Abstract
This article addresses the question of how the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG), with its clear distinction between lexicon and grammar, can deal with semi-fixed constructions by proposing a consistent and cognitively plausible account of idiomatic expressions that can not only deal with the partly unpredictable and partly productive character of these expressions, but also with the variation within the class of idioms. It is argued that, on the basis of both semantic and syntactic criteria, three major types of idiom can be distinguished. Subsequently, an FDG analysis is provided which shows that the syntactic behavior of these types is not entirely arbitrary and unpredictable, but that it can to a large extent be accounted for by the specific functional properties of each of these types. Finally, the article addresses the question of how to represent idioms in the FDG lexicon. It is suggested that the lexical entry of an idiom should take the form of a meaning definition which is associated with a semi-fixed combination of interpersonal and representation frames and morphosyntactic templates specifying the functional and formal constraints on individual idioms, while at the same time accounting for the (different degrees of) syntactic flexibility exhibited by the three major types of idiom. All that is needed for idioms to be integrated in the theory of FDG, it is concluded, is the introduction of a new primitive, the so-called ComPIF (Combination of Partially Instantiated Frames).
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Appendix A List of idioms and their meanings (taken from www.thefreedictionary.com)
to blow one’s top/stack: to fly into a rage, to lose one’s composure
to bite the dust: to die; to be defeated; to break, to fail, to give out
to bury the hatchet to make peace
to flip one’s lid/wig: to react strongly, as with anger or enthusiasm; to go crazy
to foam/froth at the mouth: to rage; to feel intense anger
to go around in circles: to use a lot of time and effort trying to do something, without making any progress
to grasp the nettle: to take action immediately in order to deal with an unpleasant situation
to grit one’s teeth: to accept a difficult situation and deal with it in a determined way; to grind or clench one’s teeth together in anger or determination
to hit the ceiling/roof: to suddenly become very angry
to kick the bucket: to die
to let the cat out of the bag: to reveal a secret or a surprise by accident
to lose one’s mind/marbles: to become insane
to open the floodgates/sluices: if an action or a decision opens the floodgates/sluices, it allows something to happen a lot or allows many people to do something that was not previously allowed
to pop one’s clogs: to die
to pull (some strings): to use influence (with someone to get something done).
to rock the boat: to cause trouble where none is welcome; to disturb a situation that is otherwise stable and satisfactory. (Often negative.)
to shoot the breeze: to chat casually and without purpose
to smoke the peace pipe: to make peace
to spill the beans: to disclose a secret
to swallow the bitter pill: to accept an unpleasant fact
to throw in the towel/sponge: to give up in the face of defeat or lacking hope; admit defeat
to touch/hit a nerve: to upset someone by talking about a particular subject
Appendix B Data sources – Corpora
Davies, Mark. 2004. BYU-BNC: The British national corpus (1980s–1993). http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc
Davies, Mark. 2008. COCA: The corpus of contemporary American English (1990–). http://corpus.byu.edu/coca
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