Familiar Idioms Research Articles

Unimaginable Community: Watchwords and Frelimo's Abandoned Nationalism in Independence-Era Mozambique

AbstractDuring its decade-long war (1964–74) against Portuguese colonialism, Frelimo developed a language to express the style in which it imagined the nation. On taking power in 1975, Frelimo used this language — its watchwords — to signal the shared identity it aimed to instill within Mozambique. Frelimo asked Mozambicans to live in the future tense: to turn away from familiar idioms of belonging and embrace a sense of self and other untethered to past or present. The misalignment between this vision and its reception is most evident at local levels of administrative action, where people at lower rungs of the state received Frelimo's watchwords and creatively applied them, transforming ideas into practices. Many Mozambicans were unable or unwilling to accept Frelimo's vision, and as civil war engulfed more of the country in the early 1980s, Frelimo abandoned this nationalism, exchanging it for an idea of national community people could more easily imagine.

As easy as cake or a piece of pie? Processing idiom variation and the contribution of individual cognitive differences.

Language users routinely use canonical, familiar idioms in everyday communication without difficulty. However, creativity in idiom use is more widespread than sometimes assumed, and little is known about how we process creative uses of idioms, and how individual differences in cognitive skills contribute to this. We used eye-tracking while reading and cross-modal priming to investigate the processing of idioms (e.g., play with fire) compared with creative variants (play with acid) and literal controls (play with toys), amongst a group of 47 university-level native speakers of English. We also conducted a series of tests to measure cognitive abilities (working memory capacity, inhibitory control, and processing speed). Eye-tracking results showed that in early reading behaviour, variants were read no differently to literal phrases or idioms but showed significantly longer overall reading times, with more rereading required compared with other conditions. Idiom variables (familiarity, decomposability, literal plausibility) and individual cognitive variables had limited effects throughout, although more decomposable phrases of all kinds required less overall reading time. Cross-modal priming-which has often shown a robust idiom advantage in past studies-demonstrated no difference between conditions, but decomposability again led to faster processing. Overall, results suggest that variants were treated more like literal phrases than novel metaphors, with subsequent effort required to make sense of these in the way that was consistent with the context provided.

THE RELEVANCE OF CONTEXT IN UNFAMILIAR L2 IDIOM COMPREHENSION

The present study investigates to what extent the effect of context is responsible in facilitating L2 idiom comprehension. Forty students of Italian as a foreign language (L1 Croatian) completed comprehension tests consisting of unfamiliar L2 Italian metaphorical idioms, first presented with only general context and then with a specific context. To date, a large number of studies have described and analysed factors that influence the recognition and comprehension of idioms in one’s native language, and in the last twenty years the same topic has also been investigated for L2 idiom comprehension. However, many of these studies differ in terms of methodology (eye-tracking, control L1 groups, comprehension tests), the aim of the study, and ultimately, the corpus of the study (processing literal vs. metaphorical recognition, unfamiliar vs. familiar idioms, typology of idioms). Through a carefully designed questionnaire, in this study we exclude all possible factors that could influence idiom comprehension and isolate the context factor in the results. Given that in our previous research (2018) we collected highly unfamiliar Italian L2 opaque idioms and idioms without absolute and partial formal equivalents in Croatian, such as essere al verde, essere in gamba, and essere nato con la camicia, we can now psycholinguisticaly analyse to what extent the appropriate context can infer the correct comprehension of Italian L2 idioms.

When the Idiom Advantage Comes Up Short: Eye-Tracking Canonical and Modified Idioms

The literature on idioms often talks about an “idiom advantage,” such that familiar idioms (spill the beans) are generally processed faster than comparable literal phrases (burn the beans). More recently, researchers have explored the processing of idiom modification and while a few studies indicate that familiarity benefits the processing of modified forms, the extent of this facilitation is unknown. In an eye-tracking study, we explored whether familiar idioms and modified versions with 1 or 2 adjectives {spill the [spicy, (red)] beans} are processed faster than matched literal phrases {burn the [spicy, (red)] beans} when both were preceded by a biasing context. The results showed that adjectives inserted in idioms induced longer fixations and were more likely to elicit a regression. However, idiom verbs and final words were processed with the same ease in all adjective conditions, implying that modifying idioms did not impede their processing. In contrast to the widely reported “idiom advantage,” the results demonstrated that canonical and modified idioms were slower to read relative to matched literal controls. This was taken to reflect the competition between an idiom’s literal and figurative meaning, and subsequently the need to select and integrate the contextually appropriate one. In contrast, meaning integration in literal, unambiguous phrases was easier. We argue that processing costs associated with meaning selection may only manifest when idioms are preceded by a biasing context that allows disambiguation to occur in the idiom region, and/or when literal control phrases are contextually appropriate and carefully matched to idioms. Thus, idiom recognition/activation may elicit the well attested idiom advantage, while meaning selection and integration may come at a cost, and idiom modifications may simply add to the cognitive load.

