Some cakes have icing, others have a cherry: does it make a difference? A cross-linguistic norming study on 150 pairs of English and Italian idioms

This paper presents the results of a cross-linguistic idiom norming study based on 150 pairs of Italian and English idioms with similar meanings. Idiom pairs are categorized as lexical (LL), semi-lexical (SL), and post-lexical (PL) based on translatability (Beck, 2020), and annotated to indicate shared syntactic constituents. The variables explored include familiarity, meaningfulness, and objective knowledge (Experience-Based Variables, EBVs), alongside literal plausibility, decomposability, and transparency (Content-Based Variables, CBVs; Hubers, Cucchiarini, Strik, & Dijkstra, 2019). The aims of the present work are multifaceted. First, a replicability check is intended, verifying if idioms show consistent correlational patterns across Italian and English. Second, it examines whether a correlational continuum exists for each CBV, with LL idioms expected to show stronger correlations than SL and PL ones. Finally, the study deepens the comparative perspective on CBVs through exploratory statistical modeling of cross-linguistic rating differences. Results show that correlational patterns are largely replicated between Italian and English, also for variables notoriously difficult to assess. The cross-linguistic correlational continuum is found for all CBVs, and model results show that the difference between Italian and English CBV ratings increases from LL to PL idiom pairs for each CBV, confirming the translatability continuum. Notably, syntax does not significantly impact the difference between Italian and English CBV ratings. Future research avenues are outlined to further explore the relationships between idiomatic variables and expand the comparative study of cross-linguistic idioms.