The idiom «elephant in the room» in texts: a figurative phrase with shifting boundaries
Uiliia Chertkova
Докладчик
магистрант 1 курса
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Ключевые слова, аннотация
The study focuses on the usage of the idiom elephant in the room in texts retrieved from the Iweb Corpus and the Internet. It is based on the approaches proposed by the modern corpus and cognitive linguistics. The corpus data reveal that idiom functions as a figurative extension, enabling creativity and wordplay. Further analysis explores the figurative potential of the animal names and demonstrates that what is commonly perceived as a fixed expression may vary in size and may contain a variety of words not registered in dictionaries.
Тезисы
Key words: idiom; text; corpus; Iweb
The current study presents an analysis of the use of the idiom elephant in the room in texts retrieved from the IWeb Corpus and the Internet. The study attempts to extend the analysis of idiomatic meaning and variation following the direction outlined by modern corpus linguistics. The development of corpus research offers a more flexible approach to the usage of idioms in context and provides a more nuanced understanding of the fluid nature of figurative meaning [Fellbaum, 2019; Wilinski, 2022]. The choice of material stems from the studies on the most frequent English idioms. Analysis of 300 contexts retrieved from IWeb corpus reveal that the idiom elephant in the room functions as a figurative extension and a source of creativity and wordplay. In the domain of cognitive linguistics wordplay and creativity are seen as undeliberate processes tied to the human experience. In Iweb corpora it occurs primarily in articles, comments, blogs, titles [Gibbs, Raymond, 2018]. The creative usage of the idiom elephant in the room in the texts retrieved from the corpus produces a humorous effect and adds evaluative expressiveness to the context.
I meet many other young researchers and whenever I try to talk about jobs, plans, options there is always this big and scary elephant in the room [IWeb]. Unmarried women fare worse financially in retirement, and then there is the huge, white-veiled elephant in the room: the enormous lingering societal pressure on women to marry [IWeb].
The figurative potential of the word elephant allows for this wordplay (huge; big and scary). Creative usage makes the text more expressive, adds an ironic undertone and makes the issue discussed more relatable. Irony gives rise to multiple verbs used with the idiom elephant in the room: Kill The Elephants In The Room Before They Kill You (job prospects); 20 Ways to Kill Elephants (In Rooms) Or just dance with them (problem resolution); let’s quickly slaughter the elephant in the room (a critical film review); But to shoot the elephant in the room, maybe we are also a little ashamed. (depression); Love and respect will pull the elephant in the room through a keyhole (couples therapy); OK, let's kick the elephant in the room out of the door first (a critical TV show review). Such types of contexts are encountered in the titles of the articles or the articles themselves. The figurative potential of the word elephant makes the wordplay possible and aids to diminish the issue adding a humorous effect. Thus, it is possible to establish the model «“the name of an animal” + “in the room”». The figurative potential of the animal names gives rise to the usage of figurative phrases the tiger in the room (anxiety), wolf in the room (ecology), dove in the room (therapy), the butterfly in the room (an installation), a gorilla in the room (Alzheimer’s).
The discussion demonstrates the potential for the compositional variability of the idiom elephant in the room and outlines the mechanisms that make this variability possible.
References:
Gibbs Jr., Raymond W. Words making love together: Dynamics of metaphoric creativity // Cultures and Traditions of Wordplay and Wordplay Research. Berlin; Boston; De Gruyter, 2018. С. 23—46.
Fellbaum, C. How flexible are idioms? A corpus-based study // Linguistics. 2019. №57. С. 735—767.
Wiliński J. Metaphodioms: connecting metaphor and idioms // Brno studies in English. 2022. №48. С. 381—409.
The current study presents an analysis of the use of the idiom elephant in the room in texts retrieved from the IWeb Corpus and the Internet. The study attempts to extend the analysis of idiomatic meaning and variation following the direction outlined by modern corpus linguistics. The development of corpus research offers a more flexible approach to the usage of idioms in context and provides a more nuanced understanding of the fluid nature of figurative meaning [Fellbaum, 2019; Wilinski, 2022]. The choice of material stems from the studies on the most frequent English idioms. Analysis of 300 contexts retrieved from IWeb corpus reveal that the idiom elephant in the room functions as a figurative extension and a source of creativity and wordplay. In the domain of cognitive linguistics wordplay and creativity are seen as undeliberate processes tied to the human experience. In Iweb corpora it occurs primarily in articles, comments, blogs, titles [Gibbs, Raymond, 2018]. The creative usage of the idiom elephant in the room in the texts retrieved from the corpus produces a humorous effect and adds evaluative expressiveness to the context.
I meet many other young researchers and whenever I try to talk about jobs, plans, options there is always this big and scary elephant in the room [IWeb]. Unmarried women fare worse financially in retirement, and then there is the huge, white-veiled elephant in the room: the enormous lingering societal pressure on women to marry [IWeb].
The figurative potential of the word elephant allows for this wordplay (huge; big and scary). Creative usage makes the text more expressive, adds an ironic undertone and makes the issue discussed more relatable. Irony gives rise to multiple verbs used with the idiom elephant in the room: Kill The Elephants In The Room Before They Kill You (job prospects); 20 Ways to Kill Elephants (In Rooms) Or just dance with them (problem resolution); let’s quickly slaughter the elephant in the room (a critical film review); But to shoot the elephant in the room, maybe we are also a little ashamed. (depression); Love and respect will pull the elephant in the room through a keyhole (couples therapy); OK, let's kick the elephant in the room out of the door first (a critical TV show review). Such types of contexts are encountered in the titles of the articles or the articles themselves. The figurative potential of the word elephant makes the wordplay possible and aids to diminish the issue adding a humorous effect. Thus, it is possible to establish the model «“the name of an animal” + “in the room”». The figurative potential of the animal names gives rise to the usage of figurative phrases the tiger in the room (anxiety), wolf in the room (ecology), dove in the room (therapy), the butterfly in the room (an installation), a gorilla in the room (Alzheimer’s).
The discussion demonstrates the potential for the compositional variability of the idiom elephant in the room and outlines the mechanisms that make this variability possible.
References:
Gibbs Jr., Raymond W. Words making love together: Dynamics of metaphoric creativity // Cultures and Traditions of Wordplay and Wordplay Research. Berlin; Boston; De Gruyter, 2018. С. 23—46.
Fellbaum, C. How flexible are idioms? A corpus-based study // Linguistics. 2019. №57. С. 735—767.
Wiliński J. Metaphodioms: connecting metaphor and idioms // Brno studies in English. 2022. №48. С. 381—409.