So, this is my argumentation for school task.... Thought I'd put it here as well. :) I keep disagreeing and agreeing with it in turn. Also, I was so exhausted whilst writing it that I wrote "Evolvement" instead of "Evolution". Gonna get some minus out of that one. :(
Idioms, idiotic or pure evolution of language?
By Taija Solin - EKO
Idioms are central to the English language and should be expected in lingual proficiency. Thus using idioms is not a wrongful or needless usage of words. In Jacqueline Ambrose's article Why idioms are important to English language, Ambrose decides on the closer definition of idiom with the help of New Webster's Dictionary (1993): "A construction or expression having a meaning different from the literal one or not according to the usual patterns of the language". Naturally, a lot of people would judge idioms by this definition as a needlessly difficult way of expressing a simple thing. An English friend of mine said this about idioms: "they're sort of there, but they don't serve that much of a function in the language". I disagree. Idioms serve multiple diverse functions in the language. Obviously, there are a lot of other ways of diverting language but idioms are uniquely situational and cultural. They root in the people and the country. Also, communicating effectively with idioms shows you have a certain understanding of the language.
Idioms communicate on another deeper level of understanding and according to Jacqueline Ambrose "They transmit information about the speaker that might not be obvious." In other words due to the unique nature of idioms, neither their function in the language nor their meaning is always obvious. Like who would call their car "a lemon" without knowing it for an idiom? It does tell you it is something "sour" but not exactly anything about a car. How is something easy a piece of cake? Where does it tell about the easy part?
“Idioms are not only great fun, they also cast fresh light on the less rational workings of the human mind,” the guardian opens up smoothly. Imagine how boring it would be to know everything for hundred percent certainty. Imagine what the world would be like. There would be no point in literature past just one book since you would know the ending before you started it. There would not be things like deviations, irony and sarcasm to brighten our gray Mondays.
Idioms are important and they provide richness to the use of any language. When you attend an entrance exam, on a line concerning the study of languages, it is the first thing they test; whether you know your idioms or not. It is considered part of knowing the language and the culture that the language has been built around. One could argue idioms are rather useless up to a point, considering you can say the same thing so that everyone undoubtedly understands, but where would be the fun in that?
“As well as being illogical, idioms are idiotic.” states the guardian’s article The idiotic joys of idioms. They are like hidden nonsensical riddles that you can solve only if you know the answer in advance or if the context gives it away. Why use them then? Why complicate things by uttering nonsensical phrases that provide no logical clue whatsoever as to their meaning? Because language evolves and grows. It needs new ways of capturing attention, new ways of saying things and especially new ways of communicating the cultural background of the language. Where language keeps changing and shifting, new forms of communication arise. Idioms are part of everything. “Idioms are pervasive. They are used in formal and informal speech, conversation and writing and are part of standard speech in business, education and the media.” Ambrose explains. In addition to this, non-native people who intend on working in an English-speaking country will be expected to know certain amount of idioms.
“The main point is that idioms and other stock expressions aren't peripheral language oddities – they are central to how we communicate.”(the guardian, 2009). The article discusses idioms as a consequential part of our everyday language. In conclusion idioms improve our everyday communication, whether it is formal or informal, academic or personal. Surely all this reflecting gives us the opportunity to review and admit idioms’ unquestionable and versatile role in our language.
