Introduction

The theme of my graduation thesis is an examination of idioms in English and in

German. The purpose of this research is threefold: to gain theoretical insight in the
analysis of the syntactic and semantic properties of idioms, to compare and contrast
idioms in both languages and to apply a study to determine in which way the language
level for non-native speakers is significant in understanding idioms. I mainly rely on
Cacciari (1993), Stone (2016) for the theoretical background on English idioms, on Soehn
(2006) and Trotzke (2015) for the analysis of German idioms and on Singstad (2014) as
a background for my study.
This paper is organized into four chapters that contain a detailed analysis of idioms.
The first chapter will deal with idioms in English and will provide a general view of the
syntactic properties of idioms such as frozenness and flexibility, as well as of their
semantic properties.
In the second chapter, we will analyze the behaviour of idioms in German. First, we
will examine the syntactic properties of idioms and the variable degree of frozenness or
flexibility. Then, we will analyze the semantic properties of idioms.
The third chapter will contain a contrastive approach to the idioms in both languages.
We will discuss the similarities and differences that may be noticed between idiomatic
expressions in English and German. Therefore, we will point to distinguishing syntactic
and semantic features of these idioms.
Finally, we will focus on the study regarding the idioms examination of Romanian
students based on two tests in English and German respectively. The main objective is to
investigate how much can language influence their knowledge as far as idiomatic
expressions are concerned.

3
CHAPTER 1

THE STRUCTURE OF IDIOMS IN ENGLISH

The theme of this chapter is the analysis of idioms' structure in English. In

particular, the purpose of this chapter is to investigate the syntax and the semantics of
idioms. For the analysis of the structure of idioms in English, I will rely on Cacciari
(1993), Kay and Sag (n.d.), Stone (2016), Spears (2000) and many others included in the
bibliography.

The chapter is organized in two sections. The first section deals with the syntactic
properties of idioms and the variable degree of frozenness or flexibility. The main focus
will be on the flexibility of the idioms, particularly on the processes of pronominalization,
changing the number of the object NP, quantification, adjectival modification,
passivization, subject-to-subject raising, tough-movement, relativization, topicalization,
object incorporation and ellipsis. The second section deals with the semantics of idioms,
especially with the compositional ones like opaque, transparent and quasi-metaphorical
idioms. In this section, idioms will also be classified on certain themes.

Definition

According to Cacciari (1993:79), idiomatic expressions stand for an extensive range

of linguistic phenomena, which range from lexical idioms, like rail at, to phrasal idioms
like to kick the bucket.

An idiom can serve as a simple or a complex lexical unit, which sometimes could
be brought to be associated with one term (e.g., to pull someone's leg means ’to tease’),
or even may be conveyed with an entire proposition (e.g., to take the bull by the horns
means ’to attack a problem without fear’).

A phrasal idiom generally consists of a verbal phrase with a verb and a noun phrase
(NP) (to kick the bucket). These expressions have acquired a specific status because the

4
entire idiom has a certain meaning that is not comparable to the significance of the
components as they are together in the idiomatic phrase:
1)
Have you heard? The old woman across the street has kicked the bucket.
(figurative meaning)
Jake kicked the bucket so hard that he hurt himself. (literal meaning)

1.1. The Syntax of Idioms

All idioms, regardless of their degree of compositionality, are automatically

processed linguistically, that is, lexically, syntactically, and semantically.

Frozenness and Flexibility

1.1.1. Frozenness
Cacciari (1993:80) claims that idioms differ to the level to which they can allow
syntactic and morphological operations. Components of certain idioms can be quantified,
modified, or omitted, lexical elements can be added at different points, clauses could be
lodged within idiomatic phrases, so forth. What makes this possible is the degree of
frozenness of an idiom.
Frozenness refers to the degree to which an idiom is able to undergo syntactic
transformations and still maintain its figurative meaning. Several idioms are extremely
frozen and can not encounter many changes (e.g., "John kicked the bucket" can mean
"John died" whereas "The bucket was kicked by John" cannot). While other idioms are
more flexible (or unfrozen) and can tolerate a number of transformations (e.g., both "Her
father laid down the law” and "The law was layed down by her father" appear to imply
that "Her father gave strict orders").

1.1.2. Flexibility
Kay and Sag (n.d.:5) consider that idioms which are flexible show variations of
syntax or morphology (or both). Because of their 'literal' (non-idiomatic) understanding
of their elements, the meaning cannot be formed but they can be analyzed regarding parts
whose special (idiomatic) meanings can be modified or quantified under certain
conditions.

5
 According to Stone (2016:54-60), the first class of variations consists in the
modification of the object NP. For instance: pronominalization of the object, changing
the number of the object, quantification of the object, and modification of the object.

1.1.2.1. Pronominalization of the object NP

Some idioms allow the use of a pronoun later in the sentence because it can refer to
the noun inside an idiomatic expression. For example in (2), it can be clearly seen that the
pronoun they refers to the noun beans.
2)
Ramya spilled the beans, and it wasn’t long before they spread throughout the
entire neighbourhood. (spill the beans)

1.1.2.2. Changing the number of the object NP

Changing the number of the object is also another variation that is accessible
because in some cases the standard singular object NP can appear as a plural.
3)
Let’s go to the club tonight and watch Kenneth bust some moves. (bust a move)

1.1.2.3. Quantification of the object NP

Another variation that is relatively common is quantification of the object NP and
is frequently connected with a change in the number of the object.
In (4), the quantifier many is used in the idiomatic NP, nevertheless, the entire range of
quantifiers is possible.
4)
Alec turned many heads as he walked down Broadway Street. (turn heads)

1.1.2.4. Adjectival modification of the object NP

The most elaborate variation of these is the adjectival modification because it can
change the whole expression rather than changing the noun phrase. In (5), proverbial is
used not referring to a specific kind of bucket but rather indicate that the complete
expression is being used figuratively. Furthermore in (6), conversational shows the

6
context in which the expression break the ice should be understood; it does not mention
a particular kind of ice.
5)
Donna kicked the proverbial bucket. (kick the bucket)
6)
On the first day of class, no one wanted to break the conversational ice, so we sat
in silence until the teacher arrived. (break the ice)

Other variations involve modifications in the syntactic structure of elements. These

include passivization, subject-to-subject raising, tough-movement, relativization,
topicalization, object incorporation, and ellipsis.

1.1.2.5. Passivisation
Some idioms preserve their idiomatic meaning in the passive, others cannot. One
part of the idiom, the post-verbal noun, can be detached from the remainder through the
syntactic operation of passivisation. For example, with the idiom to bury the hatchet, it is
possible to move the noun hatchet to subject position to form a passive sentence that
keeps the idiomatic meaning. Similarly, to pull the string (‘to manipulate’) can also
undergo passivisation:
7)
The hatchet was buried.
Strings were pulled for Mary to get the job.

But other idioms, like to kick the bucket, cannot be passivized:

8)
Kim kicked the bucket.
*The bucket was kicked by Kim.

