Contrastive Analysis on Idioms in English and Spanish

Differences between sayings and idioms

A saying (refrán) is an expression that refers to a complete sentence structure (subject,
verb and complements) whose elements are in a noncontrastive closed paradigm. 1
For instance:
 All that glitters is not gold (SVCs).
 Barking dogs seldom bite (SAV).

In an idiom (frase idiomática or lexía compuesta), not every element is in this

noncontrastive closed paradigm, just one or various phrases.
For instance:
 in the middle of nowhere
 out of the blue
These prepositional phrases convey a certain metaphorical meaning and have an
adverbial function. The rest of the constituents of the sentence are in an open
paradigm (the elements are not obligatory and thus can be replaced). They express an
idea in a more vivid and clearer way.

A Contrastive Analysis of English and Spanish Idioms

The study of idioms has been undertaken from three perspectives:
1. Psychological: psychological studies have examined people’s mental imagery of
idioms and idiom processing
2. Cognitive: these studies have explored the metaphoric motivation of idioms
3. Linguistic: linguistic research into idioms has been done from a cross-linguistic
idiom analysis, which has focused on three domains. The domains are the
following:
a. description and comparison of structural types of idioms

1
A syntactic element is in a noncontrastive closed paradigm when it is not only obligatory, but also it
cannot be replaced by any other element of the same paradigm.
 b. description of thematic groups (i.e.: idioms with constituents from the
same semantic field)
c. types of cross-linguistic equivalents (from a semantic perspective)
This analysis focuses on the last domain of the linguistic perspective.

Types of cross linguistic equivalents (from a semantic perspective)

