Idioms

Defenition of  Idiom

The term refers to a set expression or a phrase comprising two or more words. An interesting fact regarding the device is that the expression is not interpreted literally. The phrase is understood as to mean something quite different from what individual words of the phrase would imply. Alternatively, it can be said that the phrase is interpreted in a figurative sense. Further, idioms vary in different cultures and countries.

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Functions of Idiom

Writers and public speakers use idioms generously. The purpose behind this vast use of idioms is to ornate their language, make it richer and spicier and help them in conveying subtle meanings to their intended audience. Not only do idioms help in making the language beautiful, they also make things better or worse through making the expression good or bad. For example, there are several idioms that convey the death of a person in highly subtle meanings and some do the same in very offensive terms. They are also said to be exact and more correct than the literal words and sometimes a few words are enough to replace a full sentence. They help the writer make his sense clearer than it is, so that he could convey maximum meanings through minimum words and also keep the multiplicity of the meanings in the text intact.

It has also been seen that idioms not only convey subtle meanings but also convey a phenomenon that is not being conveyed through normal and everyday language and also they keep the balance in the communication. Furthermore, they provide textual coherence, so that the reader could be able to piece together a text that he has gone through and extract meanings the writer has conveyed.

Idiom Examples

1.       “Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint.”

2.       “American idioms drive me up the hall!”

Proverb

Defenition of Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim. Proverbs fall into the category of formulaic language.

Proverbs are often borrowed from similar languages and cultures, and sometimes come down to the present through more than one language. Both the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a considerable role in distributing proverbs across Europe. Mieder has concluded that cultures that treat the Bible as their "major spiritual book contain between three hundred and five hundred proverbs that stem from the Bible."^.However, almost every culture has examples of its own unique proverbs.

Examples

• Haste makes waste
• A stitch in time saves nine
• Ignorance is bliss

Homonymy, Homophones, and Homograps

Defenition of Homonymy, Homophones, and Homograps

            Homonyms, or multiple meaning words, are words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meaning.

Example :

• A bear (the animal) can bear (tolerate) very cold temperatures.
• The driver turned left (opposite of right) and left (departed from) the main road.

Homophones, also known as sound-alike words, are words that are pronounced identically although they have different meanings and often have different spellings as well. These words are a very common source of confusion when writing.

Common examples of sets of homophones include: to, too, and two; they're and their; bee and be; sun and son; which and witch; and plain and plane. Vocabulary Spelling City is a particularly useful tool for learning to correctly use and spell the soundalike words.

Homographs are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and are often pronounced differently as well. Some examples of homographs are:

• bass as in fish vs bass as in music
• bow as in arrow vs bow as in bending or taking a bow at the end of a performance
• close as in next to vs close as in shut the door
• desert as in dry climate vs desert as in leaving alone.

Currently, VocabularySpellingCity cannot distinguish between homographs, as we are unable to have two pronounciations for the exact same word. We are looking for possibilities in the future.

Polysemy

Defenition of Polysemy

            Polysemy is the capacity for a sign (such as a word, phrase, or symbol) to have multiple meanings (that is, multiple semes or sememes and thus multiple senses), usually related by contiguity of meaning within a semantic field. It is thus usually regarded as distinct from homonymy, in which the multiple meanings of a word may be unconnected or unrelated.

A polyseme is a word or phrase with different, but related senses. Since the test for polysemy is the vague concept of relatedness, judgments of polysemy can be difficult to make. Because applying pre-existing words to new situations is a natural process of language change, looking at words' etymology is helpful in determining polysemy but not the only solution; as words become lost in etymology, what once was a useful distinction of meaning may no longer be so. Some apparently unrelated words share a common historical origin, however, so etymology is not an infallible test for polysemy, and dictionary writers also often defer to speakers' intuitions to judge polysemy in cases where it contradicts etymology.

The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, numbering different meanings, while homonyms are treated in separate lemmata. Semantic shift can separate a polysemous word into separate homonyms.

Example :

1.      The human species (i.e., man vs. animal)

2.      Males of the human species (i.e., man vs. woman)

3.      Adult males of the human species (i.e., man vs. boy)

Some more examples of polysemy

foot in : - He hurt his foot

 - She stood at the foot of the stairs.

Hyperbole

Definition of Hyperbole

Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting” is a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say, “Ages have passed since I last saw you”. You may not have met him for three or four hours or a day, but the use of the word “ages” exaggerates this statement to add emphasis to your wait.  Therefore, a hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation. Some other common Hyperbole examples are given below.

Common Examples of Hyperbole

• My grandmother is as old as the hills.
• Your suitcase weighs a ton!
• She is as heavy as an elephant!
• I am dying of shame.
• I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

It is important not to confuse hyperbole with simile and metaphor. It does make a comparison but unlike simile and metaphor, hyperbole has a humorous effect created by an overstatement.

Significance of Hyperbole in Literature

Authors use hyperbole to evoke strong feelings or emphasize a point. Hyperbole can be used to overstate any type of situation or emotion, and can be used humorously or seriously. Hyperbole is most often found in poetry, as poets use it to make comparisons and describe things in more embellished terms. However, it is commonly used in prose and plays as well.

Examples of Hyperbole in Literature

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall…

Billy Collins uses hyperbole in his poem “Forgetfulness” in imagining that a forgotten name is so far from the speaker’s memory “it has floated away down a dark mythological river.” Collins then extends this hyperbolic effect by saying that the total loss of memory includes even the name of the river.