Wednesday, March 4, 2015

What's the difference between colloquialisms and idioms? Are there any in this poem? there are many lines you have not traced on my palms...

Colloquialisms are, indeed, casual words that are appropriate in casual speech. Colloquialisms are usually regional. For example, in Pennsylvania long sandwiches with everything in them are Hoagies but in California they are submarine sandwiches. Other examples of colloquialisms are you guys and y'all, soda and cool drink, wanna and gonna.


Idioms are very different from colloquialisms. Idioms are a figurative form of language and never mean exactly what they say. A good example to stress this point is the idiom "raining cats and dogs," which never means it is raining felines and canines (well...unless you're reading a book of weird and unexplained things...). Idioms are a form of communication that requires cultural agreement to permit effective communication. In other words, my use of an idiom is fruitless if the culture I am in doesn't agree to the figurative meaning of the collection of words comprising the idiom.


In the excerpt you've included above, "read my mind" is an idiom, as is "my head is full of blood," which if taken literally would signify a serious medical problem. "Sit stewing" is an idiom. Idioms are not to be confused with metaphors and similes, which are also figurative. The difference is that metaphors and similes conjure up a well known image, like a runaway train or a brightly burning fire, whereas idioms rely on a cultural agreement of what a group of words mean, which on their own bear no resemblance to the idiomatic meaning, like "my dogs are barking" meaning "my feet hurt."


[For more information on idioms, see the reliable links below.]

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