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Oktay Cetin ©
Osh State University,Arashan Institute of Social Sciences Kyrgyzstan/Bishkek
SOME HUMAN BODY PARTS THAT DEMONSTRATE THE NEGATIVE DISPOSITION OF INDIVIDUALS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH IDIOMS
Summary
Human body parts and idioms are inseparable .Many idioms belong to different cultures figuratively express the several situations, positive and negative nature of individuals and behaviors by using human body parts. It can be said that body parts and their functions help us to penetrate the secrets of human nature. For instance, red face signifies the shy or embarrassed nature of a person. Or trembling hands, gnashing teeth demonstrate nervous disposition etc.
This article may be accepted as a short comparative study which focuses on some English and Turkish human body idioms that show negative nature and behaviors of individuals.
Keywords: body parts, English,Turkish,idioms,positive,negative,disposition,figurative, comparison.
ИДИОМЫ СВЯЗАННЫЕ С ОРГАНАМИ ТЕЛА ИСПОЛЬЗУЕМЫЕ В АНГЛИЙСКОМ И ТУРЕЦКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ ДЛЯ ВЫРАЖЕНИЯ ОТРИЦАТЕЛЬНЫХ ЧЕРТ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКОГО ХАРАКТЕРА
Аннотация
Идиомы и органы человека неотделимы друг от друга. Множество метафорических выражений, принадлежащих к различным культурам, используя органы и части человеческого тела описывают различные ситуации, положительные и отрицательные черты характера и поведение человека. Можно сказать, что органы и части человеческого тела, а также функции органов по сути помогает нам понять все таинства человеческого характера. К примеру, покрасневшее лицо указывает на стеснительный характер, дрожащие руки и стучащие зубы указывают на нервный характер человека. B данной статье рассматриваются идиомы используемые в английском и турецком языках для выражения отрицательных черт человеческого характера. Статью также можно рассматривать как небольшое сравнение идиом английского и турецкого языков.
Ключевые слова: органы, английский, турецкий, выражение, позитивный, негативный, характер-темперамент, метафорическое сравнение.
INTRODUCTION
Idioms have long been considered as a back bone of every language. When people speak each other express their feelings by using a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning. In other words, idioms encompass our life from all its aspects. The different situations of our daily life can be better communicated and described by the contribution of the idioms. It means that consciously or unconsciously, we often use the idioms in the different steps of social life.
Idioms are accepted as a bridge between the past and present and always carry the old traditions to present day with beautiful , attractive short and effective expression .In addition, idioms are inexhaustible treasure for moral and traditional values. Therefore, it can be said that all nations more or less learn some historical ,cultural and traditional principles from the idioms. In other words, idioms may be accepted as important chain of advises for a nation from the ancestors.
© Oktay Cetin, 2016 г.
An idiom may be defined as follows:
"idiom is an expression that cannot be readily understood according to the actual meanings of the words in the expression." [1.36].
"idioms are indispensable to the daily speech of people and to the language of the books and newspapers, television and movies." [2.7].
"idiom is the mode of language used by a particular people or by an individual." [3.258].
" idiom is a combination of fixed words which, ease speech and writing and sometimes can not be understood logically." [4.5].
"idiom is a traditional way of saying something." [5.154.]
Above given definitions prove that, idioms are not only a simple group of words or kinds of fixed metaphorical structures but they are also colorful part of tradition which take place in every steps of social and cultural life . However, the richness and the metaphorical structures of idioms prevent even the native speakers of language from proper understanding of them. They are not always transparent. At times, idioms are understood in their literal meaning and at times, they should be understood metaphorically without losing the connection of their literal forms. For instance, Have a big mouth, To bury one's head in the sand and Have one's nose in the air taking the previous idioms literally will lead us misunderstanding of them.
There is a very interesting fact that human body parts and idioms are inseparable .Many idioms those belong to different cultures figuratively express the several situations, positive and negative nature of individuals and behaviors by using human body parts. It can be said that body parts and their functions help us to penetrate the secrets of human nature. For instance, red face signifies the shy or embarrassed nature of a person. Or trembling hands, gnashing teeth demonstrate nervous disposition.
This article may be accepted as a short comparative study which focuses on some English and Turkish human body idioms that show negative nature and behaviors of individuals. In this research first of all an English idiom was given on the top as a source ,after that either Turkish idiom or its translation into English was written. Then both idioms were compared and made detailed expressions about the similarities and differences in meanings and images. Finally, usage of English and Turkish idioms demonstrated with examples.
- To bury one's head in the sand-Ba$ini deve ku^u gibi kumagommek:(To burry one's head in the sand as ostrich)
Meaning of English idiom: "to refuse to face the facts." [6.289].
Meaning of Turkish idiom:" to refuse to accept the facts." [7.294].
English and Turkish idioms have the same meaning and nearly same images. It can be said that both idioms figuratively express the stubborn disposition of a person who never accept the truth and try to refuse it in any case. Actually, in English idiom the stubborn disposition of a person is likened to one who buries the head in the sand .On the contrary, the same negative nature is depicted by Turkish idiom by likening to ostrich which buries the head just to escape or save itself from the hunters .No doubt both idioms beautifully describe the negative nature of individuals. The difference between the idioms only Turkish idioms used ostrich as additional metaphor. It is very important to keep in mind that despite having cultural and structural differences both idioms have the same meaning and nearly same images. For the accurate translation of English idiom into Turkish it would be better to omit the ostrich from Turkish idiom. In fact this method will not harm the meaning of Turkish idiom but pave the ground for accurate translation of English idiom into Turkish .