Viewing the Core of the Sun

The Sun is a central feature to the human experience. It is found in many familiar idioms like “nothing new under the Sun.” It defines our days, makes our planet habitable, and is the ultimate origin of your last meal. Yet how do we understand how it works?

Semantic comprehension of idioms

Abstract This study intends to test the Graded Salience Hypothesis, in order to investigate the factors involved in comprehension. This research considered predictions derived from this hypothesis by evaluating the salience of idioms in the Persian language. We intended to measure Reading Time (RTs), and the design comprised 2 Contexts (figurative, literal), 3 Types of Statements (familiar vs. unfamiliar vs. less familiar) and RTs (long, short, equal). Two types of contexts (figuratively inviting and literally inviting contexts) were prepared. The software for this experiment was prepared for the purpose of self-paced reading experiments. Two pretests were performed. In the first pretest, participants rated the expressions on a 1–7 familiarity scale. The second pretest was designed to confirm that contexts are equally supportive. Then, expressions were divided according to their familiarity (familiar, less-familiar, unfamiliar). Sentences were used so that, according to the second pretest, their contexts would be equally supportive. Sentences were displayed on a PC, controlled by Windows 7. The self-paced reading task was applied using the Moving Windows software. In the first part of the experiment, participants read each idiom in figuratively inviting contexts and their RTs were recorded. In the second part of the experiment, participants read each idiom in literally inviting contexts and their RTs were recorded. Results of testing these idioms support the Graded Salience Hypothesis, but not entirely. Such findings suggested that sometimes context affects the access of salient information and a semi serial process is witnessed. Results indicate that the salient meaning of both familiar and less familiar idioms is figurative. In addition, salient meanings in the space following the unfamiliar idiom and the first word of the next (spillover) sentence, were both, figurative and literal.

Resolving Figurative Expressions During Reading: The Role of Familiarity, Transparency, and Context

ABSTRACT Native speakers understand familiar idioms (e.g., over the moon) and conventional metaphors (e.g., describing time as a doctor) quickly and easily. In two eye-tracking studies we considered how native speakers are able to make sense of fundamentally unfamiliar figurative expressions. In Experiment 1 compared with literal paraphrases of the same meaning, known idioms had a clear advantage, unknown idioms showed a significant disadvantage, and conventional metaphors showed no difference between figurative and literal versions. In Experiment 2 readers saw known and unknown idioms (or paraphrases) in contexts that either supported the intended meaning or were neutral. Strength of context had minimal effect on reading patterns for either idiom type and had no effect when readers were asked to subsequently identify the meaning. Context may be helpful in terms of sense selection but not when new senses need to be generated, at which point aspects such as transparency become more important.

Idiom comprehension in aphasia: Literal interference and abstract representation.

We investigate three potential mechanisms underlying the deficit in idiom comprehension seen in aphasia: difficulty inhibiting literal meanings, inability to recognize that a figurative interpretation is required, and difficulty processing abstract words and concepts. Unimpaired adults and PWA read high and moderate familiarity idioms either preceded or followed by a figuratively biasing context sentence. They then completed a string-to-word probe selection task, choosing between a figurative target, a literal lure, and unrelated concrete and abstract lures. PWA chose the figurative target more often for more familiar idioms and after figuratively biasing contexts, suggesting that difficulty accessing figurative meanings may be a key contributor to idiom impairment in aphasia. Importantly, PWA chose abstract lures at the same rate as they chose literal lures, suggesting that abstract lures may be considered equally good matches for weak idiomatic representations in PWA, and therefore that idiomatic figurative meanings may be represented similarly to abstract concepts for PWA. These results have implications for models of idiom comprehension in aphasia, as well as the design of future studies of idiom comprehension in PWA.

