“Idioms, the colourful side of languages, are one of the symbols used while we are communicating our thoughts and feelings. They are used to give life and richness to the language by taking the existing words, combining them in a new sense, and creating new meanings, just like a work of art.” (LEN-NON, 1998, cited in BULUT; ÇELIK-YAZICI, 2004: 105)
This combination of existing words “like a work of art” represents a huge challenge for non-native speakers they have to cope with in their language learning process. In the context of intercultural communication, non-native and native speakers interact with each other and often make use of idioms and other fixed expressions as “the colourful side of languages”, because they are used to it from their usual communication in their first languages. However, these fixed expressions constitute a special part of the language use due to particular characteristics, which will be explored further in this term paper. Consequently, communication between non-native and native speakers does not always runs smoothly when phraseological language comes into play. Amongst others, the cultural boundedness as well as native-like creative exploitations of the fixed expressions represent probable causes for misunderstandings. These aspects will be presented hereafter. Given the limited space of this term paper, the focus is on communication between non-native and native speakers. Phenomenon connected to the phraseological language in a lingua franca setting cannot be examined further.
Within the scope of intercultural communication, contrastive linguistics is one approach towards interactions across language borders. “Contrastive linguistics focuses on pairs of languages and explores similarities and differences between them.” (KRZESZOWSKI, 1991: 10) In the tradition of contrastive linguistics, the second part of this term paper focuses on the contrastive description of the phraseological language of two different languages, namely German and English. The collection of phraseological units (PUs) is narrowed down to facilitate the comparison. PUs, whose source domain originates either from the concept ‘FIRE’ or from the concept ‘WATER’, are chosen for this comparison. However, in order to set the frame for the examination of different PUs, it is important to look at some theoretical foundations on the topic of phraseological language first.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Theoretical foundations on phraseological units
- Definition
- Characteristics
- Motivation
- Transformation
- The relevance of phraseological units for the intercultural communication
- The cultural boundedness of phraseological units
- The comprehension of phraseological units by non-native speakers
- Phraseological units in conversations between native speakers and non-native speakers
- The translation of phraseological units
- A contrastive description of German and English phraseological units of fire and water
- Method
- Results
- Conceptual target domains
- Variations and creative exploitations
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This term paper explores the role of phraseological units (PUs) in intercultural communication, particularly focusing on the challenges non-native speakers face when encountering these fixed expressions. The paper aims to examine how cultural boundedness and creative exploitations of PUs can lead to misunderstandings between native and non-native speakers. It further investigates these challenges through a contrastive linguistic analysis of German and English PUs derived from the concepts 'FIRE' and 'WATER'.
- The importance of phraseological units in intercultural communication
- The challenges non-native speakers face with PUs due to cultural differences
- The potential for misunderstanding arising from creative exploitations of PUs
- A contrastive analysis of German and English PUs related to 'FIRE' and 'WATER'
- The role of contrastive linguistics in understanding intercultural communication
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction discusses the significance of phraseological units in enriching language and the challenges they pose for non-native speakers. It emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural differences and creative exploitations in intercultural communication. The paper's focus on German and English PUs derived from the concepts 'FIRE' and 'WATER' is outlined.
Chapter 2 delves into the theoretical foundations of phraseology, providing a range of definitions for 'phraseological unit' and outlining key characteristics such as polylexemic structure, syntactic and semantic stability, and figurative character.
Chapter 3 explores the relevance of PUs in intercultural communication, highlighting the cultural boundedness of PUs and the potential for misunderstandings between native and non-native speakers. It examines how PUs are used in conversations between native and non-native speakers and discusses the complexities of translating PUs.
Chapter 4 presents a contrastive description of German and English PUs related to 'FIRE' and 'WATER'. The chapter outlines the method used for the analysis and presents the results, including conceptual target domains and variations in creative exploitations.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This term paper centers on the field of phraseology in intercultural communication, specifically focusing on contrastive linguistics and the challenges faced by non-native speakers when interacting with phraseological units (PUs). Key themes include the cultural boundedness of PUs, the potential for misunderstandings due to creative exploitations, and the contrastive analysis of German and English PUs related to 'FIRE' and 'WATER'.
- Quote paper
- Annegret Gelbrecht (Author), 2011, Phraseology in Intercultural Communication, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/175382
