Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17234/SRAZ.67.9
The variation of idioms in European languages in light of new research
Damir Mišetić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7330-4457
; University of Mostar
Abstract
Despite the fact that many European languages are characterized by established idiomatic
structures, the variation of idioms is a reality, which is taken into consideration in
phraseological dictionaries compiled manually; however, in light of new research which
is mainly based on studying web corpora, a new, more contemporary approach should be
employed. Although a lexical compound with an idiomatic meaning is subject to restrictions
in terms of both expression and content, its polylexicality and stability contribute
to identifying and defining the idiom itself. In light of new research, it is clear that in addition
to structural stability, idioms are also characterized by variability. Phraseological
dictionaries do not always record the many existing variants of a particular idiom. Attempts
made towards achieving a kind of standardization in the field of phraseology did not yield
results similar to those produced by standardization attempts with pronunciation, spelling,
or grammar. Variants are intrinsic components of the idiom itself, as demonstrated by
numerous inconsistencies which exist regarding how various phraseological dictionaries
determine the authentic form of an idiom. Moreover, this fact is reflected in the use of
idioms in web corpora of Croatian, Italian, and other European languages.
Keywords
structural stability, variability, variation, modifications, variants
Hrčak ID:
305808
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2022.
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