Les idiotismes dans la grammaire générative

Abstract

The paper deals with the main inadequacies o f the generative approach to the analysis o f idioms. The apparatus implemented by Chomsky (deep structures, selectional restrictions and kernel sentences) is unable to forsee and explain the irregularities concerning these expressions. The idioms are divided into sub-groups in order to show that their various kinds are to be described in different ways. Some suggestions on how to deal adequately with them are brought about. Although several problems (inflectional morphology, inability to undergo certain transformations) remain unresolved, the proposed improvements afford assimilation o f idioms within the lexicon.