Literary notes about idiomatic (AI summary)
In literary discourse, "idiomatic" denotes language that is natural, culturally rooted, and expressive of a community’s everyday speech. It is often used to distinguish phrasing that flows with native ease from constructions that, while grammatically correct, may feel forced or artificial [1]. The term further appears in discussions on translation, where preserving the idiomatic quality of a text is seen as essential for capturing its original charm and nuance [2, 3, 4]. Authors and critics alike value idiomatic expression as a marker of authenticity and stylistic clarity, underscoring its importance in both creative writing and scholarly commentary [5, 6, 7].
- His style is sonorous and fluent, but not idiomatic.
— from English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English HistoryDesigned as a Manual of Instruction by Henry Coppée - There is a wide range of literary art represented in this volume, and the translations are extremely smooth and idiomatic.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - Schaff wrote that “Dr. Alexander is beyond doubt one of the best translators of German hymns into idiomatic English.”
— from Handbook to the Mennonite Hymnary by Lester Hostetler - Luther often spent a week on a single verse to find and fix the idiomatic German.
— from The Story of the Innumerable Company, and Other Sketches by David Starr Jordan - Madame Defarge was not likely to follow these idiomatic remarks in detail; but, she so far understood them as to perceive that she was set at naught.
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - Terence was the only foreigner who attained perfect idiomatic purity of speech, but he must have been brought to Rome when quite a child.
— from The Roman Poets of the Republic, 3rd edition by W. Y. (William Young) Sellar - Another complaint I have against Mr. Long is, that he is not quite idiomatic and simple enough.
— from Selections from the Prose Works of Matthew Arnold by Matthew Arnold
