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When is an "ASL idiom" not an idiom?
Also see: Idioms 1 | 2 | 3 |
ASL has idioms. [search]
However, some ASL teachers sometimes inaccurately tell their students that certain signs are "idioms" (when they are not).
An idiom is generally defined as a group of words [or signs] "established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words." (Source: Oxford Dictionary*)
Allow me to provide an example of a sign that people often call an idiom but it really isn't:
SPEECHLESS
(For an example of the sign "SPEECHLESS" see: https://youtu.be/lJ_Y5FXwGVY )
While the sign SPEECHLESS is often listed as an ASL "idiom" because it is often interpreted into English as meaning "cat got your tongue" -- you might want to ask yourself this question:
Is the sign SPEECHLESS really an ASL idiom -- or rather is it a regular (non-idiomatic) ordinary ASL sign that is used to express the non-idiomatic concept of "being speechless" (and closely related meanings) and just happens to capable of being interpreted into an idiom in at least one other language?
When we sign SPEECHLESS we are "not" signing CAT GET TONGUE. There is no reason for a skilled (non-drunk) signer of ASL to assume that an actual "cat" is involved when someone does the sign "SPEECHLESS" in ASL. When an ASL signer asks another ASL signer what SPEECHLESS means -- the second ASL signer doesn't start discussing "cats" and "tongues" but rather starts signing about "not knowing what to say" or "not knowing how to respond to someone."
The "idiom confusion" starts when two ASL / English bilinguals get together -- both typically native English speakers (including many ASL instructors) who acquired ASL as a second language and one of them decides to map (or interpret) the sign SPEECHLESS to an idiom in the other bilingual's native language (English).
When we sign SPEECHLESS in ASL we are doing a single, specific sign with a set of closely associated unambiguous meanings that can be used to convey ideas such as:
I was speechless.
I didn't know what to say.
I was so shocked that I couldn't even respond.
No cats involved. (Unless you get English involved).
Just because a concept can be expressed by an idiom in English doesn't mean that the same concept is an idiom in Spanish, Japanese, ASL or any other language.
Allow me to provide you an example:
English speakers have a non-idiomatic saying: "The awkward teenage years." That phrase is "not" an idiom. It is an expression. It is a clear statement. "The awkward teenage years" -- is not idiomatic since each word is being used to mean what we typically expect the words to mean and together the words have an overall meaning that we would expect. We are actually talking about awkwardness and we are actually talking about the teenage years.
Suppose you were taking an English class you had an assignment to find and share an idiom. If you stood up and announced that you would now share with the class an idiom and here it is: "The awkward teenage years" -- you would fail the assignment. (Or at least you would if your teacher was competent.)
After your teacher told you that you failed the assignment because "The awkward teenage years" is not an idiom, suppose you replied:
"Yes it is -- my Spanish teacher told me it is! My teacher said that "Estar en la edad del pavo" is an idiom and it means "those awkward teenage years!"
Ah, there's the problem. You are mistaking an "interpreted non-idiomatic meaning in a second language" for an "idiom." They are not the same.
These three things are not the same:
1. An idiom
2. A translation
3. An interpretation
Examples:
1. An idiom: "Estar en la edad del pavo." This is a Spanish idiom. It says one thing but means another. It talks about turkey but is really discussing something else -- the awkwardness of puberty. A second language learner of Spanish may have learned that "pavo" means turkey -- yet will not understand this Spanish saying without further explanation -- because it is an idiom.
2. A Translation: "Being in the age of turkey" This is the literal translation (or more specifically a transliteration*) of "Estar en la edad del pavo." This translation is meaningless to an English speaker (or reader) because to understand it you need additional cultural knowledge (or you need an interpreter -- not a translator).
3. An Interpretation: "In those awkward teenage years." This phrase says what it actually means. As soon as a second language learner learns the words "awkward, teenage, and years" the second language learner can generally figure out the overall typically accepted meaning of this phrase. It is a regular (non-idiomatic) English phrase that has been pre-chewed and partially digested for you by an interpreter to remove any idiomatic aspects. You don't need any special in-group knowledge to figure it out. The phrase, "In those awkward teenage years" -- is not an idiom.
Similarly, the sign SPEECHLESS is not an idiom.
Just because "In those awkward teenage years" can be interpreted into an idiom in Spanish doesn't mean it is an English idiom.
Just because SPEECHLESS can be interpreted into an idiom in English doesn't mean it is an ASL idiom.
Remember that the next time your ASL instructor tells you: "This is an idiom…"
And then think: "Is it really?"
[End]
Continued...
DO-DO / what do / what to do / what did I do
While some people consider this to be an idiom, I would suggest that it is simply an evolved sign that started as the spelling of "DO" and was lexicalized over the years to change into its current form of two G-hands pointing up ward and opening and closing the index and thumb. While this may seem like an idiom -- in my opinion it is simply a wonderful, complex ASL sign that transitioned (or was borrowed) from English and is combined with facial expressions to create a range of meanings from "What do?" However, I think that if you add even more movement and turn the DO-DO sign into the sign ERRANDS -- you have quite possibly reached a level at which you could claim that you have an idiom. ERRANDS is arguably an idiom. DO-DO is questionable but is claimed by some to be an idiom.
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Permission: You may share and republish / repost this article. Cite:
Vicars, William (2019) "When is an ASL idiom not an idiom?" ASL University. Retrieved from: https://Lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/idiom-in-asl-or-not.htm
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Date of article: 9/21/2019
Author: William G. Vicars, Ed.D.
Author information at time of writing: Tenured, Deaf/hh, full-professor of Deaf Studies and American Sign Language. Director of ASL University (Lifeprint.com)
Bio: http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/instructor.htm
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References
*"Transliterate" means "write or print (a letter or word) using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or language." (Source: transliterate. (n.d.). In Oxford Dictionaries. Online 9/2/2019 < https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/transliterate > )
* Idiom definition. (Source: "idiom." Oxford Dictionaries (Lexico). Online. 21 Sep 2019 < https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/idiom > ).
Also see:
Idioms (1)
Idioms (2)
Idioms (3)
Puns: Cross-lingual interpreting of puns: ASL / English
Note:
ASL pun: Sign FISH while mouthing "fish" to mean "finish" as in "I'm done." [idiomatic] This idiom is created by a combination of [context]+[mouth-morpheme]+[FISH]
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