Abstract:

Idioms indicate a sense of richness in a language. Thus idioms have a significant place in a language. Understanding and comprehending abstract concepts is rather difficult for a child who is just learning his/her native language. In this context idioms help pre-school children in their understanding of abstract situations. Therefore the amount of idioms that are present in children’s books is crucial. This paper explores the idioms in terms of both quality and quantity in Filiz Özdem’s novel Sırlarla Dolu Konak. Filiz Özdem has an important place in children and teenage literature. She has written productively for a wide range of age groups. Filiz Özdem’s novel entitled Sırlarla Dolu Konak is regarded as early youth novel mainly addressing the age group between 10-12. This novel was first published by YKY in June 2012. So far the book has been published for five times indicating its popularity among young readers. The book, which consists of 118 pages, employs a simple and clear language. Thus, the frequency and usage of idioms in the novel are many. It is observed that the idioms used in the novel are commonly used and known by most of the readers. This paper attempts to determine, list and define the idioms in the novel, and to identify how the author has used them in terms of syntax, style and lexical features.

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