Of false friends and familiar foes: Comparing native and non-native understanding of figurative phrases

Research into figurative language identifies variables such as familiarity, transparency, decomposability and motivation, all of which play an important role in how native and non-native speakers learn, process and understand figurative phrases. However, these variables are not always defined and operationalised in the same way, and are often treated as independent. We discuss these factors as they relate to the judgements that language users make, and as they relate to the ability to correctly infer meaning in a range of familiar and unfamiliar idioms, and novel metaphors. In a rating study, we show that familiarity has a clear effect on perceptions of transparency. For less familiar idioms, judgments of decomposability after the meaning became known were strongly affected by whether or not speakers were correct in guessing the meaning. We also saw clear cross-language effects, whereby idioms that exist in the L1 for non-native speakers were seen as more familiar, more transparent and were better identified. We discuss how these factors contribute at different stages to allow speakers to make sense of both familiar and unfamiliar figurative phrases.

Cross-Cultural Intelligibility and the Use of History: From Democracy and Liberalism to Indian Rajanical Thought

AbstractWhile numerous methodological and interpretive challenges confront the study of cross-cultural political theory, this essay examines a particular premodern Indian tradition as an example of such difficulties and one way in which they can be overcome. Exploring the problematic ways in which people have interpreted and made use of India's ancient past, it critically examines arguments for the existence of secularism, free elections, and democratic assemblies in the Vedas. Defending what I call a “critical revivalist” position, it is argued that predominant approaches to premodern traditions in contemporary Indian political theory place significant constraints on cross-cultural intelligibility and theory building within the Indian context. To elaborate this point, I shift from a “political” to rājan-oriented categorical register in an effort to reposition current understandings of self-rule (swaraj) in India within a broader rajanical tradition. Finally, this essay explains how contemporary Indian political theory can draw insights from this native tradition without necessarily reverting to familiar Western idioms.

Salience effect on the processing of idioms in L1: Evidence from Malay simpulan Bahasa

Experimental investigations into figurative language processing have received little attention for languages other than English and several major European languages. Research on the Malay language, in particular, has been very limited. This study thus aimed to investigate the figurative language processing of familiar Malay idioms by L1 native speakers. Familiarity or salience is hypothesised as having a dominating effect in the processing of idiom meaning. This means, regardless of context or other possible factors, salience is said to determine processing advantage. A total of 24 participants completed a timed lexical-decision task after listening to idiomatic stimuli. Eight highly familiar idioms embedded in neutral sentences were used as auditory stimuli, and were paired visually together with either their figurative or literal meaning as target words. Results revealed a similar processing speed for responses to both literal and idiomatic meanings. Hence, it was concluded that the salience levels of both meanings are balanced in line with the Graded Salience Hypothesis.

Individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing: an eye movement study of sentence reading.

Metaphors are common elements of language that allow us to creatively stretch the limits of word meaning. However, metaphors vary in their degree of novelty, which determines whether people must create new meanings on-line or retrieve previously known metaphorical meanings from memory. Such variations affect the degree to which general cognitive capacities such as executive control are required for successful comprehension. We investigated whether individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing using eye movement measures of reading. Thirty-nine participants read sentences including metaphors or idioms, another form of figurative language that is more likely to rely on meaning retrieval. They also completed the AX-CPT, a domain-general executive control task. In Experiment 1, we examined sentences containing metaphorical or literal uses of verbs, presented with or without prior context. In Experiment 2, we examined sentences containing idioms or literal phrases for the same participants to determine whether the link to executive control was qualitatively similar or different to Experiment 1. When metaphors were low familiar, all people read verbs used as metaphors more slowly than verbs used literally (this difference was smaller for high familiar metaphors). Executive control capacity modulated this pattern in that high executive control readers spent more time reading verbs when a prior context forced a particular interpretation (metaphorical or literal), and they had faster total metaphor reading times when there was a prior context. Interestingly, executive control did not relate to idiom processing for the same readers. Here, all readers had faster total reading times for high familiar idioms than literal phrases. Thus, executive control relates to metaphor but not idiom processing for these readers, and for the particular metaphor and idiom reading manipulations presented.

