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Oktay Cetin ©
Osh State University, Arashan Institute of Social Sciences Bishkek /Kyrgyzstan THE STATE OF FEAR IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH IDIOMS
Summary
This article may be accepted as a short comparative study which demonstrates fear and state of fear in English and Turkish idioms. In order to indicate the similarities and differences, 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. Finally, the possible translation methods, usage of English and Turkish idioms demonstrated with examples.
Keywords: Fear, idioms, Turkish, English, fear, fearful, translation, meaning, images, similar, different, figurative, language universals.
INTRODUCTION
Idioms have long been considered as a back bone of every languages. 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 walks of daily life. Idioms are the beautiful, attractive, short and effective expressions of the old traditions in modern era. Therefore, they can be accepted as a historical bridge between the past and present .In addition, idioms are inexhaustible treasure for moral and traditional values which teach some historical, cultural and traditional principles to next generations. Despite some amazing peculiarities, the richness and the figurative meaning of idioms prevent even the native speakers of language from proper understanding of them. In other words, the idioms are not always transparent. Therefore, they are understood with their literal meaning and at times, they should be understood figuratively without losing the connection of their literal forms.
The following definitions will provide detailed information about idioms;
"idioms are indispensible to the daily speech of people and to the language of the books and newspapers,television and movies." [1.7].
"idiom is a combination of fixed words which, ease speech and writing and sometimes can not be understood logically." [2.5].
"idioms are fixed combination of words whose meaning is often difficult to guess from the meaning of each individual words." [3.6].
"idiom is defined as complex item which is longer than a word form but shorter than a sentence." [4.3].
"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 .
As it is well known that there is a close relation between fear and human being. It means that we confront with some kinds of fear in different occasions. It can be said that fear inevitably became the part of our life even if we don't like. As a result of that fear took place in innumerable idioms and proverbs. Fear can be defined as "an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or
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awareness of danger." [6.1]. No doubt some mistakes, possibility of punishments and unexpected events may cause fear .However, definite cause and root of fear remains as a mystery.
- White as a ghost :(Yuzu /beti Kire? Kesilmek/Turning one's face whitish (like hydrated
lime)
Meaning of English idiom: "Having a very pale complexion from fright or illness." [7.271].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "korkmak-have fear "[8.Y]. Ghost is accepted as an awful creature in many cultures. Therefore, especially in western society ghost became the symbol of fear. English and Turkish idioms figuratively express the state of a person who is really so scared. Actually, in English idiom the state of frighten person is indicated by the image of ghost that was believed to appear with white dress. However, the same situation is expressed in Turkish idiom by using the image of whitish face that likens to hydrated lime which was used to whiten the houses in past. In Turkish tradition if anyone says that "yuzu kire? kesildi- one's face turned to whitish" means that he was frightened so much. It can be said that both idioms have the same meaning. However, each idiom expresses the fearful state of a person differently. White in English, Kire? in Turkish used as metaphors. Finally, it can be said that there is no way to direct translation between the idioms. For the accurate translation we can use language universals or find the equivalents of idioms.
English example: "Sonya said as she hung up. When she turned to face us, she was as white as a ghost. " [9.316].
Turkish example: "Yuzu kire? kesildi. O kadar ki arkasindaki kire? rengi duvardan ?ehresini ayirt edemedim." [10.84].
- Have one's heart in one's mouth: (Yuregi agzina gelmek- Have one's heart in one's mouth- One's heart moves to mouth)
Meaning of English idiom: "Be in trepidation." [11.279].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: " Birden bire ?ok korkmak-have sudden fear of sth ." [12.195].
Heart is one of the most important parts of human body which can be considered as a center of human senses. All the external attitudes of individuals are the simple reflection of our inner senses that managed by heart. English and Turkish idioms figuratively express the state of fearful person by using mouth and heart. Actually, the heart symbolizes human soul. On the other hand, the mouth can be accepted as a gate of human body so if the heart gets out of mouth the person dies. It is crystal clear that the idioms aim to intensify the meaning of fear by bringing the heart to one's mouth. For instance, In Turkish we say "yuregim agzima geldi-I had my heart in my mouth or my heart came to my mouth" means I was about to die from fear. At the endend it can be said that English and Turkish idioms have the same meaning and nearly same images. When the English idiom is translated into Turkish it will find its exact equivalent "heart-mouth"in Turkish and not lose its meaning.
English example: "With his heart in his mouth he watched the kidnappers torture his child." [13.138].
Turkish example: "Zulfikarim orada, bir a§agi bir yukari dola§tigini gorunce yuregi agzina geldi." [14.79].
- Be scared to death:(Odu patlamak/kopmak- "have one's gall bladder broken"-be frightened to death)
Meaning of English idiom: "to be extremely frightened." [15.58].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "Ansizin ?ok korkmak-sudden fear or frightened suddenly." [16.291].