7
1.1.2.6. Subject-to-subject raising
The variation that can be applied without restrictions than other variations it is
called subject-to-subject raising. Any idiomatic subject—including a passivized object—
can undergo subject-to-subject raising, as it can be seen in example (9) below.
9)
The beans seem [to have been spilled all over the neighbourhood]. (spill the
beans)

1.1.2.7. Tough-movement
Contradictory to subject-to-subject raising, tough-movement it cannot be so easily
applicable. Some idioms can undergo tough-movement variation, as in (10), while some
can not (11).
10)
A can of worms is often easier to open than one expects. (open a can of worms;
Ruwet 1991:186)
11)
* The ice was easy to break.

1.1.2.8. Relativization
Just like tough-movement, relativization cannot be applied to all idioms. In
addition, there are two ways for relativization. For instance, in (12) the idiomatic verb is
in the relative clause; while in (13), it is in the main clause.
12)
I’m well aware of the strings [that Parky pulled to get me my job].
(pull strings; adapted from McCawley 1981:135)
13)
Parky pulled the strings that got me my job.
(pull strings; adapted from McCawley 1981:137)

8
1.1.2.9. Topicalization
Components of idioms can be emphasised through topicalization or clefting. A
post-verbal noun can be moved to a pre-subject position, just like the idiom to find
skeletons in sb.’s closet (to find out embarrassing secrets) in the example below (14):
14)
You might find skeletons in his closets.
His closets, you might find skeletons in.
topicalized object
In a cleft construction emphasis on an element can also be acquired (the cleft
structure is fixed: it/that + BE + emphasised constituent + relative clause). In this manner,
the noun basket is emphasised by detaching it from the rest of the idiom and moving it to
focus position:
15)
I’ve put all my eggs into one basket
That’s the basket [into which I’ve put all my eggs].
focus position

1.1.2.10. Object incorporation

This variation includes at least two modifications from the standard structure: NP
object is in pre-verbal position without its determiner, and the expression is adjectival
rather than verbal. Object incorporation can be used with the idiomatic expression break
the ice, which in example (16) appears as the adjectival expression ice-breaking.
16)
Today’s ice-breaking activities include standard introductions and a game of
Two Truths and a Lie. (break the ice)

1.1.2.11. Ellipsis
Elements of idioms can go through ellipsis; an example is to keep close tabs on sb.
‘to keep sb. under observation’ in which the noun tabs can be deleted in order to avoid
repetition:

9
17)
The FBI kept close tabs on Kim.
The FBI kept closer tabs on Kim [than they kept _ on Sandy].
(ellipsis in a clause of comparison)

3.1.2.1. Valence Structure

Soehn (2006:14-15) considers that valence structure is another syntactic feature of
a verb. Keil (1997) and Burger (2003) distinguished between internal and external
arguments. An internal argument is an essential element of an idiom. If it is changed the
idiomatic meaning is lost. Contrary, external arguments can differ according to the
context and they are also subcategorized for by the verb. For example:
18)
He entirely lost his head.
The noun head in the example above is an internal argument of lose. If a different
direct object is used, this leads to a new different phrase with a non-idiomatic meaning:
19)
He (*entirely) lost his wallet.

1.2. The Semantics of Idioms

1.2.1. Compositional Idioms

Compositional expressions are ones whose meaning of the constituents is
connected to the significance of the idiom and their syntactic relations. Additionally, they
may contain one or more lexemes with a standard meaning or even a metaphorical
reading.
For compositional idioms, the connection between an idiom's constituent words and its
meaning can be discerned. Idioms can be classified into three classes based on how the
literal word meaning of the constituents contributes to the meaning of the idiom:

1.2.1.1. Opaque Idioms

In this idiom type, the associations between an idioms' components as well as the
idiom meaning are not apparent, but the meanings of individual words nonetheless can

10
constrain both use and interpretation. For the idiom kick the bucket, for example, the
semantics of the verb to kick restrain both interpretation and discourse productivity.
20)
Yesterday his neighbour kicked the bucket.

1.2.1.2. Transparent Idioms

Cacciari (1993:17-18) argues that because of metaphorical correspondences
between an idiom's words and components of the idiom's meaning, there are one-to-one
semantic relations among them. For instance in the idiom break the ice, the word break
corresponds to the idiomatic sense of modifying a feeling or a mood, and the word ice
corresponds to the idiomatic sense of social tension.
This particular category of idioms contains both the normally and abnormally
decomposable idioms of Nunberg's (1978) and Gibbs, Nayak, and Cutting's (1989)
classification. Gibbs, Nayak, and Cutting claim that usually decomposable idioms have
quasi-literal relations between meanings and elements, as in pop the question, whereas in
abnormally decomposable idioms these relations are more or less metaphorical, as in spill
the beans or break the ice.
21)
That joke really broke the ice at the conference; we all relaxed afterwards.

1.2.1.3. Quasi-metaphorical Idioms

In this category of idioms the literal referent of the idiom is itself an instance of the
idiomatic meaning; for instance, giving up the ship is at the same time an ideal or
prototypical exemplar of the action of surrendering and also a phrase that can refer to an
example of total surrender. They refer to a notion of a concept (e.g., total surrender) while
characterizing some action, individual, or object as an instance of that concept, as in:
22)
Nick: "I don't know what to do about Henry, he continues to do so
poorly in school."
Alice: "Don't give up the ship. I'm sure he'll do better once he improves
his study habits."

11
1.2.2. The classification of idioms on themes
According to Spears (2000:5), idiomatic expressions can be found in most of the
world's languages, but it is not enough to know each word of a phrase in order to
understand it. However, they can be categorized according to their theme such as luck,
beginnings, happiness, love, anger.
LUCK
as luck would have it have the cards stacked against one
Break a leg! in clover
by the seat of one's pants in luck
by the skin of one's teeth knock on wood
down on one's luck luck out
get a break push one's luck AND press one's luck
have a run of bad luck stroke of luck
have one's luck run out

BEGINNINGS
baptism of fire open with something
call the meeting to order put something into practice
get one's start set forth (on something) and launch
get rolling forth (on something)
get under way set in
give birth to something set sail (for somewhere)
go into something start off on the wrong foot
Here goes nothing. start something up
Here (it) goes take a new turn
Hop to it! Take it away!
maiden voyage take off (on something) and launch
move into something forth (on something)
off and running take root
on the point of doing something AND take something up
at the point of doing something take the lid off something
open fire (on someone) touch something off

12
wade in(to something)

HAPPINESS

(as) happy as a clam in good spirits

(as) happy as a lark in one's glory
be flying high in seventh heaven
burst with joy live happily ever after
cheer someone up on cloud nine
cheer up perk someone or something up
crack a smile (sitting) on top of the world
fat and happy walk on air
fool's paradise

LOVE
carry a torch (for someone)
crazy about someone or something
and mad about someone or something;
nuts about someone or something
fall for someone
fall head over heels in love
fall in love (with someone)
fond of someone or something
get a crush on someone
go off the deep end and jump off the deep
end
have a thing going (with someone) and
have something going (with someone)
head over heels in love (with someone)
hot and bothered
hot and heavy
love at first sight
in love (with someone or something)
make out (with someone)
only have eyes for someone

ANGER
blow a gasket and blow a fuse; blow cool off and cool down
one's cork; blow one's top; blow one's fly off the handle
stack to become very angry get mad (at someone or something)
blow up (at someone) give vent to something