The contrastive analysis of idioms yields three types of equivalence:
Full or absolute equivalence
These idioms in both languages are identical with regard to meaning, syntactic and
lexical structure, and imagery basis. A considerable proportion of English and Spanish
idioms are full equivalents.
For example:
 to tighten one’s belt // apretarse el cinturón
 on the tip of one’s tongue // en la punta de la lengua
 not to lift a finger // no mover un dedo
 pull the wool over sb’s eyes // quitar la venda de los ojos de alguien
Interlingual loans
Full equivalence sometimes results from the fact that these idioms are interlingual
loans (préstamos interlingüísticos).
For example:
 tomar el toro por las astas (Spain) // to take the bull by the horns (UK/US)
In that example, the English counterpart comes from the Spanish idiom.
Similarities resting upon a metaphoric or cultural basis
Some conceptual metaphors are shared between languages.
For example
 THE HEART IS THE SEAT OF EMOTIONS
o break someone’s heart // romperle el corazón a alguien
 POWER IS UP
o look over someone’s shoulder // mirar por encima del hombro a alguien
Metonymy
Metonymy is a linguistic mechanism in which a metaphorical entity is used to refer to
another that is related to it. One type of metonymy is synecdoche, where the part
stands for the whole.
For example
 THE ORGAN FOR THE SENSE
o turn a deaf ear // hacer oídos sordos
 THE SIGN OF AN EMOTION FOR THE EMOTION
o red with anger // rojo de ira
Culturally marked idioms
They fall into two groups:
1. Idioms based on the European cultural heritage. This heritage has religious,
literary and mythological components. For instance:
a. bear one’s cross // llevar su cruz (biblical reference)
b. rest on one’s laurels // dormirse en los laureles (classical mythology
reference)
c. Achilles’ heel // el talón de Aquiles (classical mythology reference)
2. Idioms based on a cultural element (such as a common belief or tradition). For
instance:
a. keep your fingers crossed // cruzar los dedos (it relies upon the belief
that making this gesture with one’s fingers gives good luck)
b. the black sheep // la oveja negra (it is based on shephers’ belief that
black wool is not as valuable as white wool)
Partial equivalence
Partial equivalents show divergencies in the compositional structure or in the imagery
basis. There are many types of partial equivalents.
Contrast in the compositional structure
1. Variation at the level of lexical implementation. For example:
 The Spanish idiom “a plena luz del día” differs from the English
expression “in the cold light of day” in the adjective modifying the
constituent
  The English expression “slam the door in somebody’s face” differs from
the Iberian Spanish “dar con la puerta en las narices” in the choice of
the body term (“face” versus “narices”). However, the Argentine
Spanish counterpart is a full equivalent (“cerrar la puerta en la
cara/jeta”).
2. Addition of a constituent
 a bolt from the blue (NP + REDUCED VERBLESS PHRASE) // algo caído
del cielo (NP + PAST PART. PHRASE)
3. Difference in the location element
 to put one foot in it (V + DO + L. COMP) // meter la pata (V + DO)
4. Differences in the syntactic pattern of the verb
 to ring a bell has a ditransitive pattern (“does it ring a bell to you?”),
while its Spanish equivalent is intransitive (“¿te suena?”)
 the metaphorical view of sleeping as a time to think before making an
important decision is present in the idioms “sleep on something”
(articulated through a verb) and “consultarlo con la almohada”
(articulated through a verb that is followed by an object).
Contrast in the imagery basis
1. From the same domain. A group of Spanish and English idioms highlight
diverging mental images from the same domain. We can classify them
according to the mental image that is drawn.
 Body images
 cost an arm and a leg // costar un ojo de la cara
 pull sb’s leg // tomarle el pelo a alguien
 Animal images
 there is something fishy going on // hay gato encerrado
 when pigs can fly // cuando las vacas vuelen
 Miscellanea
 catch somebody red-handed // agarrar a alguien con las
manos en la masa
2. From different domains.
  Between the devil and the deep blue sea (sailing) // entre la espada y la
pared (war)
Non-equivalence
These idioms do not have an idiomatic counterpart in the other language.
Nonequivalents are very common, and some authors think it is usually impossible to
find parallel expressions which can be used equally in all cases.
For example:
 English idioms (UK)
o be on the cards (to be likely to happen); face the music (to accept
criticism or a punishment for something you have done); the gift of the
gab (to speak easily and confidently)
 Spanish idioms (Argentina)
o a troche y moche (to do something without moderation and in an untidy
manner); tomar con soda (to be patient and rational about an
unfortunate event)
There are four types of culturally-determined idioms
1. Idioms that contain a culture-specific constituent
a. not to be short of a bob or two (a bob is a shelling, i.e., twelve pence);
spend a penny (urinate); pisar el poncho (to overwhelm or dominate
someone)
2. Idioms that evoke an aspect of the target culture (such as a custom or tradition,
a literary work or historical figure)
a. to be the flavour of the month (it comes from the practice of English-
speaking countries of putting a particular flavour of something on a
special offer for a month); “tirar manteca al techo” (it comes from
Argentine history, because some decades ago, the children of Argentine
rich people played by throwing butter to the ceiling, and that mental
image has affected Argentine society and seen as an act of opulence).
3. Idioms from culturally relevant domains
a. Sailing is a culturally salient domain in English
  sail close to the wind (to do something ambiguous, illegal or
dishonest); miss the boat (to lose the opportunity)
b. Nature and countryside are culturally salient domains in Spanish,
especially in Argentine Spanish
 Hierba mala nunca muere (a bad or troublesome person
always manages to survive or continue causing problems
despite unfavorable circumstances); gastar pólvora en
chimangos (to waste time, effort, or resources on something
or someone that is not worth it or has little value); la ley del
gallinero (in a chaotic or disorganized environment, where
everyone is focused on their own interests, competition, or
survival, the rules may be disregarded or ignored); listo el
pollo, pelada la gallina (it is commonly exclaimed by people
when they have solved a problem or completed a task)
4. Idioms built upon a stereotype
 to take a French leave (to leave without saying goodbye);
despedirse a la francesa (it means the same in the Spanish
from Spain), filer à l’anglaise (the culture changed in French, it
is no longer equivalent)

Bibliography
 Álvarez Benito, G. (2016). Estudio contrastivo inglés-español de las frases
idiomáticas o lexías compuestas comparativas. Ediciones de la Universidad de
Huelva.
 Negro Alousque, I. (2011). A Contrastive Semantic Analysis of English, Spanish
And French Idioms. Madrid
 Vázquez, S. (2020). 1000 expresiones famosas que se usan en Argentina.
Ediciones de Periodismo y Comunicación de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata