unidiomatic
Not native-sounding speech
Unidiomatic describes language that doesn't follow the natural patterns of native speakers—grammatically correct but somehow off.
A phrase like I made a decision to go is unidiomatic where a native speaker would say I decided to go.
Foreign language learners and machine translators often produce unidiomatic but comprehensible sentences.
Meaning exactly what's said
- word-for-wordExactly as stated
- non-nativeNot indigenous here
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
- translationeseAwkwardly literal converted text
foreignism · interference · mother-tongue · ESL · learner · verbatim
Unnaturally formal in expression
- unnaturalContrary to normal order
- forcedMade to occur unwillingly
- contrivedDeliberately manufactured, unnatural
- awkwardLacking grace or ease
clunky · stiff · wooden · labored · inelegant · graceless · clumsy · ham-fisted
Disturbingly incongruous
- discordantLacking musical agreement
- incongruousNot fitting together harmoniously
- out-of-placeNot fitting the surroundings
- misplacedPut in wrong location
inappropriate · dissonant · anomalous · unfamiliar · strange · peculiar · odd · off-key
literal
Meaning exactly what's said
- word-for-wordExactly as stated
- non-nativeNot indigenous here
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
translationese · foreignism · interference · mother-tongue · ESL · learner · verbatim
stilted
Unnaturally formal in expression
- unnaturalContrary to normal order
- forcedMade to occur unwillingly
- contrivedDeliberately manufactured, unnatural
awkward · clunky · stiff · wooden · labored · inelegant · graceless · clumsy · ham-fisted · heavy-handed
jarring
Disturbingly incongruous
- discordantLacking musical agreement
- incongruousNot fitting together harmoniously
- out-of-placeNot fitting the surroundings
misplaced · inappropriate · dissonant · anomalous · unfamiliar · strange · peculiar · odd · off-key · ill-fitting
unidiomaticidiomatic
Characteristic of natural speech
natural · fluent · colloquial · authentic · vernacular