13
have a conniption (fit) pop one's cork
have a fit take something out on someone or
hit the ceiling something
let off steam and blow off steam tear one's hair (out)
lose one's cool and blow one's cool throw a fit
lose one's temper vent one's spleen

Conclusion
To conclude, this chapter has provided an account of the main features of idioms in
English. It highlights the syntactic and the semantic features of it. In the first section we
have shown that some idioms are frozen, they cannot undergo changes, the structure being
rigid like the idiom to kick the bucket. In contrast, other idioms can undergo structural or
morphological changes ranging from pronominalization, changing the number of the
object NP, quantification, adjectival modification, passivization, subject-to-subject
raising, tough-movement, relativization, topicalization, object incorporation and ellipsis.
An example of a flexible idiom is to pull the strings which allow relativization and
passivization.
In second section we have outlined the classes of idioms based on semantic criteria:
opaque, transparent and quasi-metaphorical idioms; as well as classes of idioms based on
themes such as: luck (by the skin of one's teeth), beginnings (get rolling), happiness (fat
and happy), love (fall for someone) and anger (hit the ceiling).

14
CHAPTER 2

THE STRUCTURE OF IDIOMS IN GERMAN

The theme of this chapter is the analysis of idioms in German with the purpose of
investigating the syntactic properties of idioms, as well as their semantic ones.
Among the main sources that I will rely on, we can mention Soehn (2006) and Trotzke
(2015) for a syntactic perspective on particular characteristics of the idiomatic
expressions and on Rožňáková (2016) for a semantic classification of German idioms.
This chapter is organized into two sections. Firstly we will deal with the syntactic
properties of idioms such as frozenness vs. flexibility and secondly we will highlight the
semantic characteristics of German idioms like transparency, semi-transparency and
opaqueness of idioms. We will also classify idioms based on different themes such as
luck, beginnings, happiness, love and anger.

2.1. The syntax of idioms

2.1.1. Frozenness
As Soehn (2006:12-20) claimed, number (singular in (23)), tense (present in (24)),
or mode (passive in (25)) can be fixed in German structure. That is why just a subgroup
of inflectional forms is used with these idioms.
23)
ein blaues Wunder / (*zwei blaue Wunder) erleben
a blue wonder / (*two blue wonders) experience
to get a nasty surprise
24)
etw. ist gehupft wie gesprungen
sth. is hopped as leaped
it doesn't matter

15
25)
mit allen Wassern gewaschen sein
with all waters washed be
to be up to every trick

2.1.2. Flexibility
2.1.2.1. Morphological Anomalies
He argues that there are also anomalies as an archaic form of the dative plural as in
example (25) or dative singular as in (26), apart from idioms that contain regular words.
The missing agreement can also be considered as an anomaly as it can be seen in example
(27). These anomalies and frozen characteristics show that idioms have idiosyncratic
properties on the morphological level.
26)
etw. schlägt zu Buche
sth. strikes to book
sth. adds up
27)
sich bei jdm. lieb Kind machen
refl-pron at sb.(dat) dear child make
to endear oneself to sb.

2.1.2.2. Grammatical Properties of Arguments

He claims that German has some characteristics such as nouns can be declined
and appear with a definite determiner, adjectives can be compared, etc. Nevertheless,
there are idioms that their grammatical properties seem to have been modified. The
following internal arguments do not obey general grammatical regularities:

Lexicalized nominal pairs:

28)
(auf) Stein und Bein schwören
on stone and bone swear
to swear insistently

16
Prepositional phrases (in many cases the nominal complement cannot be modified):
29)
einen Streit vom Zaun brechen
a quarrel from- the fence break
to start an argument

Complements consisting of an adjective and a prepositional phrase (idiomatized

comparisons, cf. Agricola 1992: 29):
30)
dumm wie Bohnenstroh sein
stupid as bean-straw be
to be very stupid

Soehn considers that in contrast to non-idiomatic phrases, some idioms show a

certain inflexibility concerning different syntactic transformations. Some properties of
idioms follow from independent regular standards of grammar, as following:

2.1.2.3. Passivization
Every transitive VP can be passivized, but there are two ways in which it can be
tested if an idiom can or cannot be passivized: the morphosyntactic dimension and the
semantic dimension.
When it comes to the morphosyntactic dimension, the verbal element of the idiom
needs to undergo passivization under non-idiomatic circumstances. In German, some
transitive verbs can occur in the passive, but there are some exceptions such as haben
('have/possess') and verbs of sensory perception ('smell', 'taste', etc.) which cannot
passivize.
31)
Sein Nerv wurde geraubt, als sie halbe Stunde später gekommen ist.
His nerve was robbed, when she half hour later come is.
His nerves were broken when she was late for half an hour.

17
 Regarding the semantic dimension, the idiom must be understood as a transitive VP
(Dobrovol'skij 1999). For example, the German idiom das Gesicht verlieren ('to lose
face') which has no free reading, passivizing it would lead to the complete loss of the
idiomatic reading.
32)
*Das Gesicht wurde von er verloren.
*The face was by he lost.

2.1.2.4. Nominalization
Every verb can be nominalized along with some of its arguments. Conversion can
occur in German, meaning that the part-of-speech can be changed without any
modification in the word form, for instance (laufen ⇒ Laufen).
Some of the verb's arguments can be included in German. Consider the following
examples from Gallmann (1985, 1990):
33)
das So-Tun-als- ob
the the so- do- as-if
pretending
34)
Das ist zum An-die-Decke-Gehen!
that is to to-the-ceiling- go
I feel like hitting the roof
This is possible with idioms, as well. Compare (35) :
35)
das Handtuchwerfen
the towel-throwing
the giving up

2.1.2.5. Adjectival modification

Every NP can be semantically modified. Some idioms do not behave according to
this criterion:

18
36)
am (*großen/*dünnen/...) Hungertuch nagen
on-the (*big/*thin/...) hunger-cloth gnaw
to be impoverished

On the other hand, sometimes idioms allow modification by an adjective without

changing the meaning of the whole sentence as in the idiom die Suppe auslöffeln ('to solve
a problem'), furthermore, the adjective finanzielle will intensify it even more.
37)
Die Eltern mussten für ihren Sohn die finanzielle Suppe auslöffeln, weil er noch
minderjährig war.
The parents must for their son the financial soup spoon out because he still
minor was.
The parents had to solve the financial problem for their son because he was still
a minor.

2.1.2.6.Topicalization
Trotzke (2015: 222, 223) argues that a regular option in the syntax of German
idioms is topicalization of non-contrastable elements. Particularly, this can be seen in
phrasal idioms, like in (38a), which is the same in (38b):
38)
den Löffel abgeben (‘to die’, lit. ‘the spoon pass’)
a. [Den Löffel] hat er abgegeben.
the spoon has he passed.
He died.
b. [Den Löffel abgegeben] hat er. (Trotzke and Zwart 2014: 138)
the spoon passed has he.
He died.
The noun den Löffel which was moved to the first position of the idiom den Löffel
abgeben is seen as meaningless in isolation.

