

1. Hold your horses. I'll be ready to leave in just a minute.
2. I'm afraid that Hideo let the cat out of the bag and now everybody knows our plans.
3. Ravi thought he was being funny, but the fact is his joke went over like a lead balloon.
4. The basketball team is on a roll. They've won their last five games.
5. Nui is all up in the air about her planned vacation in Paris.
6. I was supposed to meet a new friend for dinner last night, but she stood me up.
7. Mr. Sato says that we have to learn to get our work done on time, so he has drawn the line on late homework.
8. Amedeo got in a jam with his parents because he forgot to tell them how late he would be getting home.
9. Fahad should have known better what to say in that situation. He sure put his foot in his mouth that time.
10. Martin was a great soccer player for many years, but he's all washed up now.
11. The police strongly suspected the owner of having burned down his own store in order to collect the insurance, so they asked him to come clean with them.
12. Some sales people have just the right touch—they can sell anyone anything.
13. Microwave ovens cook so fast that they really make cooking a breeze.
14. Her excuse for not getting her homework done was pretty wild, but it still rang true.
15. Mei-Ling got the jump on her homework and finished it a day early.

Step 4. Guessing the meaning of the Idioms II.

Listen to the idioms on the tape, think about the context they are in, and write your best guess as to their meanings. If you cannot guess the meaning, then try to include the idiom in a request for an explanation.

Exercise 3

Idioms

1. Mohammed didn't come to class because he's feeling under the weather.
2. Santha is great at growing plants—she really has a green thumb.
3. When her husband died, she went to pieces.
4. It's okay to be busy, but maybe you're spreading yourself too thin.
5. I haven't heard a word from you this morning. What's the matter—cat got your tongue?
6. Because of her husband's illness, Mary has become the breadwinner for their family.
7. I believed her! I thought she was serious, but of course she was only pulling my leg.
8. Anna has worked so hard for so many years that she's feeling burned out in her job.
9. With all the problems that Luis has, is it any wonder that he's got a bad case of the blues?
10. The basketball game wasn't even close. Our team got blown away.
11. On only our second date, he asked me out of the blue to marry him!
12. I knew my boss was having a bad day, but I didn't expect him to bite my head off.
13. Have you ever noticed how some people will talk your head off on the telephone?
14. People on the street who ask Mr. Lee for money aren't going to get any—they're barking up the wrong tree with him.
15. The view from the top of this mountain will take your breath away.

Step 5. Idioms from Students.

Present to your classmates other English idioms that you have heard, and they will share some with you. Try to guess meanings, and ask for explanation when you are not able to guess correctly.

Step 6.

Determine what an idiom is.

 

CONCLUSION

 

This paper has discussed the nature of idiomaticity versus nonidiomaticity in learner language and compared and contrasted nonidiomaticity with error. The complementary nature of generated language and formulaic, conventionalised language in discourse has been discussed and the gradational nature of idiomatic language has been delineated. The metaphorical nature of much idiomatic language has been emphasised and the central importance of metaphorical multiword units in language use has been insisted upon. In the context of Bartlett's³¹ (1932) principle of "effort after meaning" pedagogical implications in terms of encouraging students to perform cognitive, problem-solving exercises in order to unearth the underlying meaning of the pervasive and structured metaphors informing idiomatic language have been sketched out. Finally, exercises indicative of these principles have been presented. At the end of my research the following conclusions can be made .The origin of idioms is closely connected with people's mentality .The present day English can't be considered full of value without idiomatic usage, as the use of idioms is the first sign of a certain language's developing. Idiomatic sentences enrich a language and the knowledge of idioms signal that the speaker knows the language on the level of a native speaker. The belles-lettres investigated by us revealed a great number of idiomatic sentences used by prominent writers in their works to make their language more expressive and colourful. This research proposes practical hints for teachers wishing to diverse their lessons with idioms. And we concluded that even languages belonging to different families may have similar or hemi similar idioms and those which differ dramatically can be guessed within the context. So idioms are integral part of language which make our speech more colourful and authentically native.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1. Bartlett, F. C. Remembering : A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . 1932
2. Michael McCarthy, Felicity O’Dell. English Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
3. The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms, New York, 1989.
4. Арнольд И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка. М.: 1959.
5. Бархударов Л.С., Язык и перевод. М., 1975.
6. Бархударов Л.С., Рецкер Я.И., Курс лекций по теории перевода, 1-й МГПИИЯ, М., 1968.
7. Галперин И.Р., Информативность единиц языка. М., 1974.
8. Каменецкайте Н. Л. Синонимы в английской фразеологии. М.: «Международные отношения», 1971.
9. Катцер Ю., Кунин А., Письменный перевод с русского языка на английский. М., 1964.
10. Кузьмин С., Употребление – главное звено механизма переводческих показателей (на примере фразеологизмов). Тетради переводчика, М., 1972.
11. Kuzmin S.S., Translating Russian Idioms, Higher School, M., 1977
12. Левицкая Т., Фитерман А., Обновление фразеологических единиц, и передача этого приема в переводе. Тетради переводчика, №5, М., 1968.
13. Морозов М.М., Пособие по переводу русской художественной прозы на английский язык. М., 1972.
14. Сазонова И.К., Лексика и фразеология современного русского языка. М., 1963.
15. Федоров А.В., Введение в теорию перевода, М., 1967.
16. Bek A., "Volokolamsk Highway", F.L.P.H., Moscow.
17. Белинский В.Г., Собр. соч., СПБ, 1896, т. 1.
18. German Y., “Eternal Battle”, Progress Publishers, Moscow.
19. German Y., "The Cause You Serve", F.L.P.H., Moscow.
20. Жуковский В.А., Предисловие к «Дон Кихоту». М., 1805.
21. Nikolayeva G., "The Newcomer" , F. L. P. H., Moscow, 1955.
22. Internet site: http://vernadsky.dnttm.ru/h4/w01358.htm ‘Phraseology of modern English‘
23. Internet site: http://durov.com/lectures/OCR/Halperin.htm

