Longman Dictionary of

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idiolect
idiolect n idiolectal adj
the language system of an individual as expressed by the way he or she
speaks or writes within the overall system of a particular language. In
its widest sense, someone’s idiolect includes their way of communicating;
for example, their choice of utterances and the way they interpret
the utterances made by others. In a narrower sense, an idiolect may
include those features, either in speech or writing, which distinguish
one individual from others, such as VOICE QUALITY, PITCH, and SPEECH
RHYTHM.
see also DIALECT, SOCIOLECT
idiom n idiomatic adj
an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot
be worked out from its separate parts.
For example:
She washed her hands of the matter.
means
“She refused to have anything more to do with the matter”.
idiomatic adj, idiomaticity n
the degree to which speech is not simply grammatical but also native-like
in use. For example, “It pleases me that Harry was able to be brought by
you” (said by a host/hostess to a guest at a party) is grammatical but not
native-like or idiomatic, whereas “I’m so glad you could bring Harry” is
both grammatical and idiomatic.
IELTS n
see INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING SYSTEM
IEP n
an abbreviation for INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMME
I-language
also internalized language
language viewed as an internal property of the human mind or a computational
system in the human brain. Linguists who subscribe to this view
attempt to construct grammars showing how the mind structures
language and what universal principles are involved (see UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR, GENERATIVE THEORY).
I-language can be contrasted with E-language (externalized language),
language viewed as a collection of texts or a social phenomenon.
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