English example: "Olivia wanted to do was bury her head in the sand and forget everything." [8.176].
Turkish example:"Deve ku§lari gibi ba§irni kuma gommek, hi? bir §ey gormemek, duymamak, bilmemek istiyordum. " [9.621].
- Pull the wool over someone's eye- Goz boyamak :(To colour one's eye)
Meaning of English idiom: "to deceive." [10.978].
Meaning of Turkish idiom:"To deceive. " [11.620].
Deceiving is one of the most disliked behaviors of human being. This act is directly based on the negative nature of individuals that shows lack of morality. Above given idioms show the act of tricky person who always succeeds to deceive people by performing different tricks. Both idioms have the same meaning but different images and figuratively demonstrate the tricky act and disposition of the individuals . It is very important to keep in mind that all cultures have their own special way to depict the situations. For instance, negative nature and behavior of individuals expressed in English idiom by the image of Pull the wool over someone's eye. The same situation has been expressed in Turkish idiom by the image of Gozboyamak (To colour one's eye). "Goz boyamak" means in Turkish culture deceiving others by using all possibilities. Finally, we can say that there is no possible direct translation between the idioms.
English example: "She might still have been pulling the wool over his eyes." [12.126].
Turkish example:"Bugun bizde tiyatro i?in ?ali§an muharrirlerin kaffesi mu§kulattan ka?iyor ve begenilmek i?in goz boyamaya ?ali§iyorlar." [13.24].
- Have a big mouth- Agzi buyuk:(Have a big mouth)
Meaning of English idiom:"To speak so much." [14.139]."To gossip; to reveal private information." [15.84].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "To have big claims which are logically impossible to be implemented." [16,539].
Speaking too much or revealing somebody's private information or secrets is accepted another negative disposition of individuals. Perhaps speaking too much is not accepted as a negative nature in some cultures .However, disclosing or passing some secrets to others is indisputably refused by every tradition. Above given English and Turkish idioms figuratively express the act of talkative person. It is very interesting to know that on the one hand , English idiom describes the talkative person who reveals private secrets to others; On the other hand, Turkish idiom indicates the act of talkative person who always have big claims that is impossible to be achieved. It can be said that both idioms have the similar images "Big mouth" but different meaning. Finally, despite having the similar images the direct and meaning based translation of English idiom into Turkish will cause misunderstanding. However, finding the exact correspondence will be the best solution.
English example: "She has a big mouth and gossips about everything." [17.148].
Turkish example: "Adam agzi buyugun biri, atip durdu." [18.33].
- Stick/Poke one's nose in someone's business-Burnunu sokmak: (put one's nose in-sth)
Meaning of English idiom: "To interfere in other people's private business." [19.102].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "Try to manipulate or interfere people's works." [20.B].
Another negative nature of man is interfering in other people's business. Actually, it is a kind of
behavior which shows some psychological weaknesses of a person who never keeps himself away from the manipulation of others. No doubt in many cultures this act has been expressed by poking, sticking and putting nose in others business or private activities. Above given idioms also express the act and character of individuals who disturb people by unwanted interference. It can be said that both English and Turkish idioms have the same meaning and nearly same images. For instance, in English culture the interfering or involving in other people's lives is expressed by the act of 'poking nose' in somebody's business. The same unwanted involvement is expressed in Turkish culture by the image of 'putting nose' in someone's work. It can be said that the meaning is the same but functionality of the nose is little bit different. In the case of translation from English to Turkish the meaning based translation will be the best solution.
English example: "This'll be a lesson to me not to poke my nose into other people's business."[21.122].
Turkish example: "Ni?in i§lerime bu §ekilde burnunu sokmak istedi acaba? ." [22.233]. - Have one's nose in the air-Burnu havada : (Have one's nose in air) Meaning of English idiom: "Be haughty or disdainful." [23.308]. Meaning of Turkish idiom: "Be disdainful person." [24.172].
Having proud and paying no any respect to others is one of the most negative natures of individuals. Actually, this disposition is expressed in many cultures with nose and head in air. Above given English and Turkish idioms perfectly depict the negative disposition of a person who doesn't like, tolerate and respect any people other than himself. It can be said that both idioms have the similar meaning and images. As a result of that English idiom can be translated into Turkish directly by taking into account the figurative meaning.
English example: "She was prepared to snub him and already had her nose in the air." [25.137].
Turkish example:"Sürekli ortalarda dola§ip burnu havada, ahkäm kesmiyor muydu? i§te §imdi bilgisini gösterme zamaniydi." [26.34].
To sum up: human body parts occupy a very important place in idioms. In this research we have observed the close relation between the idioms and body parts .This study showed that the idioms with body parts beautifully depicted the stubborn, rigid, tricky and arrogant nature of individuals .In addition, we have found similarities in meaning and images between English and Turkish idioms. Finally, this research demonstrated the possibility of direct translation of some English idioms (which have incredible similarities with Turkish idioms )into Turkish.
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