¹ Savory T., The Art of Translation, London, 1957, p.21

² Чуковский К., Высокое искусство. М., 1968, с. 61-62

³ The full list of works and authors is mentioned in bibliography to this qualification paper.

⁴ Каменецкайте Н. Л. Синонимы в английской фразеологии. М.: «Международные отношения», 1971, с. 3.

⁵ Судзиловский Г. А. Сленг – что это такое? Английская просторечная военная лексика. М.: Военное издательство, 1973, с. 37.

⁶ Ворно Е. Ф., Кащеева М. А. и др. Лексикология английского языка. Л.: Учпедгиз, 1955, с. 123.

⁷ Ворно Е. Ф., Кащеева М. А. и др. Лексикология английского языка. Л.: Учпедгиз, 1955, сс. 124 - 125.

⁸ Каменецкайте Н. Л. Синонимы в английской фразеологии. М.: «Международные отношения», 1971, с. 3.

⁹ Phraseology of modern English  http://vernadsky.dnttm.ru/h4/w01358.htm

¹⁰ Арнольд И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка. М.: 1959.

¹¹ Michael McCarthy, Felicity O’Dell. English Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge University Press, 1994.

¹² Катцер Ю., Кунин А., Письменный перевод с русского языка на английский. М., 1964, с. 94-100; 104-109

¹³ Бархударов Л.С., Рецкер Я.И., Курс лекций по теории перевода, 1-й МГПИИЯ, М., 1968, с. 6-13

   Бархударов Л.С., Язык и  перевод. М., 1975, с.83-86

¹⁴ Бархударов Л.С., Рецкер Я.И., Курс лекций по теории перевода, 1-й МГПИИЯ, М., 1968, с. 6-13

¹⁵ Кузьмин С., Употребление – главное звено механизма переводческих показателей (на примере фразеологизмов). Тетради переводчика, М., 1972

¹⁶ Жуковский В.А., Предисловие к «Дон Кихоту». М., 1805, с. 2

¹⁷ Белинский В.Г., Собр. соч., СПБ, 1896, т. 1, с. 299

¹⁸ Федоров А.В., Введение в теорию перевода, М., 1967, с.172, 174

¹⁹ Морозов М.М., Пособие по переводу русской художественной прозы на английский язык. М., 1972, с. 9-10

²⁰ Левицкая Т., Фитерман А., Обновление фразеологических единиц, и передача этого приема в переводе. Тетради переводчика, №5, М., 1968, с. 46-48

²¹ Катцер Ю., Кунин А., Письменный перевод с русского языка на английский, с. 94-100, 104-109

²² German Y., Eternal Battle, Progress Publishers, Moscow, p. 331

²³ Сазонова И.К., Лексика и фразеология современного русского языка. М., 1963, с. 6

²⁴ Федоров В.А., Введение в теорию перевода, М., 1958, стр. 172

²⁵ "The Newcomer" by G. Nikolayeva, F. L. P. H., Moscow, 1955, p. 45

²⁶ "The Cause You Serve" by Y. German, F.L.P.H., Moscow, p. 105

²⁷ "Volokolamsk Highway" by A. Bek, F.L.P.H., Moscow, p. 91

²⁸ Галперин И.Р., Информативность единиц языка. М., 1974, с. 85

²⁹ Bartlett , F . C . Remembering : A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . 1932 .

³⁰ The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms, New York, 1989, p.77

³¹ Bartlett, F . C . 1932 . Remembering : A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.