The question of the classification of phraseological units is closely related to the question of their main features, that is, with the question of which units should be classified as phraseological units and what should serve as the basis for such classification. Some scientists expand the concept of “phraseologisms”, including among them (proverbs and sayings (they cut down a forest - the chips fly; if you like to ride, you love to carry a sleigh; seven do not expect one; an agreement is more valuable than money), catchphrases and aphorisms (the houses are new, yes, prejudices are old; and Vaska listens and eats; rights are not given, rights are taken), descriptive phrases and compound terms (make a mistake, win, provide assistance, earthly magnetism, voiced consonants, set phrases) and even individual words like nonsense, abracadabra, nonsense, etc., calling them “one-word idioms.” Others, on the contrary, very narrow the range of phraseological units, excluding, for example, phrases such as: Egyptian work, golden youth, peak position, ravenous appetite and the like, on that on the basis that in such combinations only one word receives a special meaning determined by the given context.
Differences in the definition of phraseological units are associated with differences in the understanding of their main features.
The main feature accepted by everyone is reproducibility (see § 42). The same generally recognized property of phraseological units is considered to be the presence of semantic integrity, that is, their own meaning, which may not be related to the meaning of their components, but may be partially related. An obligatory feature of phraseological units is their structural integrity, that is, the certainty and stability of their composition, the inadmissibility of any changes in it. A very important property of phraseological units is their segmentation, that is, the presence in their composition of several components, each of which has an accentological design, that is, has its own stress (in languages with verbal stress, see § 15). This feature of phraseological units makes it unlawful to include individual words in their composition, including repeated ones such as barely, very soon (the main emphasis is one). Combinations of a significant word with a preposition or particle cannot be included in the number of phraseological units: to death, to the conscience, not a tenant, etc., in which separate writing reflects only the accepted traditional norm (cf.: full to the brim, naked, takeaway, at attention, non-existence, unbearable captivity, etc.).
It is much more difficult to resolve the issue of including certain types of stable phrases in phraseological units. The solution to this issue is related to the typology of phraseological units, i.e., with the identification of the main types of phraseological units.
The classification of phraseological units can be approached from different points of view. Of greatest interest is the classification of phraseological units according to the degree of semantic unity and cohesion of their components. The basis for such a classification was put forward by the French linguist C. Bally, its more complete and detailed development was given by academician V.V. Vinogradov, who substantiated the division of phraseological units according to the degree of cohesion of their components into 3 types: phraseological adhesions, phraseological unities and phraseological combinations.
The greatest cohesion and fusion of components is observed in phraseological adhesions. Here the independence of words is completely lost, the meaning of the whole can no longer be deduced from the meaning of the individual parts. These are the phraseological units: headlong, carelessly, and no nails; English to show the white feather - to chicken out (lit., show the white feather), a fishy story - fiction (lit., fish story); French donner sa tangue ai chat - refuse to guess (literally, give your tongue to the cat), etc.
Less cohesion of components is found in phraseological units Oh. But here, too, the meanings of the words included in them are not independent, subordinate to the meaning of the whole. However, the meaning of the whole is relatively motivated and to some extent inferred from the meaning of the individual components. Phraseological unities are characterized by imagery. This distinguishes them from free combinations of words homonymous to them, compare: tucked a dagger into the belt and tucked everyone into the belt (see examples on page 203).
The least unity of parts is observed in phraseological combinations, so they are closest to free phrases. One of the words of a phraseological combination can be used in a direct (free) meaning, the second is used in a figurative, or phraseologically related, meaning. Therefore, the meaning of the whole is related to the meaning of the individual parts. Among the phraseological combinations there are many combinations like “verb + object”, for example, break your nose, frown; English: to break silence, to make money, to make friends, German: die Kraft nehmen (to deprive of strength) and die Hoffnungen nehmen (to deprive of hope), das Wort ergreifen (to take the floor) etc. Such phrases are especially characteristic of some languages (for example, English, German). There are also phraseological combinations of another grammatical type: sworn enemy, delicate situation, absolute hell.
Some researchers (for example, N.M. Shansky) also identify a fourth type - phraseological expressions, understanding by this term phrases consisting of words with a free meaning, but not created again in speech, but always reproduced in finished form. This includes revolutions such as the further into the forest, the more firewood; be afraid of wolves, do not go into the forest; and the casket simply opened; seriously and for a long time; socialist competition, etc. It should be noted that the boundaries of this group of phraseological phrases are very vague, as are the principles of its identification (we are talking only about reproducibility and do not take into account the degree of cohesion of the components and the formation of a new meaning of the entire phrase).
The issue of compound terms also raises controversy. Some researchers (for example, Academician V.V. Vinogradov) distinguish them in special group, others are distributed into groups common to all phraseological units.
There is no doubt that phraseological fusions and phraseological unities have much in common and are opposed to phraseological combinations. They are characterized by semantic and grammatical integrity, secondary nature, portability, and metaphorical meaning. By semantic integrity we mean that a phraseological unit expresses one concept, in semantically is equal to a word (see § 42), and by grammatical integrity - the fact that a phraseological unit appears in a sentence as a single whole, its compatibility with other words is determined by the whole expression, and not by its individual elements (cf.: He crumbled like a small demon in front of them, where a phraseological unit is a predicate, or it was considered a person in his own mind, where a phraseological unit is a definition, etc. Phraseologisms act as a single whole and in combination with other elements of the language surrounded by phraseological units. Thus, in a phraseological unit to go out into people, names can appear in the environment (nouns or pronouns) with the meaning of a specific person - Peter went out into the world, he went out into the world, the guys went out into the world, which is determined by the meaning of the entire phraseological unit, and the environment of the phraseological unit to go out into the world can only be nouns denoting printed materials - came out book, newspaper, work, magazine, work, essay, monograph, article, etc., which again is determined by the meaning of the entire phraseological unit as a whole 3.
Phraseological adhesions and phraseological unities are also characterized by secondary meaning, imagery, which can be lost, weakened in individual phraseological units, but which is restored in speech when compared with the equivalent of a phraseological unit - a word (cf.: living far away and living in the middle of nowhere is absolutely impossible increase and cannot be increased by an iota, he is lazy and omits, etc.).
