Meta4, Smiles, & Idiotic Ekspreshins in Langwij

(Metaphors, Similes, & Idiomatic Expressions in Language)

Quick Review Register

FROZEN FORMAL CONSULTATIVE INFORMAL INTIMATE

Regional Dialect English vs. ASL

North, South, East, West California Washington, D.C. New York City Texas

Etiquette English vs. ASL

North, South, East, West Urban vs. Suburban vs. Rural Education Level (K-8, HS, College, Graduate, etc.) Income (lower, middle, upper class) Age Ethnic Minority vs. Ethnic Majority

Whats a Meta-4 for?

A metaphor is the paint on the canvas!

Two unlike things are equated to each other using the verb to be (is, was, etc.).
Ex. The boy was a helpless bird waiting for its mother. I am the apple of my mothers eye. More examples?

Small Group Activity

Get into groups of 3 or 4. Brainstorm examples of metaphors perhaps phrases that you use at home, with your families, or within your local community. (IS, WAS, etc.) 1 person reads his/her example and the rest of the group discusses the meaning of the overall concepts in English. Consider multiple contexts, registers, etc.! Everyone gets a chance!

Smile like a kid in the candy store!

(Similes)

Two unlike things are compared to each other using the adverbs like or as.
Ex. Musical notes danced across the page like stars twinkling in the night sky. She is as swift as the wind across the plains. More examples?

Small Group Activity

Get into groups of 3 or 4. Brainstorm examples of similes perhaps phrases that you use at home, with your families, or within your local community. (LIKE or AS) 1 person reads his/her example and the rest of the group discusses the meaning of the overall concepts in English. Consider multiple contexts, registers, etc.! Everyone gets a chance!

BREAK!

Idiots in Langwij? Idiots in da house!

(Idioms)

A phrase or expression that cannot be understood from its individual element meanings. Slang, jargon. Usually static in form.
Ex. Im up a creek without a paddle! I have no leg to stand on. I had to bite the bullet and put my head on the chopping block. After all, I stuck to my guns!
More examples?

IDIOMATIC PHRASES
Adverbial Phrases at hand, at length, for instance, in general Fused as Compounds instead, indoors, downstairs Prepositions Used as Adverbs keep down, set up, put through Phrased Collocations/Doublets at beck and call, null and void, through and through, rank and file, pig in a poke Proverbial Phrases alls well that ends well, out of sight, out of mind Figurative/Metaphorical Expressions keep ones head above the water, have an axe to grind, to be in the same boat, to turn adrift
A Dictionary Of Idioms For The Deaf, 1975.

IDIOMS IN ASL
According to many linguists and researchers, there are only 3 true ASL Idioms: A) TRAIN-GONE or TRAIN-ZOOM You missed the boat. Too late, so sorry. B) SWALLOW-FISH Gullible, nave, trustworthy to a fault, susceptible C) TRUE-BUSINESS or TRUE-WORK Seriously, Honest-to-goodness, bona fide, no fooling!

Small Group Activity

Get into groups of 3 or 4. Brainstorm examples of Idioms including the different types of Idiomatic phrases. Remember that they are fixed in form, consist of more than 1 word, and the overall meaning is different from the component words. 1 group reads their examples to another group. Discuss the meaning of the overall concepts in English. Consider multiple contexts, registers, meanings, etc.! After discussing the intended meanings, practice signing the idioms/idiomatic phrases into ASL.

ASL SIGNS with ENGLISH IDIOMATIC MEANINGS

Large Group Activity Sign Enhancers Handout #6-B Sign Enhancers Handout #6-C Practice sentences and paragraphs

LUNCH (on your own)

Review!
Metaphors - Two unlike things are equated to each other using the verb to be (is, was, etc.). Similes - Two unlike things are compared to each other using the adverbs like or as. Idioms - A phrase or expression that cannot be understood from its individual element meanings. Slang, jargon. Usually static in form.

Additional Idiomatic Expressions

Aphorism Tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. (Ignorance is bliss.) Adage saying that sets forth a general truth and has gained credit through long use. (Nothing ventured, nothing gained., Good things come in small packages.) Saw a familiar saying that has become trite through frequent repetition. (Every cloud has a silver lining.) Proverb pithy saying which gained credence through widespread or frequent use. Most proverbs express some basic truth or practical precept. (A penny saved is a penny earned., A picture is worth a thousand words., Slow and steady wins the race.) Maxim A proverb which describes a basic rule of conduct.

Additional Idiomatic Expressions

Truism - a claim that is so obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning. (What goes up must come down.) Epigram a witty expression, often paradoxical or satirical and neatly or brilliantly phrased. (Remarriage is a triumph of hope over experience.- Samuel Johnson) Metonymy - Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes. (We await word from the crown., We have a meeting on Thursday with the suits from upstairs.) Personification/Anthropomorphism. (murmuring stream) Synecdoche - A whole is represented by naming one of its parts (genus named for species), or vice versa (species named for genus). (Listen, you've got to come take a look at my new set of wheels.

