Gina VincentiED 205-04

English & ASL Idioms to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students

What is an Idiom?

Why use Idioms? Misunderstanding

English Misunderstanding

English (cont.) Examples: English Explanation

Examples: ASL Explanation Quiz Bio Resources Concept Map

Idiom:An expression whose meaning is not

predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements

Kicked the Bucket?

To emphasize more colorful language

Make a point more clear (sometimes)

Euphemism: "making something sound better“◦ Ex: Toilet – Bathroom – Restroom – Powder

Room

The English language, though widely spoken throughout the world, isn’t as easily understood even by some of it’s native speakers. With so many different plays on words, homophones, euphemisms and idioms can be very misleading and even lead to misunderstandings.

Some times, English sentences can be misinterpreted or figures of speech can be taken literally. The children’s story of “Amelia Bedelia” shows that even native English speakers can get confused.

All Ears

Missed the Boat

Turn a deaf ear to…

Beats me

Kicked the Bucket

◦ Listening intently

◦ You missed whatever concept was being talked about

◦ To ignore

◦ To not know something

◦ To have died, be dead

English Idioms:

Since many English idioms are ‘coded’ or do not have a direct connection to the meaning, they are often expected to be understood by the individual. This is clearly seen in the idiom ‘all ears’ which doesn’t literally mean that one is covered in all ears.

Think-Disappear

Touch-Finish

Train-go-sorry

Big-Head

Question-on-Brain

Forgot thought

Been there, done that

You missed whatever concept was being talked about

To have a big ego

Puzzled, confused

ASL Idioms:

While English have a tendency to be less clear in their actual meanings, ASL idioms are usually more literal. Visually, you are able to see exactly what he idiom says as well as what it actually means. Questions on the brain clearly points to a mindfull of unanswered questions.

Translate each Idiom:

1)The Last Straw2)Funny-None

3)Once in a blue moon4)Feel-Deflated5)Down to Earth

6)Past-Eyes7)Black sheep in family

8)Do-Do-Do9)On the fence

10) Mind-Frozen

My name is Gina Vincenti. I am a senior at GVSU with a major in English and a minor in Psychology with a focus in secondary education. I have a passion of languages and cultures, especially American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture.

Vincengi@student.gvsu.edu

Dictionary.comhttp://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=idiom&r=66

Idiomshttp://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/ http://americansignlanguage.magnify.net/item/8XR471ZG121NQ8WG

Otherhttp://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/cumming/ling50/euphemism%2Bdysphemism.htm