Perhaps it would be legitimate to divide phraseological units into two groups: phraseological units proper and phraseological units (including in the first group only such stable figures of speech, which are characterized not only by reproducibility and the presence of a special unified meaning, different from the meanings of its constituent components, but also semantic and grammatical integrity, secondary nature, portability of meaning.The number of phraseological units can include linguistic units consisting of several interrelated components, the main feature of which is reproducibility.
The classification of phraseological units from the point of view of the cohesion of their components is undoubtedly the main and most important, but they can be classified from other points of view. Thus, it is very important to divide phraseological units into groups depending on whether their components belong to the active vocabulary (see § 36), whether they can be used in a free nominative meaning (see § 30) or whether phraseological units include words with limited use and meaning (see § 36 and 30). The first group includes the following phraseological units: like out of the blue; lather your hair; hand on heart; neither fish nor fowl; the palmate goose and the like, to the second - a byword, where the meaning (languages - peoples) and form (the old form of the local plural case) are outdated; no stake, no yard, where a stake in the old meaning is a piece of land; on the catcher and the beast runs, which contains semantic archaism (catcher - hunter). They do not have an archaic character, but exist only as part of phraseological units for the words downcast (downcast eyes, gaze), grin (grind your teeth), etc.
Phraseological units may differ in structural features and the nature of the structural model. Often there are phraseological units consisting of a noun and an adjective (Russians are the sworn enemy, Babel, in English blue stocking - blue stocking), a verb and a dependent noun (to chase a quitter, in German drei Kreuze machen - to turn up your nose, and literally: to make three crosses, in French jaire des brioches - to do stupid things, literally: to bake buns), two nouns (stumbling block), etc. Each language has its own range of models.
Phraseologisms can be classified according to their origin (see § 42) or emotional stylistic coloring (cf.; lay down arms, sink into eternity and be at knifepoint, suck it out of your finger).
The science that studies phraseological units is called phraseology.
Phraseologisms(from Greek phrasis + logos - expression, figure of speech) - These are stable, reproducible expressive complexes that have a holistic meaning and perform a single syntactic function. They give speech special expressiveness, emphasizing the national specificity and originality of the language. Without them, a person’s speech is colorless and often does not convey what he feels. But mastering phraseology is a difficult process, and shortcomings are encountered here very often. The basis for the formation of a phraseological unit is semantic simplification, i.e., limiting the meaning of a word that has become a component of a phraseological unit, having its own, single phraseological meaning. For example, the word eye in the four-volume Dictionary of the Russian Language it has three meanings: 1) organ of vision, 2) ability to see; vision; vision, 3) evil eye - the mysterious magical power of a look that brings misfortune. Last meaning of the word eye is idiomatic. In the proverb Too many cooks spoil the broth component without an eye(singular only) is based on the figurative meaning “supervision”, which arose in oral speech on the basis of the second meaning. Expression cry your eyes out- cry a lot and for a long time - relies on the first meaning of the word eye. The phraseological unit is based on the same meaning Tet-a-tet- alone with someone. A phraseological unit, acquiring a single meaning, receives its subject-conceptual orientation, due to which it can become a synonym for the word: Tet-a-tet− alone, beat your head− sit back.
The meaning of a phraseological unit, based on the figurative phraseological meanings of its components, is often motivated differently in different languages. Thus, an adverbial phraseological unit of the Russian language Tet-a-tet has correspondence: German. uner vier Augen (literally: between the four eyes), English, face to face (face to face), fr. tete a tete (head to head). Phraseological units do not allow literal (word-by-word) translation: they require searching for a phraseological equivalent of another language, since phraseological meaning is accompanied by emotional, semantic and stylistic expression; for example, phraseology give bream colloquial, and the expression pitch darkness− bookish.
The degree of semantic simplification of the components of a phraseological unit varies; The older the phraseological unit is and the less connected it is with words of general use, the less motivated the phraseological meaning is, the more its internal form is forgotten. The classification of phraseological units is based on the degree of semantic simplification. The most famous classification is V.V. Vinogradov.
1 . Phraseological adhesions: sharpen the lasses, how to drink, on your own mind - The main feature of fusion is its semantic indivisibility, the absolute non-derivability of the meanings of the whole from its components. It represents a semantic unit, homogeneous with a word, devoid of internal form. Phraseological adjuncts are also called idioms. Idioms (phraseological units) do not allow word-by-word (literal) understanding, since one of the components has fallen out of modern word usage; This is also facilitated by a change in shape: laces(instead of balusters− balustrade posts; Wed Italian balaustro − column, baluster), just a joke− vm. tell a joke.
2. Phraseological unities: soap your neck; wash dirty linen in public; shot sparrow; you never know. Adjacent to phraseological units are sayings and proverbs, which have the form not of phrases, but of sentences: The master's work is afraid; Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
A feature of phraseological units is their semantic two-facedness: they can be understood literally(wash dirty linen in public) and figuratively - as one semantic unit, with its own phraseological meaning “to disclose something”.
3. Phraseological combinations− this type of stable combinations in which non-free phraseological meanings of words are realized, for example − look away(from someone): Me with an effort he averted his eyes from that beautiful face. However, when management changes, phraseological unity arises look away(to someone) − to deceive: The courtesy and dexterity that he flaunted in front of the buyer who came to his shop was nothing more than a means of “averting” the buyer’s eyes, “talking his teeth” and in the meantime foisting rotten, faded goods.(G. Uspensky).
Compound names and terms. Phraseologisms are expressive means of language; they are characteristic of oral and book speech, language fiction. Due to these properties, compound names differ from phraseological units: they do not have an emotional-figurative meaning. Compound names are nominative means of the language, its constituent lexemes.
PHRASEOLOGISTS are lexically indivisible, stable in their composition and structure, integral in meaning, phrases reproduced in the form of a ready-made speech unit.
The peculiarity of these combinations is that in some respects they are closer to a word than to a phrase or sentence: in most cases, in meaning, in its lexical meaning, a phraseological unit is equal to the word (pout lips - be offended; headlong - quickly, etc. ); in a sentence, a phraseological unit, like a word, acts as one indivisible member of it: Out of fear, they rushed wherever they looked (the phraseological unit here is a circumstance of place); phraseological units have a constant composition; words cannot be changed arbitrarily in them, because in this case, they lose their special, holistic phraseological meaning: it is impossible to say He loves to make a whale out of sprat instead of He loves to make an elephant out of a fly.
Stable phrases are not the same in the degree of cohesion and connectedness of the words included in them. In this regard, three types of stable phrases are distinguished: phraseological fusions, phraseological unities, phraseological combinations.
