Deborah Tannen

We tend to assume that we have a baseline of speech that's going to be normal in all contexts, but the truth is, we all change our ways of speaking depending on who we're talking to. And so I think it's kind of a gesture of politeness to the people you're speaking to to try to say something in their own idiom.

American Sociologist

Varun Grover

Speaking in Hindi has helped me a lot as I can tell my stories with the exact idiom in which they come to me. I think it also helps the audience when I am speaking in a language that is non-elite, so to say, as my stories are also from that perspective.

American Writer

Garth Hudson

Unfortunately or fortunately, in order to become acquainted with the idiom of country or rock music, it is necessary to occasionally play in a bar. Bars are a rehearsal place.

Canadian Musician

John Millington Synge

Foreign languages are another favourite topic, and as these men are bilingual they have a fair notion of what it means to speak and think in many different idioms.

Irish Poet

Kehinde Wiley

Questlove is an artist who I respect because he constantly shifts within the idiom, challenging perceptions of hip-hop and black American culture.

American Artist

Jackie Shroff

K. Thiagarajan is a painfully shy young man. But he is the human personification of the idiom 'Still waters run deep.

Indian Actor

George Crumb

The development of new instrumental and vocal idioms has been one of the remarkable phenomena of recent music.

American Composer

Gordon W. Allport

Each person is an idiom unto himself, an apparent violation of the syntax of the species.

American Psychologist

Eric Zorn

You can't buy time or save it, common idioms notwithstanding. You can only spend it.

American Journalist

Paul Keating

I try to use the Australian idiom to its maximum advantage.

Australian Politician

Some idioms are rooted in cultural history or traditions and may not translate well into other languages.

Cultural Context

Idioms should be understood figuratively, not literally; they express ideas in creative ways.

Figurative Meaning

Understanding the non-literal meaning of idioms can be challenging, but it's essential for fluency.

Non-literal Use

Some idioms are specific to certain groups, such as professions or regions, and might not be widely understood.

Group Specific

Idioms add a distinctive flair to language, showcasing linguistic creativity and uniqueness.

Language Flair

Using idioms can give a personal touch to your language, reflecting individual or group identity.

Personal Touch

Artistic idioms give insight into the mindset and influences of the time or artist's personal style.

Expression Nuance

Understanding the idioms of a period in art or music can offer deeper insight into its historical context.

Historical Insight

An artist's idiom is a reflection of their creative identity and can evolve over time with their work.

Creative Identity

 as if we had arrived for the first time, what is the relationship of the human project to time and space? Taking that idiom of, as it were,

Idiom

Cultural Context

Figurative Meaning

Non-literal Use

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