Hemispheric processing of idioms: The influence of familiarity and ambiguity

Recent findings suggest that the right hemisphere plays a key role when readers comprehend figurative language. However, it is currently unclear how specific types of figurative language, such as idioms (e.g., “to bury the hatchet”), are processed in the right and left cerebral hemispheres. Prior research suggests that a reader's previous exposure to an idiomatic phrase (i.e., the level of familiarity) and the plausibility of an idiom (i.e., the level of ambiguity) influence how idioms are processed. To investigate how familiarity influences the hemispheric processing of idioms (Experiment 1), participants read texts containing familiar or less familiar idioms and made lexical decisions to related target words presented to the left visual field-right hemisphere or to the right visual field-left hemisphere. To investigate how ambiguity influences the hemispheric processing of idioms (Experiment 2), participants read texts containing high or low ambiguity idioms and completed a lexical decision task to related target words presented to each visual field-hemisphere. For both familiar and less familiar idioms, greater facilitation was evident in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere. Additionally, greater facilitation was evident in the left hemisphere for low ambiguity idioms than for high ambiguity idioms, and greater facilitation was evident in the right hemisphere for high ambiguity idioms than for low ambiguity idioms. These findings suggest that the right hemisphere has an advantage when readers process ambiguous idioms, whereas the left hemisphere has an advantage when readers process low ambiguity idioms, and both familiar and less familiar idioms. • We explored hemispheric processing of idioms (high versus low familiarity; high versus low ambiguity). • Using divided visual field, participants read idiomatic texts and viewed related target words. • We observed left hemisphere advantages for high and low familiarity and low ambiguity idioms. • We also observed a right hemisphere advantage for high ambiguity idioms. • We conclude that the hemispheres process idioms differently based on the level of idiom ambiguity.

Perceptions, contexts, uses and meanings of silence in Setswana

The study investigates silence (tidimalo) as communicative behaviour in Setswana and fills in a gap in scholarship by showing the cross-cultural meanings and contexts of silence. The article presents the role of silence in various contexts, such as the family, the church, meetings, the constitution, and conversations, and argues that, in such contexts, silence conveys positive meanings such as peace, humility, order, and respect and negative meanings such as subordination, oppression, and anger. The article examines the meanings of silence in Setswana through looking at the use of familiar Setswana proverbs and idioms. By juxtaposing the contexts and meanings of silence with Setswana proverbs and idioms, the article is able to demonstrate interplay between language, culture, and belief. The article concludes that silence is an integral part of communication found in various speech communities. Tshekatsheko eno e batlisisa tidimalo ele mokgwa wa puisanyo mo Setswaneng. Tshekatsheko ya mofuta o e botlhokwa ka e supa bokao le tiriso ya tidimalo mo mabakeng le ngwaong tse di farologaneng. Tshekatsheko e e supa seabe sa tidimalo mo mabakeng a a farologaneng jaaka mo lwapeng, kerekeng, phuthegong, molao motheo le puisanyo mme e gatelela gore tidimalo e ka supa bomolemo jaaka kagiso, boikobo, tirisanyo le tlotlo. Gape tidimalo e ka supa bosula jaaka fa e supa kgatelelo, kgokgontsho le tenego. Tshekatsheko e ya tidimalo e lemotshiwa ka go lebelela diane le maele a Setswana. Fa re bapisa mabaka le bokao ja tidimalo ga mmogo le diane le maele a Setswana re kgona go bona kamano fagare ga puo, ngwao le tumelo. Tshekatsheko e e re lemotsha gore tidimalo e na le seabe se segolo mo puisanyong mo badirisa puo ba ba farologaneng. Keywords: Puo ya Setswana; diane; maele; tidimalo; puisanyo; bokao

Age-related differences in idiom production in adulthood

To investigate whether idiom production was vulnerable to age-related difficulties, we asked 40 younger (ages 18–30) and 40 older healthy adults (ages 60–85) to produce idiomatic expressions in a story-completion task. Younger adults produced significantly more correct idiom responses (73%) than did older adults (60%). When older adults generated partially correct responses, they were less likely than younger participants to eventually produce the complete target idiom (old: 32%; young: 70%); first-word cues after initial failure to retrieve an idiom resulted in more correct idioms for older (24%) than younger (15%) participants. Correlations between age and idiom correctness were positive for the young group and negative for the older group, suggesting mastery of familiar idioms continues into adulthood. Within each group, scores on the Boston Naming Test correlated with performance on the idiom task. Findings for retrieving idiomatic expressions are thus similar to those for retrieving lexical items.