Phraseological fusions are expressions whose general meaning does not depend in any way on lexical
meanings of the words included in it: sharpen lyasy, how to drink dat, a byword, here's your ina, etc.
Phraseological unities are related phrases, the meaning of which is more or less motivated and determined by the meanings of the component words: making a molehill out of a molehill, bent into a ram's horn, falling for a bait, etc. Phraseological unities can be considered as a kind of phraseological metaphors.
Phraseological phrases are such stable expressions in which one word is connected, is not free in its use and is found only in a given phrase (less often in two or three), although it has an independent meaning: bosom friend, will prevail, will win, blank verses , quicklime, etc.
Some linguistic scientists also identify phraseological expressions, which include proverbs, sayings, catchphrases, established phrases - names of certain phenomena and concepts, i.e. those phrases and sentences that, in the process of communication, are reproduced as ready-made linguistic units with a constant composition and meaning: to be afraid of wolves - do not go into the forest; Love for all ages; higher education institution.
Proverbs and sayings are a complete statement; their meaning is usually conveyed in an extended sentence. Proverbs can be understood as sayings that have a literal and figurative meaning: the nightingale is not fed fables; They carry water for angry people. Proverbs are sayings that have a literal meaning: money loves money; braid - girlish beauty.
Catchwords are expressions that are short quotes or go back to some literary work, as well as sayings that belong to or are attributed to historical figures, political, public figures, generally known people, and that are included in our speech: I would be glad to serve, but it is sickening to be served ( A.S. Griboyedov); socialism with a human face (A. Dubcek). Many popular expressions go back to the Bible; they are called biblicalisms. massacre of infants, scapegoat, prodigal son, beating swords into ploughshares, the lie of salvation, let this cup pass from me, the evil place, the poor in spirit, etc.
Sources of phraseological units other than the Bible can be
Historical events (Moscow burned down from a penny candle; a sandpiper is far from Peter's Day);
professional terminology (remove the shavings; peel off like sticky; the bast doesn’t knit; twist the rope; get into trouble; hit the spot; without a hitch, without a hitch; finish like a nut; shelve; run aground; bring to clean water; play first violin; reel in fishing rods);
Fiction (for grandfather’s village; and the cart is still there; dead Souls; panurg herd; Feast in Time of Plague; from the ship to the ball; Demyanova's ear);
Folklore (a beautiful maiden, out of nowhere, far away);
Ancient mythology (tantalum flour, Ariadne's thread, Pandora's box, Augean stables).
The slang-argotic expressions go back to leaving the game, going all-in, rubbing in points, etc.
Dialectal phraseological units associated with the work and life of the pre-revolutionary peasantry
turn shafts without slurping salt, without washing by rolling, smoke with a rocker, wash dirty linen in public, etc.
Borrowed phraseological units are divided into borrowings from the Old Church Slavonic language and borrowings from Western European languages.
Old Church Slavonic phraseological units became entrenched in the Russian language after the introduction of Christianity. Most often they have a bookish character: a proverb, seek and you will find, etc.
Phraseologisms borrowed from Western European languages include the most ancient borrowings from Latin or Ancient Greek (for example, from Latin terra incognito - something unknown, lit. - “unknown land”). More recent are borrowings from French (to have a grudge against someone; tet-a-tet), German (to completely smash), and English (bluestocking) languages.
Phraseologisms are widely used both in oral and written speech. Most of them are stylistically colored and can be classified into two main groups: bookish and colloquial. The book style includes phraseological units such as a voice crying in the wilderness, cast into the dust, a proverb, Pandora's box, etc. Colloquial phraseological units are used in everyday speech, as well as in fiction and journalism to enhance expressiveness. These include, for example, expressions without a king in the head, with the king Pea, seven Fridays in a week, climb into a bottle, etc. There are few stylistically neutral phraseological units; they are mostly compound names: point of view, rising star, railroad, etc. In order to determine the stylistic coloring of any phraseological unit (as well as
words), you should use phraseological or explanatory dictionaries, where there are stylistic notes that indicate which style of the modern Russian language a given word or expression belongs to, what emotional connotation it carries.
When using phraseological units that decorate our speech and make it lively and figurative, we should avoid mistakes that may be associated with:
With change grammatical form phraseological unit: sitting with folded hands; there is nowhere for the apples to fall;
With a violation of its lexical composition: it’s time for you to take charge of your mind; even if there is a stake on your head; brought me to my white knees;
With a mixture of two stable phrases: silent like a fish on ice (silent like a fish and fights like a fish on ice); the word is not a sparrow, you cannot cut it out with an ax; crumbled like a soap bubble; burst like a house of cards,
With misunderstanding or ignorance of the meaning of the phraseological unit: Khlestakov is always throwing pearls before swine, but everyone believes him (the phraseological unit is used in an unusual sense for it “to invent, weave fables”).
So, the use of stable phrases gives speech a special imagery and emotionality, but requires special care in choosing a particular phraseological unit in accordance with the style of speech and the communication situation, as well as accuracy in its reproduction.
Every language makes good use of stable, traditionally repeated word combinations. They resist variables. Stable combinations of words are called cliche, they are used entirely in speech. There are words that have a narrow compatibility, a single one (bosom friend, sworn enemy). In this case, the stability of the combination is created by the very fact of a single compatibility with one of the components; most often, the reason for the stability of the combination lies in something else, in the semantic isolation of the phrase, i.e. in one or another shift in the meaning of the phrase.
A stable combination with a value shift is called phraseological units, and the science that studies them phraseology. Phraseologisms are similar to individual full-valued words. A word and a phraseological unit perform one function.
Each language has its own original phraseology. Translating phraseological units from one language to another is difficult. As a rule, phrases-we are not translated; you need to find a phrase-m that is suitable in meaning (equivalent). Their role in speech is very important: they decorate speech. Often phrases become catchphrases created by the authors of works (Yes, but things are still there).
Phraseologism (phraseological unit of language) is a stable combination of words, which is characterized by unity, indivisibility of meaning, forced connection between words and integrity of reproduction in speech.
A great contribution to the study of phraseology was made by the Swiss linguist Charles Bally and the Russian scientist V.V. Vinogradov (laid the foundations for the classification of phraseological units).
Classification of phraseological units is based on the relationship between the integral meaning of a phraseological unit and the meaning of individual words included in the phraseological unit: 1) idioms, 2) phraseological adhesions, 3) phraseological combinations, 4) phraseological unities.
