Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication with emphasis on idiomatic language:

a discoursal contrastive analysis between Portuguese, Xichangana and English

Abstract

Learning and handling rules of idiomatic language usage (rules that contribute to formal appropriacy and cohesion in text), as well as rules of idio-matic language use (rules that contribute to functional appropriacy and dis-course coherence) will enhance mastery of idiomaticity, if language learners are explicitly informed of the discoursal and rhetorical properties involving the target realisation in question. Thus, major discoursal and rhetorical infelicities created by a native or second language interference will tend to occur less fre-quently when explicit discoursal contrastive analysis-based learning is imple-mented. The Portuguese-Shangaan-English project in the Mozambican context is a step in that direction.