19
 Also, Trotzke (2015: 224, 225) claims that when it comes to the flexibility in terms
of topicalization in German, certain examples in authentic speech can be observed, where
idiom-specific lexeme is moved to the left periphery of the clause:
39)
Den Garaus wird es uns vielleicht nicht gleich machen.
the GARAUS will it us perhaps not immediately make.
It will not immediately kill us.
<http://chiliforum.hot-pain.de/thread-17580-post-334480.html> (accessed 15
September 2014)
40)
Am Hungertuch hat in der Pharmaindustrie auch zuletzt niemand genagt.
At the HUNGERTUCH has in the drug.industry PART recently nobody gnawed.
In drug industry, nobody has been down on his uppers recently.
<http://www.fr-online.de/wirtschaft/novartis-und-pfizer-pharmaindustrieordnet-
sich-neu-,1472780,26910606.html> (accessed 15 September 2014)

In German, only transparent idioms can be syntactically changed as in the examples

(39) and (40) and it is confirmed also by examples such as den Löffel abgeben (38) already
given above.

2.1.2.7. Valence Structure

Usually, an idiomatic verb has the same number of arguments as its non-idiomatic
counterpar. Nevertheless, ocasionally an increase or decrease can be encountered in this
number. The German idiom Bauklötze staunen über etw. ('to be flabbergasted about sth’)
can be considered an example of an increase (41).
41)
Bauklötze staunen über etw.
"building-bricks goggle about sth."
'to be flabbergasted about sth.'
The direct object Bauklötze does not take part in the valence structure of staunen
because of its nonidiomatic use, that is why the verb has one extra argument.

20
2.2. The semantics of idioms
Rožňáková (2016:20-21) considers that German idioms can also be grouped
according to their semantic features as transparent, semi-transparent and opaque.

2.2.1. Compositional Idioms

2.2.1.1. Transparent idioms

Transparent idioms or literal idioms can be easily understood because their
interpretation is obtained from the meaning of their elements. This can be seen from the
idiom jemandem reißt die Geduld (’to lose patience’).
42)
Diesem muss der Geduldsfaden gerissen sein, und er behandelte Maria
möglicherweise unfreundlich.
This must the patience torn is, and he treated Maria
possibly unfriendly.
This must have worn out his patience, and possibly he treated Maria badly.'

2.2.1.2. Semi-transparent idioms

These idioms can have both the literal and the idiomatic meaning. When someone
admits that they are defeated, the semi-transparent German idiom will be die Flinte ins
Korn werfen. If they are used without a context, the meaning may not be comprehended
by all speakers.
43)
Selbst ein Fehlschuss ist kein Grund, die Flinte ins Korn zu werfen.
But even a mark is no reason, the gun in grain throw.
But even if you miss the mark, no reason to throw in the towel.

2.2.1.3. Opaque idioms

Opaque idioms are also known as pure idioms because is not possible to understand
their meaning from their elements. The only possible way to use this kind of idioms
correctly is to memorize them together with their meaning. Take the German idiom in die
Luft gehen expressing angriness and literally translates as ’rise in the air’.

21
44)

Sara wird in die Luft gehen wenn sie herausfindet dass wir hier eingebrochen
sind
Sara will in the air rise when she finds out that we here broke in
are.
Sara will go ballistic if she found out we broke in here.

2.2.2. The classification of idioms on themes

In German, idioms can also be based on source concepts that can be fully ascribed to
different feelings, emotions or different aspects like luck, beginnings, happiness, love,
anger.

LUCK
wie das Glück es wollte leben wie Gott in Frankreich
aus dem Bauch heraus Glück haben
nur mit knapper Not Dreimal auf Holz!
vom Glück verlassen sein vom Pech verfolgt
höllisches Glück haben hoch pokern

BEGINNINGS
die Feuertaufe bestehen im Begriff sein zu
einen guten Start erwischen etwas auf dem Kasten haben
den Stein ins Rollen bringen auf dem falschen Fuß erwischt
am Laufen sein ein neues Kapitel aufschlagen
Das klappt doch nie Leg los!
Hier bestimme ich. sich etwas einfallen lassen
die Platte putzen etw. aufdecken
in Fahrt kommen

22
HAPPINESS
glücklich und froh im siebten Himmel sein
quietschvergnügt überglücklich sein
freudetrunken sein auf Wolke sieben schweben
Fass Mut! Sie sind auf irgendetwas aus.
im Traumland leben sich obenauf fühlen

LOVE
die Fackel weitertragen Liebe auf den ersten Blick
sich in jdn. verknallen sich in jdn. verlieben
für jdn. schwärmen mit jdm. herumknutschen
auf die Palme gehen Augen nur für jdn. haben
bis über beide Ohren in jdn.verliebt sein

ANGER
vor Wut (fast) platzen die Nerven verlieren
jdn. herunterputzen wütend werden
Gift und Galle speien sein Mütchen an jdm. kühlen
wegen jdm./etw. durchdrehen sich die Haare raufen
sich Luft machen seine Wut an jdm. auslassen
seinen Moralischen haben einen Rappel kriegen
an die Decke gehen seine Wut auslassen
sich Luft machen

23
Conclusion

To summarize, this chapter has provided an account of the syntactic and semantic
properties of idioms in German. As it has been proved, from a syntactic point of view,
German idioms have some characteristics such as nouns can be declined and appear with
a definite determiner, adjectives can be compared, passivization and topicalization being
also possible.
As far as the semantic characteristics of idioms are concerned, we have noticed that
idioms in German have a range of features. They can be grouped into transparent idioms,
semi-transparent idioms and opaque idioms.
Another way of classifying German idioms can be established on certain themes such as
luck (wie das Glück es wollte), beginnings (Das klappt doch nie), love (auf die Palme
gehen) and anger (sich Luft machen).

24
CHAPTER 3

CONTRASTIVE REMARKS ON THE STRUCTURE OF IDIOMS IN ENGLISH

AND GERMAN

In this chapter, we aim at comparing the structure of idioms in the two languages:
English and German. We will, therefore, highlight similarities concerning both syntactic
and semantic properties of idioms and I will also identify distinguishing features of them
in the two languages.
This chapter is organized in three sections. First, we will comment on the degree of
flexibility of idiomatic expressions in the two languages and also show which idioms in
English as compared to German, reveal the same or different characteristics. The second
section will focus on the semantic features of both languages, while the last section will
be concerned with their classification based on different themes. Additionally, we will
discuss instances of international idioms

3.1.The Syntax of Idioms

3.1.1. Similarities

3.1.1.1. Adjectival modification

In both languages, adjectival modification can be possible with certain idioms, not
with all of them. Semantic interpretation is important as well because one can quickly or
unexpectedly bite the dust (’to die’). The German idiom die Suppe auslöffeln (’to solve a
problem’) can be intensified by the adjective finanzielle (45):

25
45)
[E]: My neighbour unexpectedly bit the dust yesterday.
[G]: Die Eltern mussten für ihren Sohn die finanzielle Suppe auslöffeln, weil er
noch minderjährig war.
The parents must for their son the financial soup spoon out, because
he still minor was.
The parents had to solve the financial problem for their son because he was
still a minor.