Above given idioms figuratively indicate the state of fearful person who scared to death. It can be said that English and Turkish idioms have the same meaning but different images. The state of
frightened person is expressed by English idiom as "scaring to death." On the contrary, the state of scared person has been depicted by Turkish idiom as having one's gall bladder broken. It is very interesting to discover the relation between the fear and broken gall bladder of person. In accordance with old Turkish tradition the sudden fear believed to break the gall bladder and cause death. Truly, the some modern researches proved the negative effects of fear and anxiety on gall bladder. In fact in Turkish culture "odu kopmak- have one's gall bladder broken" means fear so much or fear to death. Lastly, it can be said that both idioms have the same meaning with different images. The language universals will play a key role in the translation of English idiom into Turkish.
English example: "He was scared to death of that old man." [17.18].
Turkish example: "Ate§e ba§ladiklarinda odum patladi." [18. 425].
- Hair stands on end :( Tuyleri diken diken olmak-have one's hairs stand)
Meaning of English idiom: "Feared, frightened." [19.165].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "Ansizin ?ok korkmak-sudddenly be frightened." [20.291].
Many cultures expressed the fear by using the different body parts of human being such as face, heart, eyes etc. Above given English and Turkish idioms used hair as metonymy just to demonstrate the state and behaviors of frightened person. Both idioms had the same meaning but different images. Despite having different cultural backgrounds as a common sense the standing hairs paved the ground for similarities in meaning. However, Turkish idiom expresses the situation more effective than English by using the additional metaphor "thorn" as different image. For instance, "tuylerim diken diken oldu-I had my hairs stands like thorn refers to so much fear. Here Turkish idiom to strength the description of the standing hair likens it to thorn. No doubt, it figuratively expresses the much fear. Language universals will play a positive role in translation of English idiom into Turkish.
English example: "That horror film really made my hair stand on end." [21.143].
Turkish example: " Derken, bir yol donemecinde bir "kuru kafa" gorduler; ikisinin de tuyleri diken diken oldu." [22.99].
- Break into cold sweat (soguk ter dokmek -have cold sweat)
Meaning of English idiom: "to become frightened." [23.B] .
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "korkmak to -fear." [24.S].
Breaking into cold sweat is a figurative expression of both English and Turkish idioms which illustrate the state of frightened person. There must be a question why especially cold sweat? Normally people break into sweat immediately after performing the difficult tasks. On the contrary, breaking into the cold sweat without doing anything is a sign of unusual situation caused either by some kinds of diseases or fear. Above given idioms used cold sweat as a metaphor that refers to fear. It is medically proved that when people anxious or frightened break into sweat and feel cold on their skin. Finally, we can say that idioms perfectly elucidated the state of scared person by the image of cold sweat. In the case of translation, English idiom finds its correspondence "cold sweat" in Turkish.
English example: "I broke into a cold sweat when I saw a ghostly figure" [25.221].
Turkish example: "Yine korkudan soguk terler dokmeye ba§ladim ." [26.108].
- Be afraid of one's shadow ( golgesinden korkmak-be afraid of one's own shadow)
Meaning of English idiom: "to be very easily frightened." [27.11].
Meaning of Turkish idiom: "Pek korkak-very scare" [28.200].
As it is well know that all human is not equal .For instance, some of them are very brave while others timid. Above given idioms figuratively explain the nature of fearful, jumpy and timid person. In fact both idioms attractively depict the state of fearful person whose attitudes are timid. It can be said that English and Turkish idioms have the same meaning and same images. The nature and state of fearful person was depicted as fearing from the shadow which is absolutely harmless .In reality being afraid of one's shadow is just a little bit exaggeration to strength the description of fearful person. In Turkish culture if it is said for anyone afraid of his own shadow means he is really fearful and deserves to be mocked and flouted by others. In the case of translation English idiom finds its equivalent "shadow" in Turkish.
English example: "he's afraid of his own shadow." [29.2].
Turkish example: "Herkes golgesinden korkuyor ve herkes ancak kendisini du§unuyor." [30.258].
To some up: The idioms in this article figuratively depicted the state of fear or frightened people. To depict the state of frightened person some idioms used human body parts like heart,face,hair,gall bladder etc. As we observed that English and Turkish idioms used some body parts commonly. On the other hand, due to the different cultural and traditional backgrounds each idiom used its own images like gall bladder is used only by Turkish idiom. In addition, some idioms may be looked superficially having the same meaning and same images such ;"Break into cold sweat ,Have one's heart in one's mouth" however, even in these similarities we can find out very slight differences that sometimes prevent the complete similarities and impact the translation. Contrary to differences due to common sense and cultural exchanges between the nations gave birth to nearly complete similarities in idioms of different cultures such as ;"Be afraid of one's shadow- golgesinden korkmak " Finally, It can be said that the similarities in meaning and images between English and Turkish pave the way for the accurate translation.
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