Decoding idiom change: Root form and frequency analysis of transformed idioms in American mass media
Decodificación del cambio de modismos: forma raíz y análisis de frecuencia de modismos transformados en los medios de comunicación estadounidenses
Khassanova M.
30 September 2024Universidad de Granada
Porta Linguarum
2024#2024Issue 11147 - 168 pp.
This paper examines the evolution of three idioms – ‘seen better days’, ‘spill the beans’ and ‘kill two birds with one stone’ – and their transformations within the landscape of American mass media. Drawing upon a vast collection of examples from newspapers, magazines, television programs and social media platforms, this article provides an extensive analysis of linguistic transformations and their cultural implications. The occurrences of both the original and the transformed idioms, their frequency and their contextual usage were all analyzed utilizing resources such as COCA, Sketch Engine, Ngram Book Viewer and diction-aries. Examples such as ‘known better days’ replacing ‘seen better days’, ‘spill the tea’ emerging from ‘spill the beans’, and variations like ‘hit two birds with one stone’ and ‘feed two birds with one scone’ illustrate shift towards more contemporary, socially conscious language. The findings underscore the interplay between language, technology, and cultural expression providing valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the English language and its implications for researchers, linguistic training, and professional practice globally.
corpus , mass media , Ngram Book Viewer , Sketch Engine , transformed idioms
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Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan
Al Farabi Kazakh National University
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026