Idioms- absolutely indivisible combinations of words. Its phraseological meaning is not explained, it is not motivated (either in general or in parts). Some words of the idiom are not understood by us, the words are forgotten (to beat the head, to get into trouble, tours on wheels). Phras. meaning in such idioms is expressed by a combination of a significant and an insignificant combination of words. The insignificance of the word is peculiar. If you turn to the past of insignificant words, you can find their motivation in the past, then the meaning of the entire idiom will become clear.
Phraseological adhesions- these are phraseological units, all elements of which, taken individually, are understandable, but the phraseological meaning does not consist of the meanings of the individual words of this combination, is not motivated, but is perceived as a whole (black sheep, led by the nose).
Phraseological unities- these are phraseological units, the constituent elements of which, taken individually, are understandable and their phraseological meaning exists as figurative, arising on the basis of the direct meaning of the elements included in the phraseological unit. Phraseological units live a double life: they can be used as free combinations of words and as expressions that are integral in meaning (sense) (to play tag).
The difference between phraseological unities and adjuncts is that the adhesions either do not have a logical, direct meaning, or they have it, but do not motivate. Phras. unities have both a direct meaning and their figurative sense motivated. Phras. barely turn into phrases over time. fusions, because motivation is forgotten.
Phraseological combinations- these are phraseological units, the constituent elements of which are understandable and they jointly express a common logical content equal to individual words (take part = participate). Phraseological combinations do not have figurative meanings; they are always used only in the direct form. The direct meaning is expressed by the compatibility of words with each other. Compatibility can be limited (have significance, play a role).
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RUSSIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NAMED AFTER A. I. HERTZEN
Faculty of Foreign Languages
COURSE WORK
Discipline: Lexicology
On the topic: Types of phraseological units and their classification
St. Petersburg, 2012
Introduction
The English language has a thousand-year history, and during this time it has accumulated a large number of sayings that people have found successful, apt and beautiful. This is how a special layer of language arose - phraseology, a set of stable expressions that have independent meaning.
Learning English is widespread in our country. Good knowledge of a language, including English, is impossible without knowledge of its phraseology. Knowledge of phraseology greatly facilitates reading both journalistic and fiction literature. Reasonable use of phraseological units makes speech more expressive and accurate.
With the help of phraseological expressions, which are not translated literally, but are perceived re-interpreted, the aesthetic aspect of the language is enhanced. “With the help of idioms, as with the help of different shades of colors, the informational aspect of language is complemented by a sensory-intuitive description of our world, our life.”
The world of phraseology of modern English is large and diverse, and every aspect of its study certainly deserves due attention.
The purpose of this work is to study phraseological units of modern English and their classification. Borrowings are one of the main sources of replenishment of English phraseology.
Borrowings from English literature are especially numerous. There are individual borrowings from the literature of Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian and other languages. “The etymological side of the study of phraseological units helps in many ways to understand the culture and life of the peoples from whom this or that phraseological expression was borrowed.”
For students of English as a foreign language, this layer of the language is difficult to master, but after mastering phraseological units, we begin to speak like the English, we understand them perfectly, our speech readiness increases sharply. We can express our thoughts briefly and very accurately, being confident in the correctness of its expression. In many cases, knowledge of English phraseology helps to avoid Russianisms, i.e. literal translations of sentences from Russian into English.
The material presented in this work is based on the study of etymological dictionaries, English-English and English-Russian phraseological dictionaries indicated in the bibliography.
1. Phraseology as an object of linguistic research
1.1 Subject and tasks of phraseology
Phraseology (Greek phrasis - “expression”, logos - “teaching”) is a branch of linguistics that studies stable combinations in language. Phraseology is also called a set of stable combinations in the language as a whole, in the language of a particular writer, in the language of a separate work of art, etc.
Phraseology emerged relatively recently as an independent linguistic discipline. “The subject and tasks, scope and methods of studying it are not yet clearly defined and have not received full coverage.” Less developed than others are questions about the main features of phraseological units in comparison with free phrases, about the classification of phraseological units and their relationship with parts of speech, etc. Linguists have not worked out consensus about what a phraseological unit is, therefore, there is no unity of views on the composition of these units in the language. Some researchers (L.P. Smith, V.P. Zhukov, V.N. Telia, N.M. Shansky, etc.) include its stable combinations in phraseology, others (N.N. Amosova, A.M. Babkin, A.I. Smirnitsky, etc.) - only certain groups. Thus, some linguists (including Academician V.V. Vinogradov) do not include proverbs, sayings and catchwords in the category of phraseological units, believing that they differ in their semantics and syntactic structure from phraseological units. V.V. Vinogradov argued: “Proverbs and sayings have a sentence structure and are not semantic equivalents of words.”
The tasks of phraseology as a linguistic discipline include a comprehensive study of the phraseological fund of a particular language. Important aspects of the study of this science are: the stability of phraseological units, the systematic nature of phraseology and the semantic structure of phraseological units, their origin and main functions. A particularly complex branch of phraseology is the translation of phraseological units, which requires considerable experience in the field of research in this discipline.
Phraseology develops the principles of identifying phraseological units, methods of studying them, classification and phraseography - descriptions in dictionaries.
Phraseology uses various methods research, such as componential analysis of meaning. On the basis of existing research methods in linguistics, “proper phraseological techniques of analysis and description” are being developed:
1. identification method - establishing the identities of words and syntactic constructions, forming phraseological units, with their free analogues; 2. application method, which is a type of identification method, a method limited in the choice of variables, establishing different structural and semantic organizations of phraseological units from combinations formed in accordance with regular patterns of choice and combination, etc. Phraseology offers various types of classifications of the phraseological composition of a language, depending on the properties of phraseological units and methods of their study.
The subject of the history of phraseology is the study of the primary, original forms and meanings of phraseological units, determining their sources from all available monuments, identifying the areas of their use in different eras of the existence of the language, as well as establishing the volume of phraseological composition and its systemic ordering in a particular historical era of language development.
Unfortunately, in the English and American linguistic literature there are few works specifically devoted to the theory of phraseology, but even the most significant works available do not raise such fundamental questions as scientifically based criteria for identifying phraseological units, the relationship between phraseological units and words, the systematic nature of phraseology, phraseological variability, phraseological education , method of studying phraseology, etc.
