Chapter One Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the Present Study 1
1.2 Objective of the Present Study 5
1.3 Data Collection of the Present Study 9
1.4 Organization of the Present Study 11
Chapter Two Description and Characterization of Idioms 15
2.1 Describing Idioms 15
2.1.1 Formation of Idioms 16
2.1.2 Types of Idiom Collections 17
2.1.3 Relationship:Idioms＆Words 18
2.1.4 Relationships:Idioms＆Other Fixed Expressions 20
2.2 Characterizing Idioms 23
2.2.1 Distinct Properties 24
2.2.2 General Delineation 50
Chapter Three Idiom Studies:Different Approaches 53
3.1 Formal Approaches 53
3.1.1 Bruce Fraser(1970) 54
3.1.2 Adam Makkai(1972) 56
3.1.3 Rosamund Moon(1998) 58
3.2 Functional Approaches 62
3.2.1 Jury Strassler(1982) 62
3.2.2 Cristina Cacciari＆Sam Glucksberg(1991,1993) 63
3.2.3 Chitra Fernando(1996) 66
3.2.4 Rachel Giora(1997) 69
3.2.5 Rosa Elena Vega-Moreno(2001) 70
3.3 Psycholinguistic Approaches 74
3.3.1 S.Bobrow＆S.Bell(1973) 75
3.3.2 D.A.Swinney＆A.Cutler(1979) 75
3.3.3 Raymond W.Gibbs,Jr.(1980) 76
3.3.4 C.Cacciari＆P.Tabossi(1988) 78
3.3.5 R.W.Gibbs,Jr.＆N.P.Nayak(1989) 80
3.3.6 R.W.Gibbs,Jr.et al.(1990-1995) 86
Chapter Four Flexibility＆Productivity of Idioms 92
4.1 Lexical Flexibility 93
4.1.1 Structural Variety 94
4.1.2 Variation Generation 119
4.1.3 Variation Patterns 120
4.1.3.1 Verb Variation 120
4.1.3.2 Noun Variation 126
4.1.3.3 Modifier Variation 134
4.1.3.4 Miscellaneous Variation 138
4.1.3.5 Variation between American and British English 140
4.1.3.6 False Variation 142
4.1.4 Regularity of Variation 148
4.1.5 Variation Constraint＆Comprehension 151
4.1.6 Case Study:Relevance-Driven Vation Comprehension 154
4.2 Syntactic Versatility 156
4.2.1 Nominalization 157
4.2.2 Pronominalization 160
4.2.3 Passivization 161
4.2.4 Topicalization 164
4.2.5 Modification by Relative Clauses 166
4.2.6 There Construction 168
4.2.7 Comparative Construction 170
4.2.8 Other Transformations 172
4.2.9 Nonce Uses of Idioms 174
Chapter Five A Holistic Approach to English Idioms 183
5.1 Developing Pragmatic Competence 186
5.2 Developing Figurative Competence 199
5.3 Developing Sociocultural Competence 205
5.4 Integrating Processing Strategies 218
Chapter Six Conclusions 223
6.1 Representation of Idioms 223
6.2 Enlightenment from Previous Studies 226
6.3 Compositionality and Flexibility 233
6.4 Pedagogical Implications 235
6.5 Suggestions for Further Exploration 238
References 241
Appendix Ⅰ List of Dictionaries Consulted 255
Appendix Ⅱ Tentative Classification of Fixed Expressions in English Lexicon 257
Appendix Ⅲ Figurative Patterns Underlying Current English Idioms 260
Appendix Ⅳ English Idioms with Respect to Fraser's Frozen Hierarchy 265
Appendix Ⅴ Makkai's Categorization of Idioms 267
Appendix Ⅵ Femando's Categorization of English Idioms 270
Appendix Ⅶ Representative Examples of Conceptual Metaphors 272