On the other hand, in English as well as in German, there are some adjectives which
can not be included between the components of an idiom. For example, in English, it is
not possible to firmly bite the dust or to bite the settled dust to be understood idiomatically.
The German idiom am Hungertuch nagen (’to be impoverished’) cannot permit an
adjectival modification as in (46)
46)
[E]: *Helen firmly bit the dust two days ago.
[G]: *Am großen Hungertuch nagen müssen Manager auch künftig nicht.
On the big hunger-cloth gnaw must the manager also future not.
In the future managers must not impoverish either.

3.1.1.2. Passivization
In both English and German, some idioms preserve their idiomatic meaning in the
passive, others cannot. For instance, the idiom pull the strings (’to be in control of
an organization’); den Rahmen von etw. sprengen (’to go beyond the constraints of sth’)
can be passivized without losing its idiomatic reading, just as in example (47).
47)
[E]: Strings were pulled for Mary to get the job.
[G]: Der Rahmen wurde vom Redner gesprengt.
The frame was by the speaker blown up.
The speaker went beyond the scope of his time.

26
 The are cases when in both languages, idioms cannot undergo passivization. For
instance, passivization of the English idiom ’to bite the dust’ meaning ’to die’ and the
German idiom ’das Gesicht verlieren’ meaning ’to lose face’ would lead to the loss of the
idiomatic meaning (41):
48)
[E]: *The dust was bitten by him.
[G]: *Das Gesicht wurde von er verloren.
*The face was by he lost.

3.1.1.3. Topicalization
Components of idioms can be emphasised through topicalization in English and in
German as well. In both languages, the post-verbal noun can be moved to a pre-subject
position just like the idioms to find skeletons in sb.’s closet (‘to find out embarrassing
secrets’) and auf den Arm nehmen (‘to tease or joke with someone’). This can be seen in
example (49):
49)
[E]: You might find skeletons in her closets.
Her closets, you might find skeletons in.
[G]: Er hat mich auf den Arm genommen.
He has me on the arm taken.
He pulled my leg.
Auf den Arm nehmen lassen ich mich nicht.
On the arm take let I me not.
I won’t let anyone pull my leg.

3.1.2. Differences

3.1.2.1. Morphological Anomalies

A notable difference between English and German is that the German language has
an archaich form, while English does not have it. There are also anomalies as an archaic
form of the dative plural as in example (50) or dative singular as in (51), apart from idioms
that contain regular words.

27
50)
mit allen Wassern gewaschen sein
"with all waters washed be"
'to be up to every trick'
51)
etw. schlägt zu Buche
"sth. strikes to book"
'sth. adds up'

3.2. The Semantics of Idioms

Rožňáková (2016:20-21) considers that idioms can vary from their literalness but
also from their metaphorical character. That is why idioms can be classified as follows:

3.2.1 Compositional idioms

3.2.1.1. Transparent idioms

Also called literal idioms because their interpretation can be acquired from the
meaning of their components. They are usually understandable without any further
explanation.
52)
[E]: She talks about John behind his back.
[G]: Diesem muss der Geduldsfaden gerissen sein, und er behandelte Maria
möglicherweise unfreundlich.
This must the patience torn is, and he treated Maria possibly unfriendly.
This must have worn out his patience, and possibly he treated Maria badly.

3.2.1.2. Semi-transparent idioms

These idioms can have a literal and an idiomatic meaning as well. Idiomatically,
when you throw in the towel you admit that you are defeated. The German idiom die
Flinte ins Korn werfen shows the same meaning. If they are used without a context, the
meaning may not be comprehended by all speakers.

28
53)
[E]: Susan was so fed up with her boss that she threw in the towel and quit her
job.

[G]: Selbst ein Fehlschuss ist kein Grund, die Flinte ins Korn zu werfen.
But even a mark is no reason, the gun in rain throw.
But even if you miss the mark, no reason to throw in the towel.

3.2.1.3 Opaque idioms

Opaque idioms are also known as pure idioms because is not possible to understand their
meaning from their elements. The only possible way to use this kind of idioms correctly
is to memorize them together with their meaning. Take the English idiom jump down
someone´s throat which means ’to react angrily to something that someone says or does';
none of the components of this idiom gives away the real meaning. German on the other
hand, when expressing angriness they use the idiom in die Luft gehen which literally
translates as ’rise in the air’. Both English and German idioms are incomprehensible
without knowing exactly their meaning and usage.
54)

[E]: My husband jumped down my throat yesterday because I forgot about his
birthday.
[G]: Sara wird in die Luft gehen wenn sie herausfindet dass wir hier eingebrochen
sind.
Sara will in the air rise when she finds out that we here broke in
sind.
Sara will go ballistic if she found out we broke in here.

3.3. The equivalence of idioms

Piirainen(n.d.: 45-75) argues that the terms Europeanism or internationalism are
used for some researchers when idioms are similar in a small number of languages.
Germanic languages like English and German have as well such idioms, expressing the
same meaning. Examples of such idioms are:
55)
29
 [E]: to throw down the gauntlet
[G]: jmdm. den Fehdehandschuh hinwerfen

56)
[E]: (to have something down) in black and white
[G]: (etwas) schwarz auf weis (haben)
57)
[E]: (to be) the fifth wheel (on the coach)
[G]: das funfte Rad am Wagen (sein)

The most suitable example regarding the equivalence of idioms in both English and
German is the idiom to weep/shed crocodile tears (‘to show sadness that is not sincere,
to display insincere grief’), being an authentic case of textual dependence.
58)
[G]: Krokodilstranen weinen/vergiesen
[E]: to weep/shed crocodile tears

3.4. The classification of idioms on themes

Both English and German idioms can be divided into groups based on different
concepts such as luck, beginnings, happiness, love and anger. In this section we examined
one group (beginnings) from each language, finding that there is a quantity difference
between them. English language (33) having a higher number of idioms than German
(15).

BEGINNINGS - English language

baptism of fire go into something
call the meeting to order Here goes nothing.
get one's start Here (it) goes
get rolling Hop to it!
get under way maiden voyage
give birth to something move into something

30
off and running start something up
on the point of doing something and take a new turn
at the point of doing something Take it away!
open fire (on someone) take off (on something) and launch
open with something forth (on something)
put something into practice take root
set forth (on something) and launch take something up
forth (on something) take the lid off something
set in touch something off
set sail (for somewhere) wade in(to something)
start off on the wrong foot

BEGINNINGS – German language

die Feuertaufe bestehen im Begriff sein zu
einen guten Start erwischen etwas auf dem Kasten haben
den Stein ins Rollen bringen auf dem falschen Fuß erwischt
am Laufen sein ein neues Kapitel aufschlagen
Das klappt doch nie Leg los!
Hier bestimme ich. sich etwas einfallen lassen
die Platte putzen etw. aufdecken
in Fahrt kommen

After a short examination of these five themes, we can observe that the language
with the most predominant idioms based on themes is English. For instance, a difference
can be noticed on the category luck as well, with 15 idioms in English than 10 in German.
English also has more idioms (19) on the category love than German with 9.

