Some remarks on idioms : with examples from Polish and English

Abstract

In the present paper we try to deal with two problems involved in any attempt at study of idiomaticity within a generative framework; the problem of the status of idioms within the lexicon of a transformational generative grammar, and the problem of transformational deficiencies exhibited by idioms. Generally, by an idiom will be meant a sequence of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the words themselves1. However, the idiomatic status of an expression like e. g. Polish czarna rozpacz (lit. 'black despair’) is somehow different from that of biały kruk (lit. 'white raven’ = a curio). According to Lewicki (1976), it is the constant lexical context (kontekst leksykalny stały) that separates idioms and phrasemes ('frazem’) from other phraseological expressions. If the constant lexical context is unilateral, as in czarna rozpacz, where the exceptional meaning of czarna ('desperate’) is realized only in conjunction with rozpacz ('despair’), we are dealing with phrasemes...