136 Compositionality/Non-Compositionality of Idioms: Non-Native Speakers’ Constraints to Comprehension

Velasco, Yvonne Pedria

doi:10.17509/ijal.v6i1.2745

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, idioms have commonly been categorized into the degree of their transparency, familiarity, and compositionality: transparency refers to the propinquity between the non-literal and literal meaning; familiarity or frequency describes how frequent an idiom can be found in language (Nippold & Taylor, 2002). In terms of compositionality, indecomposable idioms refer to those expressions that their individual components (words) meaning cannot reveal the intended meaning of the expression (Velasco, 2016).…”

Section: Categorizing Idioms and The Conundrum Of Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Alrajhi

2020

Indonesian J. Appl. Linguist.

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Idiomatic expressions are essential components of EFL learners’ linguistic repertoire. Nevertheless, learning such inherently perplexing language constructs poses a challenge to learners. Therefore, the present study was motivated by examining a modern tool (infographics) that is relatively under-researched in EFL settings and potentially conducive to fruitful vocabulary learning. Grounded in dual coding (DCT) and cognitive load (CLT) theories, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of visualizing English idioms via static infographics. Data were collected using three instruments (a pre-/post-test, an attitude questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews) in a mixed-method design. The participants consisted of 78 Arabic speaking students at a Saudi university. Divided equally into two groups, these participants were instructed to learn 60 idioms in five computer-mediated sessions. Students in the control group studied the target idioms via online texts, whereas those in the experimental group studied them via online static infographics. The findings show that despite the significant increase in the post-test scores of both groups, the treatment group outperformed the control group as indicated by the statistically significant difference in scores. Consequently, the findings signify a high potential of static infographics to foster receptive knowledge of idioms. Moreover, the participants show positive attitudes toward the utility of static infographics on learning idioms. Meanwhile, the qualitative findings reveal a number of compelling factors induced by productive constituents and adequate content of the infographics. Those factors are conducive to effective learning and retention, triggering motivation and interests, promoting autonomous and efficient learning, and attracting learners’ attention.

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Section: Categorizing Idioms and The Conundrum Of Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Alrajhi

2020

Indonesian J. Appl. Linguist.

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“…This property of idiomatic expressions implicates that idioms are at least partly non-compositional in the Fregean sense (cf. Velasco 2016). Not all idioms are equally non-compositional, however: Nunberg et al (1994), among others, have stressed that there are idioms that simply combine figuratively interpreted component parts, and those that do not (semi)transparently distribute the meaning of the whole to its constituents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting idioms in a second language

Dijk

Vogels

Vries

2022

AVT

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How do people understand figurative speech in a foreign language? What strategies do they use? By means of an online questionnaire, this study investigated to what extent contextual information and transfer play a role in the interpretation of idioms in a second language, controlling for familiarity. Sixty-one native speakers of Dutch were asked to guess the correct interpretation of English idioms with and without a Dutch equivalent, presented with and without context, out of four answer options. The results showed that correctly interpreting an idiom depends on both the presence of context and the possibility of transfer. More correct interpretations were given when an idiom was presented in a context, but only for English idioms without an equivalent in the native language. English idioms with an equivalent in Dutch, often rated as familiar, were mostly understood correctly. We interpret this result as the involvement of transfer from the native language.

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“…Velasco states that daily utterances of English native speakers are littered with many idiomatic expressions that would sound strange or even weird to non-native speakers (Velasco, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efl Learners’ Production of Idiomatic Expressions in Speaking

Rakhmyta¹,

Rusmiati²

2020

JAS

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Idiomatic expressions are expressions whose meanings cannot be derived from their literal meaning. Thus, it is viewed as a challenging part for EFL learners in either understanding or practicing them. However, using them in oral spoken adequately signifies that someone is a proficient English user. This research is carried out to depict the learner's application of idiomatic expressions in spoken English. It is performed to address the accompanying examination questions: (1) Do EFL learners of the English Department in IAIN Takengon use idiomatic expressions in speaking? (2) What type of idioms do they produce in speaking? (3) What is the most frequently used idiom type in their speaking?. 20 students' recordings were collected and analyzed using the descriptive qualitative method. The result shows that the learners use idiomatic expressions. The learners produced only three types of idiomatic expressions, namely phrasal verb idiom, tournures idiom, and irreversible compound idiom. Of all, phrasal verb idiom is the most frequently used. It is suggested that the learners are encouraged to be exposed to English more often to apply more idiomatic expressions in their speaking.

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136 Compositionality/Non-Compositionality of Idioms: Non-Native Speakers’ Constraints to Comprehension

Cited by 4 publications

References 16 publications

Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Interpreting idioms in a second language

Efl Learners’ Production of Idiomatic Expressions in Speaking

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