Conclusion

To conclude, in both languages some idioms are syntactically frozen: English to

kick the bucket (’to die’) and German mit allen Wassern gewaschen sein (to be up to
every trick). Others are more flexible allowing certain structural and morphological
modifications. Both in English and in German, some idioms undergo adjectival
31
modification in English (unexpectedly bite the dust) and in German (die finanzielle Suppe
auslöffeln), passivization in English (pull the strings) and German
(den Rahmen von etw. sprengen), topicalization (to find skeletons in sb.’s closet) in
English and auf den Arm nehmen in German. As far as the semantic properties are
concerned, both English and German idioms can be interpreted as transparent, semi-
transparent and opaque properties.
In the last sections we also dealt with the equivalence of idioms in English to
weep/shed crocodile tears and in German Krokodilstranen weinen/vergiesen which are
considered international idioms, but we also compared the number of idioms based on
themes in both languages: luck (knock on wood/höllisches Glück haben), beginnings
(take a new turn/ein neues Kapitel auschlagen), happiness (cheer someone
up/im Traumland leben), love (love at first sight/für jdn. schwärmen) and anger (tear
one's hair/die Nerven verlieren).

32
CHAPTER 4

IDIOM COMPREHENSION IN ENGLISH AND GERMAN

This chapter deals with comprehension of idioms in English and German by first
and third year students from Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania. The main
purpose is to see if time and practice matters in understanding and using foreign idioms.
We always found it interesting how figurative meaning, idioms, in particular, are learned
by non-native speakers because of their double meaning, but also because they can
understand the greater context of a language. My contribution to the study of idioms relies
on Singstad’s (2014) study ”Norwegian Students’ Comprehension of Idioms in English”.
Chapter four is organized into four sections. Firstly, we will explain the testing that
we have used to develop this study and teaching methods that make the last year students
better prepared for the test than the ones from the first year. In the second and third
section, we will focus on the English idioms, particularly on the identification and the
multiple-choice assignments, comparing the two groups of students. Then we will deal
with the German idioms, tested with an identification and a multiple-choice assignment.
Lastly, we will provide a comparison between the different types of exercises, that is
between identification and multiple-choice assignments in both English and German for
the two targeted groups. The last section will show the overall results in both languages
for first-year undergraduates and last year undergraduates.

4.1. Methods
For a student who learns two foreign languages, using idioms in everyday language
is essential. Knowing the meaning of every lexical item is insufficient when learning a
language. For a second language learner, idioms are quite difficult to understand and
assimilate because it is not enough to know the meaning of every word, but the meaning
of the phrase. Repetition is an essential factor, increasing the chance of remembering
since the knowledge is transferred from the students' short-term memory to their long-
term memory.

33
 The main purpose of this study was to determine if the level of understanding of
idioms in English matters if you are in the first year or third year of University.
The participants of this study were twenty-five Romanian students from first (ten
participants) and last year (eleven participants) from Ovidius University of Constanta.
The questionnaire given to the participants was in electronic form and composed
of two assignments, an identification assignment and a multiple choice assignment.
My prediction is that the last year students will get better results than the ones from
the first year because they had a lot more English and German Practical Courses, as well
as Optional Courses, one being focused specifically on English idioms and also a Practice
Course where they were assigned to make portfolios.
For the Practice Course from the second year, they had to search in various dictionaries
such as:
Cambridge international dictionary of English (2001);
Longman dictionary of English idioms, (1998);
A dictionary of American idioms. Hauppauge (2004);
Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins (1992).
They also searched on various German dictionaries sites like:
https://www.dict.cc/
https://dict.leo.org/german-english/
https://www.redensarten-index.de/suche.php
http://www.vokaboly.de
www.odge.de/
After searching in these dictionaries they had to do research on the internet and see if
some idioms can be found in newspaper’s articles with the idiomatic reading. This is a
model from my own research:

34
 Beer and skittles
A. REGISTER: informal, humorous, old-fashioned
VARIETY: BrE, AusE
B.
Life isn’t all beer and skittles. Prov. Life is not pleasurable all the time; you cannot always
be having fun. (Skittles is a game like bowling.) I don't really mind going back to work when
my vacation is over. Life isn't all beer and skittles, and I enjoy my fun that much more because
I have work to compare it to. When George’s parents stopped supporting him, George
suddenly. (DAIPV)
(all) beer and skittles all fun and pleasure; easy and pleasant. (Skittles is the game of
ninepins, a game similar to bowling. Fixed order.) • Life isn't all beer and skittles, you know!
• For Sam, college was beer and skittles. He wasted a lot of time and money. (NTC-AID)
not be all beer and skittles British & Australian, old-fashioned if a situation or activity is not
all beer and skittles, it has unpleasant parts as well as pleasant ones • It's not all beer and
skittles, this job. It's hard work. (CIDI)
not all beer and skittles If you say that something isn't all beer and skittles, you mean that it
is not always as enjoyable or as easy as other people think it is. This expression is used in
British English. Others are keen to make clear that City life is not all beer and skittles. Living
on your own isn't all beer and skittles. It can be lonely too. It's not all beer and skittles when
you get to be famous. (CCDI)
C.
Life Can Be All Beer and Skittles
"Life isn't all beer and skittles" cautioned the old English proverb, a reference to the
English working man's two greatest pleasures - his pint of beer and game of nine-pins.
(Daniel Rogov 16.07.2001 00:00 Updated: 2:24 AM)
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/food/life-can-be-all-beer-and-skittles-1.63687
Peter Goers: It wasn’t always beer and skittles in Australia in the 1950s and ‘60s
(February 4, 2017 9:30pm)
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/peter-goers-it-wasnt-always-beer-
and-skittles-in-australia-in-the
Kur-World resort at Kuranda not yet beer and skittles
(FEB 28 Posted by cairnsnews)
https://cairnsnews.org/2017/02/28/kur-world-resort-at-kuranda-not-yet-beer-and-
skittles/
D.
Life isn't all beer and skittles = Das Leben besteht nicht nur aus Vergnügen
4.2. Tests http://www.dict.cc

35
E. das Leben besteht nicht nur aus Vergnügen = life isn't all beer and skittles
www.odge.de/
4.2. Tests
Idioms Comprehension in English.
Try to identify the idiom in each of the sentences above:
1. On the first day of class, no one wanted to break the conversational ice, so we sat in
silence until the teacher arrived.
2. The beans seem to have been spilled all over the neighborhood.
3. That’s the basket into which I’ve put all my eggs.
4. I’m well aware of the strings that Parky pulled to get me my job.
5. If there was a prize for the best couch potato, my husband would win it. Especially
now that Champions League has started.

You will be presented with a number of English idioms (in bold). Choose one of the four
alternatives by circling what you consider to be the correct meaning.