The effect of voice cues on nonfluent aphasia patients' performance in reading idioms

Objective To examine the effect of voice cues on nonfluent aphasia patients'performance in reading idioms.Methods Very familiar idioms were presented to aphasia patients on a computer screen either with or without an accompanying voice cue.The patients were asked to say the last two words of each idiom.The number of errors with the last two words of the idioms wag used to compare the patients'performance under the two conditions.Results The mean correct score was 9.46±13.08 when the idioms were presented without a voice cue,but 13.61±6.06 with the voice cue.The difference was statistically significant.Conclusion Voice cues can improve the speaking of familiar idioms for nonfluent aphasia patients. Key words: Nonfluent aphasia; Idioms; Speech production; Cueing

관용어의 친숙도, 성별, 학업성취도가 관용어 이해하기 능력에 미치는 영향

AbstractThe present study is to investigate the changes of idioms comprehension ability according to the familiarity of idiom, gender and academic achievements. 50 idioms were divided familiar and unfamiliar by the survey. The subjects was 18 years old, 63 college students. The participants were assessed with the task. The task is about the idiom comprehension with 25 familiar idioms and 25 unfamiliar. And there investigated about the academic achievements on participants. The result were as follows: Frist, there was significant difference in the idioms comprehension ability according to the familiarity of idiom. Second, there was on significant difference in the idioms comprehension ability according to gender. Third, there was significant difference in the idioms comprehension ability according to academic achievements. The result of present study will be important data for Korean idiom education of foreigner. ■ keyword : ∣Idiom Comprehension ∣Gender∣the Familiarity of Idiom ∣Academic Achievement ∣ 접수번호 : #101020-015접수일자 : 2010년 10월 20일심사완료일 : 2010년 12월 13일교신저자 : 이진숙, e-mail : jin-sook-lee@hanmail.net

Divination: Epistemology, Agency, and Identity in Contemporary Urban West Africa

AbstractBased on fieldwork in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, undertaken in 1997 and 2009, as well as residence in the country in periods that spanned two decades, this study of contemporary urban divination in West Africa shows that it thrives even in the ethnically heterogeneous and religiously plural city. In stark contrast to the stereotypical view that African traditions are unable to offer a viable challenge to the influx of ‘world’ religions and their attendant values of modernity, divination demonstrates their vitality. The practices of divination rest on basic premises so widely shared as to constitute an overarching epistemology, at once trans‐ethnic and authentically West African. By recasting contemporary problems into the familiar idioms of the ‘traditional’ worldview, divination enables practitioners to gain leverage over real and pressing concerns, affirming personal agency. It underscores a communal identity, not dependent on territorial or ethnic affiliation or precarious and contested definitions of citizenship.

The time course of idiom processing

Recent neuropsychological and neurophysiological studies have suggested that the neural correlates of idiom processing are predominantly located in the left Brodmann's area (BA) 22 and, to some extent, in the prefrontal cortex. The present study explores the temporal dynamics of left prefrontal and temporal cortex in idiom processing by using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in normal subjects. Forty-five opaque highly familiar idioms and 45 literal sentences were used. Forty-three subjects completed 5 blocks of 18 trials (9 idioms, 9 literal sentences) corresponding to 4 stimulation conditions (left prefrontal, left temporal, vertex, no-stimulation baseline). Each subject was assigned to one of three groups, which differed in the timing of stimulation delivery. A selective impairment in accuracy for idioms was found when rTMS was applied to the prefrontal and temporal cortex 80 ms after picture presentation, confirming the role of these regions in this task. Moreover, rTMS to the prefrontal cortex, but not to the temporal cortex, continued to affect the performance with idiomatic sentences at the later time of 120 ms. The results seem to suggest that the prefrontal region is involved in both the retrieval of the figurative meaning from semantic memory and the monitoring of the response by inhibiting alternative interpretations when a picture-matching task is used.

Meow: Cat Stories From Around the World (review)

Reviewed by: Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World Hope Morrison Yolen, Jane , comp. Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World; illus. by Hala Wittwer. HarperCollins, 200540p Library ed. ISBN 0-06-029162-1$17.89 Trade ed. ISBN 0-06-029161-3$16.99 Ad Gr. 2-5 This collection of eleven cat stories draws upon resources both familiar and new, from Aesop's fables to Arabian folklore, from Native American legend to familiar idioms worldwide. Each selection is brief (no more than three pages of double-spaced text) and is related in straightforward prose, making this useful both as a readaloud and readalone. Several of the stories offer explanations for key cat characteristics (Why do they hate mice? Why do they always land on their feet?) while others simply feature kitties in starring roles. Wittwer's slick and glossy illustrations too often resort to the cutesy (mice especially fall victim), but they are generally successful in capturing the sly, often seductive expressions of the feline characters. The occasional inclusion of cultural details (Tibetan woodwork, Middle Eastern architecture) adds further interest. The retelling style is somewhat spare and perfunctory, but there is definite topical appeal here, and the rainbow-eyed cast of cats looking out from the cover illustration will lure young patrons seeking a new kitty book. A list of selected reading offers information on print variants for some tales. Copyright © 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois