«Body idioms and their use in the English language»

Language is closely related to culture and can be said as a part of culture. Language is the carrier of culture which in turn is the content of language. We can dig out cultural features from language and language phenomena with culture.

Idiom as a special from of language exist in both of them and carry a large amount of cultural information such as history, geography, religion, custom, nationality psychology, thought pattern and etc., and also closely related to culture. They are the heritage of history and in turn get better understanding of idioms by learning the cultural background behind them.

Since vocabulary and culture are intertwined, speakers can gain more vocabulary through idioms and conversely and they can learn more about idioms from being exposed to the target culture. The more comprehensible input there is, the more learners‘ listening, speaking, writing and reading skills will improve.

The most important thing about idioms is their meaning. This is why a native speaker does not notice that an idiom is incorrect grammatically. If the source of idioms is known, it is sometimes easier to imagine its meaning. In fact English idioms are not strange to us in our study and daily life; we can often mention or use them with which we are familiar. Idioms are fixed phrases that go through the test of history and cannot be treated separately; they are a kind of language that Britain and America use to express their ideas. An English idiom is a group of words with a special meaning different from the meaning of its constituent words. Most of these idiomatic expressions are phrases of two or more words that function as a unit of meaning and must be learned as a whole.

Many idiomatic phrases come from the everyday life of Englishmen, from home life, e. g. to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth, to make a clean sweep of something, to hit the nail on the head. In fact, it is difficult to speak or write English without using idioms. Thus, in English-speaking countries, idioms are heard and read everywhere from debates to everyday conversations. A good mastery of idioms becomes a significant symbol of a person's command of the language. However, because of a low level of linguistic competence in the target language, people who learn English as a second language are at a distinct disadvantage in understanding English idioms. We must know the origins of English idioms so that we can learn English well.

The semantic aspects of English body somatisms are no less important. They can express human emotions and feelings or traits of human character. With regard to the language functions, human body idioms can acquire different (both positive and negative) semantic connotations. As such they can be divided into several thematic groups:

• Human emotions and feelings. Body idioms can be very emotional, they can express emotions such as laughter, cry, moaning as well as delight, happiness, joy (carry sb of his feet, to rub one’s hands), love or passion (to win sb’s hand, to offer sb one’s hand). On the other hand, body idioms can display a strong resentment, desolation and hopelessness (My foot!, wring one’s hand) or feeling of exhaustion and tiredness (to be dead on one’s feet, sb’s legs are giving away)

• Traits of human character. These body idioms are based on positive and negative features of human nature. The concept of laziness can be expressed by folding one’s hands, cowardice can be mocked at by an expression such as get cold feet, while bravery can be admired by to get oneself in hand. The ability to react quickly while being permanently active can be highlighted by expressions such as think on one’s feet or be a firm hand. To show psychological stability, an idiom such as to find one’s feet or to be on one’s feet can be used. Similarly, special professional skills or experience can be rendered by somatisms such as be an old hand, a fresh hand or be all thumbs.

• Features of different phenomena. This group of somatisms covers various aspects of life as well as cognitive approach to personal and impersonal relationships and situations. For example, a concept of unity and peace may be expressed by be at loggerheads with sb, challenge and concession can involve expressions such as gain the upper hand, every man’s hand against one, hand it to sb, attempt and violence can be rendered by to fight hand in hand, lay violent hands on sb, for power and influence can be used to have long hands, to be in sb’s hands or a hidden hand, the notion of success can be represented by to win hands down, while that of failure by to fall on one’s feet.

In conclusion, idiomatic expressions are often found in magazines, newspapers, films or television shows. They are used in everyday speech and to a certain extent form part of the core values of culture. Mastery of idioms facilitates communication and promotes an innovative environment of social interaction. Since idioms quickly convey meaning and allow language users to express themselves more effectively, they must be integrated into the process of learning and teaching foreign languages. The ready-made production of these figurative expressions contributes to fluency, allowing the speaker to concentrate more on the message to be delivered than on forming a sentence with a long literal explanation.