1. Tom told Andrea that giant turtles had escaped from the city zoo and were eating only
left-handed people. It wasn't until she saw the smirk on his face that Andrea noticed he
was just pulling her leg.

a. Trying to hurt her

b. Fooling her
c. Making fun of her
d. Trying to make her fall

2. I shouldn't go outside without a raincoat because it's raining cats and dogs.
a. It's just started to rain
b. It's going to rain
c. It's raining very heavily
d. It's raining a little

36
3. It's a lovely house and very big but nobody uses it so it's a bit of a white elephant.
a. Something very beautiful and useful
b. Something very big and useful
c. Something very cheap and useless
d. Something very expensive and useless

4. I would advise you to do that as well and in that way you'll kill two birds with one
stone.
a. Get things done twice
c. Get two things done at the same time
b. Get something done two times
d. Get two things done twice

5. When Kanye tweeted that he would throw in the towel and start doing something else
with his life, a whole world protested.
a. To quit
b. To dislike your job
c. To stop throwing sweaty towels to fans
d. To make a drastic change

6. I woke up this morning to my neighbor singing “My heart will go on” at the top of his
lungs.
a. To have a wish to annoy someone
b. To breathe in a controlled matter
d. As loudly as one's voice will allow
c. As out of tune as possible

7. I was shocked when I got the news! I felt as fit as a fiddle until the doctor showed me
the negative results.
a. To feel secure
b. To be strong

37
 c. To be in very good health
d. To be positive

8. It is always good to be a little nervous when driving, because it keeps you at your
toes.
a. To respect the things that might be dangerous
b. To stay calm and careful
c. When a girl stands on her father’s feet while dancing
d. Readily available

9. I knew that my parents would come to the graduation ceremony but that my
grandparents would was the icing on the cake.
a. An extra enhancement
b. More than is actually necessary
c. A surprise
d. An intimidating thought

10. People who paid attention to the effort that went into the economic plan of the Obama
Administration would consider it a house of cards.
a. Something one clearly cannot live with
b. A plan that will benefit the need of a few individuals rather than the
community as a whole
c. A house bought with credit cards
d. Something that is poorly thought out and can easily fail

Idioms Comprehension in German

Versuchen Sie, das Idiom in jedem der obigen Sätze zu identifizieren:
1. Der Bernd spricht wenig, aber was er sagt, hat Hand und Fuß. Kein Wort, das nicht
genau überlegt wäre.
2. Er steht nun mit leeren Händen und ohne Job da
3. Auf den Arm nehmen lassen ich mich nicht.
4. Er beobachtete den Mann, der die Bank betrat, mit Argusaugen.

38
5. Der Rahmen wurde vom Redner gesprengt.

Sie werden mit einer Reihe von deutschen Idiomen (fett gedruckt) vorgestellt.
Wählen Sie eine der vier Alternativen aus, indem Sie die für Sie zutreffende
Bedeutung einkreisen.
1. Sie haben mich unterbrochen. Jetzt habe ich den Faden verloren.
a. etwas erledigen
b. vergessen, was man eigentlich sagen wollte
c. in übler Lage sein
d. lustig sein

2. Da die Wahl bald ist, spricht der Politiker oft um den heißen Brei herum.
a. es wurde uneingeschränkt abgelehnt
b. keine Aufmerksamkeit erregen
c. eine Sache nicht klar benennen

3. Der Freund von Anna betrügt sie aber sie hat Tomaten auf den Augen.
a. etwas übersehen
b. etwas nur andeutungsweise,
c. in eine völlig unerwartete
d. völlig entkräftet sein

4. Du hast recht! Du hast den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen.

a. nicht bei Verstand sein
b. etwas Richtiges sagen
c. etwas ist vorbei oder nicht mehr möglich
d. geistig nicht ganz normal sein

5. Er redet nur Quatsch. Er ist dumm wie Bohnenstroh.

a. etwas Offensichtliches nicht verstehen
b. eine häufig schwankende Meinung haben
c. sehr dumm
39
 d. man kann nichts ins Grab mitnehmen.

6. Auf den Arm nehmen lassen ich mich nicht.

a. sich über jemandenlustig machen
b. aufmerksam, wachsam sein
c. ihn in die Enge treiben
d. etwas ist vorbei oder nicht mehr möglich

7. Das ist zum An-die-Decke-Gehen!

a. sich für jemanden aufopfern
b. etwas verstanden haben
c. lästig sein
d. schnell wütend werden

8. Viel Glück! Ich drücke dir die Daumen!

a. etwas Unangenehmes akzeptieren müssen
b. sehr unangenehm auffallen
c. äußerst lebhaft sein
d. jemandem gutes Gelingen wünschen

9. Verstehst du mich? Ist es klar wie Kloßbrühe?

a. etwas in Ordnung
b. etwas ist klar
c. schnell verschwinden
d. etwas nicht glauben

10. Obwohl er nicht für den Test gelernt hat, hat er den Test bestanden. Er hat Schwein
gehabt!
a. nicht gediegen sein
b. Glück haben
c. unlauter sein
d. etwas nicht sehen/erkennen

40
4.2.1. English assignments
4.2.1.1. The English identification assignment
The task was to identify the idioms from five sentences with different syntactical
features, for example: Adjectival modification of the object NP, Subject-to-subject
raising and topicalization.
Specific guidelines were developed to score the identification assignment. Points were
assigned as follows:

Guidelines for Scoring the Responses to the Identification Assignment

0 No response or the response is irrelevant
0.5 The response is relevant but incomplete
1 The response is correct

Identification Assignment Score

First Year
Last Year 46%
54%

First Year Last Year

As expected, the identification task showed a positive result in both groups;

Romanian undergraduates students from the first and last year of University do recognize
such expressions. As it can be seen in the chart below, last year students had a higher
score (54%) than the ones in the first year (46%), due to the fact that they had a lot more
time ahead to practice English language and implicit, idioms.

41
4.2.1.2. The English multiple-choice assignment
The second part of the test, the multiple-choice task was rather simple to score when
only the correct definition was credited. 1 point was given to the participants for each
correct answer.

The English Multiple-Choice Assignment

First Year
33%

Last Year
67%

First Year Last Year

The English multiple-choice assignment shows that both groups can identify some
idiomatic phrases in English discourse and widely select the correct figurative meaning
when asked to choose between four definitions. It considerable can be seen a difference
between them, the group of first-year students getting 33% while the group of last year
students getting 67%. The results provide evidence that last year students can comprehend
idioms better than the first year students.

4.2.2. German assignments

4.2.2.1. The German Identification Assignment
The task was to identify the idioms from five sentences with different syntactical
features, for example: adjectival modification of the object NP, passivization and
topicalization.
Specific guidelines were developed to score the identification assignment. Points
were assigned as follows:

42
 Guidelines for Scoring the Responses to the Identification Assignment
0 No response or the response is irrelevant
0.5 The response is relevant but incomplete
1 The response is correct

The German Identification Assignment

First Year
36%

Last Year
64%

First Year Last Year

As expected, the German identification assignment shows a substantial discrepancy

between the two groups. Last year students were able to identify more German idioms
(64%) than the first year students (36%) because of their practice with the language for
three years. It should be taken into account that most of the first year students have no
German base, they start learning the beginner level at the University. Whatsoever some
of them managed to identify the idioms because they had learned it before in Highschool.

4.2.2.2. The German Multiple-Choice Assignment

The second part of the test, the multiple-choice task was rather simple to score when
only the correct definition was credited. 1 point was given to the participants for each
correct answer.

43
 The German Multiple-Choice Assignment

First Year
26%

Last Year
74%

First Year Last Year

The biggest difference from all the assignments can be observed in the German
multiple-choice one. With just 26% the students from the first year did not manage to
comprehend not only the idiomatic meaning but also the understanding of each German
word. That is why their result is not as good as the students from the last year with a 74%.

4.3. English tests assessments compared to German tests assessments

The purpose of this analysis is to compare which type of exercises have proven to
be more accessible to students in both English and German. Moreover, I will examine the
results based on each year.

Test results in English/German - FIRST YEAR STUDENTS

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Identification English Identification German Multiple-choice English Multiple-choice German
Test results in English/German - FIRST YEAR STUDENTS

44
 As it can be seen, first-year students had better results on the identification task in
English than in German with a difference of 10%. Likewise, it was easier to select the
correct definition in English (33%) than in German (26%).

Test results in English/German - LAST YEAR STUDENTS

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Identification English Identification German Multiple-choice English Multiple-choice German
Test results in English/German - LAST YEAR STUDENTS

The second chart clearly shows that the results from last years students are more
constant in the way that they don't show substantial differences among the approached
types of exercises. Just like first-year students, they had better results on the identification
task in English (74%) than in German with a percentage of 62. The multiple-choice task
also reveals that the English idioms were simpler to understand (67%) than the German
idioms (55%).

45
4.4. Overall results of the analyzed tests

Overall results for FIRST and LAST year

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
English FIRST YEAR German FIRST YEAR English LAST YEAR German LAST YEAR

After all data have been collected, the overall results are as I anticipated. First-year
students have a better knowledge of idioms in English (63%) than in German (31%), just
like last year students, who reached a percentage of 71 in English as compared to 59% in
German. Comparing the results that have been gathered after the assessments of the two
groups, I can clearly state that the last year students have better knowledge of idioms in
both English and German as shown by their higher score (59%), as compared to first-
year students who achieved only 47% in both languages.

Conclusion
To conclude, just as expected, last year undergraduates succeded in getting better
results than first-year students. This result has been possible due to the fact that more
courses on idioms have been available for third-year students. Among these courses we
can mention: English and German Practical Courses, Optional Courses and the
Undergraduate Training Period.
This can be noticed from the two tests that they were given to complete. One test
was designed to assess the knowledge of idioms in English while the other one in German.
Both tests consisted in the identification and multiple-choice assignments.
After calculating and analyzing the results of each assignment taken by the two targeted
groups, we can observe that the identification type of exercises in English (46%) scored

46
a higher percent than the one in German (36%) with first-year students. As for the
multiple choice exercises, students scored again better results in English (33%) than in
German (26%).
As for the third year students, both the identification (64%) and the multiple-choice
exercises (74%) in German had slightly higher percentages than in English, 54%
respectively 67%. Whereas first-year students had better results in English than in
German, third-year students managed to gain better scores in German.

47
 Conclusion

The topic of my thesis has been the structure of idioms in English and German. The
aim has been to offer an overview of the ways in which idioms in both languages can be
classified and analysed and then identify similarities or differences between the idioms in
English and German by means of a contrastive analysis.
This paper has been organised into four chapters. The first chapter has analysed the
syntactic features of English idioms as frozen which are unable to undergo modifications
(to kick the bucket) and flexible (spill the beans) which allow structural or morphological
changes ranging from pronominalization, changing the number of the object NP,
quantification, adjectival modification, passivization, subject-to-subject raising, tough-
movement, relativization, topicalization, object incorporation and ellipsis. As far as
semantic characteristics are concerned, we identified three classes of English idioms:
opaque, transparent and quasi-metaphorical as well as classes based on themes such as:
luck (knock on wood), beginnings (take a new turn), happiness (cheer someone up), love
(love at first sight) and anger (tear one's hair).
The second chapter has offered an overview of the syntactic and semantic properties
of idioms in German. From a syntactic point of view, German idioms can be frozen (ein
blaues Wunder) but also flexible allowing different processes such as: morphological
anomalies (etw. schlägt zu Buche), lexicalized nominal pairs (auf Stein und
Beinschwören), passivization (jdm. den Nerv rauben), nominalization (das So-Tun-als-
ob), adjectival modification (die Suppe auslöffeln) and topicalization (den Löffel
abgeben). Semantically, German idioms can be categorized in transparent idioms
(jemandem reißt die Geduld), semi-transparent idioms (die Flinte ins Korn werfen) and
opaque idioms (in die Luft gehen). Another semantical classification is possible based on
themes like: luck (höllisches Glück haben), beginnings (ein neues Kapitel aufschlagen),
happiness (im Traumland leben), love (für jdn. schwärmen), and anger (die Nerven
verlieren).
The topic of the third chapter has been the contrastive analysis of idioms in English
and in German. The similarities and differences between the two languages have been
identified. A similarity has been noted in the same classification of idioms in English and
48
German as frozen, such as: to kick the bucket (to die) in English and mit allen Wassern
gewaschen sein (to be up to every trick); and flexible which permit changes in the
structure, for example: adjectival modification in English (unexpectedly bite the dust) and
in German (die finanzielle Suppe auslöffeln), passivization in English (pull the strings)
and German (den Rahmen von etw. sprengen), topicalization (to find skeletons in sb.’s
closet) in English and auf den Arm nehmen in German.
The differences between the idiomatic expressions in the two Germanic languages
have been also identified consisting in morphological anomalies only in the archaic form
of German idioms (mit allen Wassern gewaschen sein).
Both German and English idioms have semantic properties which can be interpreted as:
transparent to talk behind someone’s back in English and jemandem reißt der
Geduldsfaden in German, semi-transparent throw in the towel in English and die Flinte
ins Korn werfen in German, opaque jump down someone´s throat and in German in die
Luft gehen. We dealt also with the equivalence of international idioms in English to
weep/shed crocodile tears and in German Krokodilstranen weinen/vergiesen but we also
compared the number of idioms which are classified on themes like: luck (knock on
wood/höllisches Glück haben), beginnings (take a new turn/ein neues Kapitel
auschlagen), happiness (cheer someone up/im Traumland leben), love (love at first
sight/für jdn. schwärmen) and anger (tear one's hair/die Nerven verlieren) and observed
that English idioms have a higher number of idioms based on themes than German
idiomatic expressions.
The last chapter consists of a study investigating how practising and learning idioms
in English and German by the Romanian students for a longer period of time can have a
real result in understanding and memorizing them.
The study consisted of two tests in English and German idioms, given to first and last
year undergraduates, both tests including an identification and a multiple-choice
assignment.
After calculating and analyzing the results of each assignment taken by the two
targeted groups, we can observe that the identification type of exercises in English (46%)
scored a higher per cent than the one in German (36%) with first year students. As for the
multiple choice exercises, students scored again better results in English (33%) than in
German (26%).

49
As for the third year students, both the identification (64%) and the multiple-choice
exercises (74%) in German had slightly higher percentages than in English, 54%
respectively 67%. Whereas first year students had better results in English than in
German, third year students managed to gain better scores in German.
This result has been possible due to the fact that more courses on idioms have been
available for third year students. Among these courses, we can mention English and
German Practical Courses, Optional Courses and the Undergraduated Training Period.

50
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