Also, English and American scientists do not raise the question of phraseology as a linguistic science. This explains the lack of a name for this discipline in English.
1.2 The theory of phraseology by S. Bally
Charles Bally (1865 - 1947) - a Swiss linguist of French origin, introduced the term “phraseologie” in the meaning of “a branch of stylistics that studies related phrases”, but this term was not accepted by Western European and American linguists and was used in three other meanings in his works:
1. choice of words, form of expression, wording; 2. language, syllable, style; 3. expressions, phrases.
S. Bally is considered the founder of the theory of phraseology, because first systematized combinations of words in his book “French Stylistics,” in which he included a chapter on phraseology.
In his writings, he identified “four types of phrases”:
1. free phrases (les groupements libres), i.e. combinations lacking stability, disintegrating after their formation;
2. habitual combinations (les groupments usuels), i.e. phrases with a relatively loose connection of components, allowing some changes, for example, une grave maladie - a serious disease (une dangereuse, serieuse maladie - a dangerous, serious disease);
3. phraseological series (les series phraseologiques), i.e. groups of words in which two concepts merge almost into one.
The stability of these phrases is secured by the primary use of words, for example, remporter une victorie - to win, courir un danger - to be exposed to danger. These combinations allow for rearrangement of components;
4. phraseological unities (les unites phraseologiques), i.e. combinations in which words have lost their meaning and express a single indecomposable concept. Such combinations do not allow rearrangement of components. Thus, “...the concept of Sh. Bally is based on the difference in combinations of words according to the degree of stability: combinations in which there is freedom to group components, and combinations deprived of such freedom.”
Subsequently, the great linguist revised his concept, which we discussed above, and came to the conclusion that familiar combinations and phraseological series are only intermediate types of combinations. Now S. Bally identified only two main groups of combinations: 1. free combinations and 2. phraseological unities, i.e. phrases whose components, constantly used in given combinations to express the same thought, have lost all independent meaning.
The whole combination as a whole acquires a new meaning that is not equal to the sum of the values of the component parts. S. Bally points out that “such a turnover can be compared with a chemical compound,” and emphasizes that “if unity is quite common, then, obviously, in this case the combination is equal to a simple word.” Sh. Bally spoke about the phraseology of a combination if there is a synonym for it - the so-called “identifier word”.
These thoughts of S. Bally later formed the basis for the identification of phraseological adhesions and the development of the theory of equivalence of a phraseological unit to a word. Since Bally's time, the study of phraseology has come a long way. But the work of the great scientist, written at the dawn of the study of phraseology, contributed to the further development of phraseological research.
1.3 Equivalence of a phraseological unit to a word
The development of phraseology as a linguistic science has recently posed a very difficult problem for researchers - the relationship of a phraseological unit with a word. In modern linguistics there are different points of view regarding the very formulation of this question. Some consider phraseological units to be equivalents of words, others point to their correlation with the word, replacing the theory of equivalence with the theory of correlation of phraseological combinations with the word.
The theory of equivalence of phraseological units to a word goes back to the concept of identification of expressive facts developed by S. Bally, who pointed out that the most general feature of a phraseological unit, replacing all others, is the possibility or impossibility of substituting one simple word instead of a given combination. Sh. Bally called this word an “identifying word.” Bally considers the presence of such a synonym as an internal sign of the integrity of phraseological units.
With this concept, the majority of linguists (N.N. Amosova (No. 2), N.M. Babkin (No. 4), V.P. Zhukov (No. 9), A.V. Kunin (No. 15), A.I. Smirnitsky (No. 23), N.M. Shansky (No. 32), etc.) did not agree. “The semantic integrity of a phraseological unit cannot be established in this way,” wrote V.P. Zhukov in his work on phraseology, “since variable combinations of words can have synonymous words.” For example, look fixedly - to stare; sufferings of mind or body - pain, etc. (All examples of phraseological units (the total number of which is 78), presented in the theoretical part of this work, are taken from the English-Russian Phraseological Dictionary of A.V. Kunin (No. 16) and the Longman Dictionary of English Idioms ( No. 35)). Indeed, phraseological units are in many ways similar to words, however, as a rule, one cannot equate the meaning of phraseological units with the meaning of the words with which they are identified. An essential element of the semantics of a phraseological unit is the evaluative nature of the concept it expresses, its special modality, while the element of evaluation is characteristic of the semantic structure of a word to a lesser extent. In most cases, phraseological units and the words associated with them differ in stylistic coloring, and in relation to individual words, phraseological units act mainly as stylistic rather than ideographic synonyms.
It should also be borne in mind that proverbs and sayings, i.e. phraseological units with a sentence structure can only be identified using sentences, for example, birds of a feather flock together - people who have the same interests, ideas, etc. are attracted to each other and stay close together; the blind leading the blind - a situation in which the person who is leading or advising others knows a little as they do.
The semantic integrity of a phraseological unit can be established by comparing its meaning with the meaning of its components as individual words, as well as by identifying the features of its use in context.
In the problem of “phraseologism and the word” there are mainly two directions: a narrow, lexicological understanding of phraseology as an integral part of lexicology, phraseology as an equivalent to the word, and a broad understanding of phraseology as an independent linguistic discipline.
Some supporters of the theory of complete equivalence (N.N. Amosova (No. 2), N.M. Babkin (No. 4), A.I. Smirnitsky (No. 23), etc.) consider phraseological units as lexical units that do not need special , a specific classification peculiar only to them, and which should be classified in the same way as words are classified. A.I. Smirnitsky, for example, in connection with this includes phraseology as part of lexicology. (No. 23) Thus, all the specificity of phraseological units is negated. A word, no matter how complex it is in its semantic structure, does not belong to the field of phraseology, it is an object of lexicography and lexicology.
Words and phraseological units are introduced into speech in ready-made form. This fact is given as one of the arguments in favor of the theory of complete equivalence. Introducing into speech in finished form is a shaky basis for the equivalence of a phraseological unit to a word, since reproduction in finished form is a characteristic feature of all units of language, and, as A.I. wrote in her work on phraseology. Alyokhina: “...it is inappropriate to consider them as equivalents of words; it is only important to take into account the characteristic features of reproducibility in finished form, depending on the structural and semantic features of various units of language.” And from a structural and semantic point of view, a phraseological unit is a separately formed unit of language, much more complex than a word, and this affects its actualization in a written or oral context.
