Irreversible Binomials and Other Paired Formulae in German

Abstract

Once a student of German assimilates a certain body of vocabulary and masters the phonology, morphology, basic word order, and other syntactical rules, there still remains a major and taxing problem-the systematic study of idiomatic expressions. This problem stems, in some cases, from interference of the mother tongue. Wir machen eine Reise, for example, is so close in structure to take a trip, that the difference in vocabulary must be consciously noted and remembered. In other cases, learning problems derive from the way our textbooks render German idioms into colloquial English by putting them in a general listing or by placing them in a related word list without further explanation.' Within the category of idiomatic expressions a special group exists which we may call irreversible pairs: words linked either by a coordinating conjunction or a preposition. Although in many instances the two terms of the pairs can be used separately2 or in reverse order, they invariably become bound to a prescribed sequence once they form part of a formula. We can say er hat seinen verkauft, das Haus jedoch (he sold his barnyard, but not his house) or er hat sein Haus verkauft, jedoch nicht seinen Hof (he sold his house, but not his barnyard). Yet we must say er hat Haus und verkauft (he sold everything owns) and not er hat und Haus verkauft. In fact, if we use the two terms in reverse order, their meaning becomes literal and thus specific: sold his barnyard as well as his house. Er hat von Tuten und Blasen keine Ahnung means that does not know the first thing about anything, while er hat von Blasen und Tuten keine Ahnung implies that has no idea of how to handle wind instruments. Er sprach von und der is translated he spoke about everything under the sun; but er sprach von der Welt und Gott is he spoke about the world and God. Also in English we are aware of similar expressions, as for example touch and go, give and take, cut and dried, without rhyme nor reason. I have selected at random 150 samples and analyzed their semantic character as well as their structural make-up in order to facilitate our understanding and subsequent study.