IDIOMS

Patrick Narkinsky patrick at extremehope.org
Sat Dec 23 11:48:52 EST 2000


Wayne Leman wrote:

> Because of this lack, I have tried to start compiling a list of my own. It
> appears at URL:
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/bible_translation/ntidioms.htm
> 
> All the stated hedges re: whether or not a form is a true linguistic idiom,
> some other figure of speech, etc. are genuine.

One question that immediately jumps to mind is this: what standards are 
used for determining that something is an idiom?  And, once that is 
determined, how do we accurately determine the meaning?  One of the 
characteristics of idioms is that they are well known.  In this list, 
are the idioms included because they were well known idioms of the Greek 
of the period, found in the New Testament and elsewhere, or are they 
defined by context?

It seems that the process of correctly defining idioms could easily 
become intensely subjective.  How can we accurately discern the 
difference between the two?

Sorry if these are stupid questions -- I'm just learning. :)

Patrick




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