A Study On English Idiom Variations: Causes And Effects

This thesis is an effort to analyze English idiom variations. Idioms are a peculiar part of the English language. These multi- conventional expressions are defined by scholars as phrases which are semantically opaque and structurally fixed and by others in a broader sense to also include proverbs and old sayings, a perspective adopted by the author of the thesis. Despite its fixedness, in the daily use, we can find large amounts of idioms in their varied forms, a phenomenon worthy of study.The thesis reviews some of the research done in this field followed by a presentation of a binary division of idiom variations into normal and nonce types. It then proceeds to analyze examples from the data collected in the American sitcom Friends, and to reveal the manner of idiom variation in each of the instances with comments and interpretation of the author in terms of their causes and effects. It is found that nonce variations of English idioms are-highly-context-dependent and the occurrence of nonce variations are more interesting in that they are likely to create humor and realize various kinds of pragmatic functions such as expressing certain emotions and making fun of others. The thesis concludes with some pedagogic implications as in teaching and learning English2 idioms together with their varied forms are of special importance.