Small Group Activity

Get into groups of 3 or 4. Brainstorm examples of Other Idiomatic Expressions. 1 group reads their examples to another group. Discuss the meaning of the overall concepts in English. Discuss translating the intended meanings, into appropriate ASL, retaining the spirit of the Idiomatic Expressions.

BREAK!

Group Activity
ASL/English Idioms & Their Translations Videotape & Manual

Group Activity

Idiomatic Translations ASL to English

Idiomatic Translations English to ASL

British Idioms & Etymologies

A load of codswallop Meaning: a lot of nonsense, rubbish Origin: Codd was a Victorian businessman and wallop was nineteenth century slang for beer. In 1872 Hiram Codd went into business selling lemonade in green bottles sealed with a marble stopper. Beer drinkers thought little of this new drink and gave it the derisory nick-name Codswallop. Example: People say the world is flat, but this is a load of codswallop, it is of course, round. Beyond the pale Meaning: Outside of societies limits. Not acceptable conduct Origin: Pale comes from the Latin word palum, meaning 'stake'. In early English this came to mean a fence which surrounded something such as a cathedral or some other authority. In later times its meaning altered to the limit of political jurisdiction. Life within the pale was civilized, whereas beyond it was considered uncouth and barbaric. Hence one could be said to be beyond the pale. Example: People who do not contribute to society in any way are beyond the pale and should not be able to benefit from that to which they do not contribute.
http://members.tripod.com/~Clatters/idiom.htm

British Idioms & Etymologies

At the end of my tether/rope Meaning: At the point of frustration or at the end of one's endurance. Origin: A tether is a rope which is used to restrict the freedom of grazing animals by tying one end around their neck and the other to a stake in the ground. Example: If my boss doesn't listen to me soon I will explode, I'm at the end of my tether/rope.

Not enough room to swing a cat Meaning: a confined space Origin: Many people incorrectly think that this is a reference to the old Navel punishment of the 'cat of nine tails', however the phrase has been found in use long before that punishment was ever metered out by the Navy. In fact the phrase refers to the practice of putting a cat in a sack then suspending the sack from a tree, swinging the sack and then using it for archery practice. Example: This room is too small, there's not enough room to swing a cat.

http://members.tripod.com/~Clatters/idiom.htm

British Idioms & Etymologies

To kick the bucket Meaning: to die Origin: In slaughterhouses, the rail on which pigs are hung after slaughter to drain off the blood is known as the bucket bar. Muscle spasms after death sometimes lead to the dead pig twitching as if to kick the bucket bar, hence the expression. Example: Fred kicked the bucket last week. Now that he's dead he will be sadly missed.

http://members.tripod.com/~Clatters/idiom.htm

References Special Thanks!

Books & Texts
101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like An American, Harry Collis, Passport Books, Chicago, IL, 1997. American Sign Language: The Original Green Books A Teachers Resource Text On Grammar & Culture, Charlotte Baker-Shenk & Dennis Cokely, Gallaudet University Press, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 118. A Dictionary Of Idioms for the Deaf, Maxine T. Boatner & John E. Gates, American School for the Deaf, West Hartford, CT, 1966. A Dictionary Of Idioms for the Deaf, Maxine T. Boatner & John E. Gates, Barrons Educational Series, Inc., Woodbury, NY, 1975. Movers & Shakers Deaf People Who Changed the World, Susan M. Mather & Cathryn Carroll, DawnSignPress, San Diego, CA, 1997.

References Special Thanks!

Websites & Internet Links
ASL/English Idioms & Their Translations
http://www.interpreting.eku.edu/library/AL.php http://members.tripod.com/~Clatters/idiom.htm http://www.special-dictionary.com/proverbs/ http://www.special-dictionary.com/proverbs/source/a/american_proverb/ http://www.adcohearing.com/sl_curriculum.html http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/id-list.html

British Idioms & Translations Collection of Proverbs from 560 Countries Conversational Sign Language II: William J. Madsen, ($17.95 + s/h) Dennis Olivers ESL Idiom Page Emmett Jones & George Joslins ASL Principles - Idioms, English Idioms videotape
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MultiMediaEvangelism/aslp.html

The Free Idioms Dictionary taken from the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms and the Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ http://www.harriscomm.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36_225&products_id=18233 http://www.harriscomm.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=18162

Lance McWilliams ASL Idioms DVDs (1 & 2), ($15 each + s/h) Sign Enhancers ASL Practice Series: English Idioms 6A, ($59.95 + s/h)

FINITO!