A phraseological unit is not identical to a word and is not completely equivalent to it. “It represents a lexical unit of a more complex type, since the semantic meaning represented by a phraseological phrase is expressed not by one word, but by a combination of two or more words.” A phraseological unit differs from a word in its structure: a word consists of morphemes, and any phraseological unit is, first of all, a combination of words united according to the laws of the grammar of a particular language (separately formed phraseme and integrally formed word). The components of a phraseological phrase are not free in their connections; the circle of their compatibility with other words is closed. Phraseologisms are characterized by lexical stability and generally retain a constant composition.
It seems that “...the equivalence of phraseological units to a word can be recognized only in terms of their relationship to language and speech: both phraseological units and words are units of language, normally used in speech as units of nomination.”
The problem of “phraseological unit and word” is a close and complex interweaving of various linguistic connections and relationships, and the aspects of their consideration in this work are not exhaustive and the only possible ones. At the same time, the disagreements that exist in theoretical and practical issues of phraseology should be eliminated by the development of general problems that connect phraseology with lexicology. As the analysis shows, the problem of “phraseological unit and word” is one of the general problems and is currently the most important and least developed, complicating the theoretical justification of the phraseological system of the language.
1.4 Types of phraseological units in terms of semantic stability of their components
The classification of phraseological units from the point of view of the semantic unity of their components belongs to academician V.V. Vinogradov (No. 7). As you know, phraseological units arise from a free combination of words, which are used in a figurative meaning. Gradually, the portability is forgotten, erased, and the combination becomes stable. Depending on how much the nominative meanings of the components of a phraseological unit are erased, how strong the figurative meaning is in them, V.V. Vinogradov divides them into three types: “phraseological adhesions, phraseological unities and phraseological combinations” (No. 7 p. 89) . Let us consider these types of phraseological units in relation to modern English.
1.4.1 Phraseological adjunctions
Phraseological combinations, or idioms, are absolutely indivisible, indecomposable stable combinations, general meaning which does not depend on the meaning of their constituent words: kick the bucket (colloquial) - bend over, die; = stretch your legs; send smb. to Coventry - boycott someone, stop communicating with someone; at bay - driven, in a hopeless situation; be at smb."s beck and call - to be always ready to serve; = to be at your beck and call; to rain cats and dogs - to pour like buckets (about rain); be all thumbs - to be awkward, clumsy; Kilkenny cats - mortal enemies . Phraseological fusions arose on the basis of figurative meanings of their components, but subsequently these figurative meanings became incomprehensible from the point of view of modern language. “The imagery of phraseological fusions is revealed only historically.” For example, the words “bay”, meaning “dead end”, and “beck” - “wave of the hand” are archaisms and are not used anywhere other than the phraseological unit given above. Or, for example, the expression to be all thumbs was historically formed from the expression one's fingers are all thumbs.
We see something similar in the phraseological units Kilkenny cats (which, apparently, goes back to the legend of a fierce struggle between the cities of Kilkenny and Irishtown in the 17th century, which led to their ruin (No. 16)) and send smb. to Coventry (Clarendon’s book “The History of the Great Rebellion and Civil Wars in England” says that during the English Revolution in the city of Coventry there was a prison in which exiled royalists were kept (No. 16)).
Thus, in phraseological fusions the connection between direct and figurative meanings has been lost; the figurative has become the main one for them. That is why phraseological fusions are difficult to translate into other languages.
Phraseological fusions have a number of characteristic features: 1. they may include so-called necrotisms - words that are not used anywhere except for this fusion and are therefore incomprehensible from the point of view of modern language; 2. adhesions may include archaisms; 3. they are syntactically indecomposable; 4. in most cases, it is impossible to rearrange the components; 5. they are characterized by impenetrability - they do not allow additional words into their composition.
Losing your independence lexical meaning, “...words included in the structure of a phraseological fusion are transformed into components of a complex lexical unit, which approaches the meaning of a separate word.”
Therefore, many phraseological combinations are synonymous with the words: kick the bucket - to die; send smb. to Coventry - to ignore, etc. But we should not forget that, as stated in the chapter on the equivalence of a phraseological unit to a word, from the point of view of stylistics, phraseological units and the word are far from each other.
1.4.2 Phraseological unities
Phraseological unities are such stable combinations of words in which, in the presence of a common figurative meaning, the signs of semantic separation of components are clearly preserved: to spill the beans - to give away a secret; to burn bridges - burn bridges; to have other fish to fry - to have more important things to do; to throw dust into smb."s eyes - talk with teeth; to burn one"s fingers - get burned on something; to throw mud at smb. - throw mud; to be narrow in the shoulders - not to understand jokes; to paint the devil blacker than he is - to thicken the paint; to put a spoke in smb."s wheel - put spokes in the wheels; to hold one"s cards close to one"s chest - keep something secret, not disclose something, keep quiet, ~ keep your mouth shut; to gild refined gold - to gild pure gold, to try to improve, to decorate something that is already quite good; to paint the lily - to tint the color of a lily, to try to improve or decorate something that does not need improvement.
“Phraseological unities are somewhat closer to phraseological fusions in their imagery and metaphor.” But unlike phraseological fusions, where figurative content is revealed only diachronically, in phraseological unities, figurativeness and portability are realized from the point of view of modern language. No wonder Academician V.V. Vinogradov considers imagery to be a characteristic feature of only phraseological unities.
“The connection between the components of phraseological unity is motivated, metaphorization is clearly felt.” To understand phraseological unity, it is necessary to perceive its components in a figurative meaning. For example, the meaning of the expression make a mountain out of a molehill is to make a mountain out of a mountain, i.e. to greatly exaggerate something (literally, to make a mountain out of the mound of a mole hole), is revealed only if the word molehill is considered in the meaning of “something insignificant, small,” and the word mountain is “something very large.” There are no words in the phraseological units that are not understandable from the point of view of modern language.
Characteristic features of phraseological units:
1. vivid imagery and the resulting possibility of coincidence with parallel existing phrases (cf.: to throw dust into smb."s eyes, to be narrow in the shoulders, to burn one"s fingers, to burn bridges);
2. preserving the semantics of individual components (to put a spoke in smb."s wheel);
3. the impossibility of replacing some components with others (to hold one's cards close to one's chest);
4. emotional and expressive coloring plays a decisive role (to throw dust into smb."s eyes, to paint the devil blacker than he is);
5. the ability to enter into synonymous relationships with individual words or other phraseological units (to gild refined gold = to paint the lily).
1.4.3 Phraseological combinations
Phraseological combinations are stable phrases that include words with both free and phraseologically related meanings: a bosom friend - bosom friend, a pitched battle - a fierce fight, (to have) a narrow escape - to be saved by a miracle, to frown one "s eyebrows - frown, Adam"s apple - Adam's apple, a Sisyfean labor - Sisyphean labor, rack one"s brains - rack your brains (think hard, remember), to pay attention to smb. - pay attention to someone , etc.
In contrast to phraseological adhesions and phraseological unities, which have a holistic, indecomposable meaning, “phraseological combinations are characterized by semantic decomposability.” In this respect, they come close to free phrases.
Characteristic features of phraseological combinations:
1. in them, variation of one of the components is allowed (a bosom friend - a bosom friend, a bosom buddy - a bosom buddy);
2. a synonymous replacement of the core word is possible (a pitched battle - a fierce fight, a fierce battle - a fierce fight);
3. it is possible to include definitions (he frowned his thick eyebrows, he frowned his thick eyebrows);
4. permutation of components is permissible (a Sisyfean labor - Sisyphus’s work, a labor of Sisyphus - the work of Sisyphus);
5. the free use of one of the components and the associated use of the other is mandatory (a bosom friend - a bosom friend: a bosom friend cannot be an enemy or anyone else).
The promotion of reproducibility as the main feature of phraseological units allowed Professor N.M. Shansky to further develop the classification of Academician V.V. Vinogradov and identify the fourth type of phraseological units - the so-called “phraseological expressions”.
1.4.4 Phraseological expressions
Phraseological expressions include phraseological units that are stable in their composition and use, which consist entirely of words with “free nominative meaning and are semantically divisible.”
Their only feature is reproducibility: they are used as ready-made speech units with a constant lexical composition and certain semantics.
Phraseological expressions are only phrases with the literal meaning of the components.
Phraseological expressions include numerous English proverbs and sayings that are used in direct meaning, have no figurative allegorical meaning: live and learn - live forever, learn forever; better untaught than ill taught - it is better to be unlearned than to be incorrectly taught; many men, many minds - how many heads, so many minds; easier said then done - easier said than done; nothing is impossible to a willing heart - whoever wants will achieve it.
1.5 Translation of phraseological units
Transmitting phraseological units into English is a very difficult task.
“Due to its semantic richness, imagery, brevity and brightness, phraseology plays a very important role in the language.” It gives expressiveness and originality to speech.
Phraseologisms are used especially widely in oral speech, fiction and political literature.
When translating a phraseological unit, the translator needs to convey its meaning and reflect its imagery, finding a similar expression in the English language and without losing sight of the stylistic function of the phraseological unit. If there is no identical image in English, the translator is forced to resort to searching for an “approximate match.”
Phraseological equivalents can be complete or partial.
Full phraseological equivalents are those ready-made English equivalents that coincide with Russian ones in meaning, lexical composition, imagery, stylistic coloring and grammatical structure; for example: rest on one's laurels - rest on one's laurels, the salt of the earth - the salt of the earth, play with fire - to play with fire, the hour has come (struck) - one's hour has struck, there is no smoke without fire - there is no smoke without fire, hardworking like a bee - busy as a bee.
Translation based on partial phraseological equivalents does not mean that the meaning and imagery of a phraseological unit is not fully conveyed in translation; By this term it should be kept in mind that the equivalent proposed in English may have some discrepancies with the Russian one.
In other words, for a translator “when translating a phraseological unit, it is important, first of all, to convey the image of the phraseological unit, and not its linguistic structure.” Partial phraseological equivalents can be divided into three groups.
The first group includes phraseological units that coincide in meaning, stylistic coloring and are similar in imagery, but diverging in lexical composition: promise mountains of gold - to promise wonders, to promise the moon, visiting is good, but home is better - East or West, home is the best, buy a pig in a poke - to buy pig in a poke, the first swallow - the first portent (sign), the game is not worth the candle - the game is not worth the candle, the talk of the town - the talk of the town.
Some of these phrases are translated using antonymic translation, i.e. a negative meaning is conveyed by the translator using an affirmative construction, or, conversely, a positive meaning is conveyed using a negative construction: chickens are counted in the fall - don't count your chickens before they are hatched.
The second group includes phraseological units that match in meaning, imagery, lexical composition and stylistic coloring; but they differ in such formal characteristics as the number and order of words, for example: to play into someone’s hands - to play into smb.”s hands (here there is a discrepancy in number); not all that glitters is gold - all is not gold that glitters (divergence in word order); not to see the wood for the trees (divergence in word order).
The third group includes phraseological units that coincide in all respects, with the exception of imagery.
In Russian we say - go to the side, while the English equivalent is the usual - to go to bed.
In Russian there is a phrase - to be in full view, and in English in such cases it is customary to say - to spread before the eyes, to be an open book. In Russian we say - as old as the hills, and in English the same idea is conveyed by the phrase - as old as the hills.
Sometimes the distinctive feature of phraseological units is the frequency of use in speech of one or another idiomatic expression, if violated, the phraseology used can give the speaker’s speech an unusual or even old-fashioned character. The translator should always remember this.
When translating phraseological units, the translator must be able to determine whether he is dealing with a variable or fixed phrase. To do this, you need to have a large “receptive stock of phraseological units.” It should be borne in mind that phrases, like words, are characterized by polysemy and homonymy, and one of the meanings can be phraseological and one of the homonyms can be a phraseological unit. For example, the phrase to burn one's fingers has the meaning 1. burn your fingers and 2. get burned on something, make a mistake; to be narrow in the shoulders can have a direct meaning (to be narrow-shouldered) and a phraseological meaning (not to understand humor). Don "t mention it" can mean: “Don't remind me of this” and “No thanks, please.” Phraseologism “to throw the book at smb.” means “to sentence someone to the maximum term of imprisonment.” But it is theoretically possible to have a context in which this phrase is used as a variable.
A phraseological unit can sometimes differ from a variable phrase only by the article, which in this case is a formal differentiating feature. For example: to go to the sea - go to the sea, to go to sea - become a sailor; to draw a line - to draw a line, to draw the line - to set the limit of what is permitted.
Good receptive knowledge of phraseology is necessary both in order to distinguish between usual and occasional phraseological units, as well as in order to be able to restore phraseological units that have undergone “the author’s transformation” and convey the effect achieved by it during translation. Among the author's transformations, as a result of which the associative meaning of phraseological units is emphasized (almost not perceived otherwise), include, in particular, the following stylistic devices:
1. Introduction to phraseological circulation of new components, semantically correlated with direct meaning, i.e. with the meaning of the original variable phrase. For example, the phraseological unit to put the cart before the horse - to do the opposite (literally - to harness the horse behind the cart), has undergone the following transformations: “Let"s not put the cart too far ahead of the horse” (E.S. Gardner).
2. Updating the lexical and grammatical composition of a phraseological unit as a result of replacing its individual components with other words. A peculiar deformation of phraseological units occurs, the text of which is easily restored.
For example, the phraseology borrowed from the Bible to have a millstone about one's neck (wear a heavy stone on the heart) was modified by S. T. Coleridge and looked like this: have an albatross about one's neck (literally - wear an albatross on the neck); in the poem by S.T. Coleridge's "The Ancient Mariner" is about a sailor who, by killing an albatross, brings disaster upon his ship and is forced to wear the dead albatross around his neck as punishment.
3. Splitting a phraseological unit and using its component (or components) as part of a variable phrase. A separate component (or components) in this case are the bearer of the associative meaning of the entire phraseological unit, on which the entire meaning of the statement is built. The full form of the phraseological unit seems to pass in the background, but without restoration its understanding is impossible. For example:
- “I"ve got a cold.”
- “It's in your feet.” (B. Manning).
In this dialogue, one of the speakers complains about illness, and the other interlocutor says that this is not an illness, but cowardice. The phraseological unit is represented here by only one component - to get cold feet - to be a coward, to show cowardice.
4. The phraseological unit may not be given in full, retaining only part of the components: “He complained to Fleur that the book dealt with nothing but birds in the bush.” (J. Galsworthy) Part of the proverb is used here: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush). A bird in the bush in this example means empty promises.
To achieve maximum adequacy when translating phraseological units from English into Russian, the translator must be able to use various “types of translation”: 1. Equivalent, i.e. an adequate phraseological phraseology available in the Russian language, coinciding with the English phrase in meaning and figurative basis, for example: as cold as ice - cold as ice, Augean stable(s) - Augean stables, the salt of the earth - salt of the earth, swallow the pill - swallow a (bitter) pill.
2. Analogue, i.e. such a Russian stable phrase, which in meaning is adequate to English, but in its figurative basis differs from it completely or partially. For example: a drop in the bucket - a drop in the ocean, a fly in the ointment - a fly in the ointment, it is raining cats and dogs - it pours like a bucket.
3. Descriptive translation, i.e. translation by conveying the meaning of an English phrase in a free phrase. Descriptive translation is used when there are no equivalents and analogues in the Russian language, for example: to rob Peter to pay Paul - pay off some debts by making new ones (take from one to give to another), to burn the candle on both ends - work from early morning and until late evening.
4. Antonymic translation, i.e. broadcast negative meaning using an affirmative construction or vice versa, for example: to keep one's head - don't lose your head, to keep one's head above water - don't get into debt, to keep one's pecker up - don't lose heart.
5. Tracing. The tracing method is used in cases where the translator wants to highlight figurative basis phraseology, or when English phrase cannot be translated using other types of translation, for example: the moon is not seen when the sun shines (proverb) - when the sun shines, the moon is not visible.
6. Combined translation. In cases where the Russian analogue does not fully convey the meaning of the English phraseological unit or has a different specific flavor of place and time, a tracing translation is given, and then there is a descriptive translation and a Russian analogue for comparison, for example: carry coals to Newcastle - “carry coal to Newcastle ”, i.e. to carry something to a place where there is already enough of it (cf. go to Tula with your samovar).
By allowing full or partial tracing in some cases, the translator excludes any possibility of using literalisms, i.e. unjustified literal translations that distort the meaning of English phraseological units or do not correspond to the norms of the modern Russian language.
Phraseological units are widely used in literature of all styles. And a competent translator should not allow inaccuracies in the translation of this or that phraseological unit. Without knowledge of phraseology, it is impossible to appreciate the brightness and expressiveness of speech, to understand a joke, a play on words, and sometimes simply the meaning of the entire statement.
2. Phraseological units borrowed from artistic and literary sources
2.1 Biblicalisms
The Bible is the main literary source of phraseological units. This greatest work has enriched not only the English language with phraseological units, but also many other languages of the world. “Much has been said and written about the enormous influence that Bible translations have had on the English language.” For centuries, the Bible was the most widely read and quoted book in England; “...not only individual words, but also entire idiomatic expressions entered the English language from the pages of the Bible.” The number of biblical phrases and expressions that have entered the English language is so large that collecting and listing them would be a very difficult task. Among the expressions used in modern English speech and whose biblical origin is firmly established are the following:
The apple of Sodom is a beautiful but rotten fruit; deceptive success.
The beam (the mote) in one's eye - a “log” in one’s own eye; one’s own big drawback.
The blind leading the blind - The blind leads the blind.
By the sweat of one's brow - by the sweat of one's brow.
The camel and the needle's eye - An allusion to the Gospel saying, which received this form translated from Latin: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Can the leopard change his spots? - (lit. Can a leopard recolor its spots?)~The grave will correct the hunchback.
A crown of glory - crown of glory.
Daily bread - daily bread, livelihood.
A drop in the bucket - (literally a drop in a bucket); ~A drop in the sea.
A fly in the ointment - (lit. fly in ointment); ~ A fly in the ointment.
Loaves and fishes - earthly goods (loaves and fishes, with which Christ, according to the Gospel tradition, fed hundreds of people who gathered to listen to him).
No man can serve two masters - Two masters are not served.
The prodigal son - the prodigal son.
The promised land - the promised land A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country|- There is no prophet in his own country.
“Phraseological units of biblical origin often diverge in many ways from their biblical prototypes.” This is due in some cases to the fact that the biblical prototype was reinterpreted over time; the order of words could also be changed or archaic forms of words could be discarded. For example, the phrase to kill the fatted calf in the parable of the prodigal son is used in the literal meaning of “slaying a fatted calf.” Later, this turn took on a new meaning of treating the best that is available at home. In the phraseological unit gall and wormwood - something hateful, disgusting, the word order has been changed compared to the biblical prototype and the articles (the wormwood and the gall) have been dropped. In the expression whatever a man sows, that shall he reap - ~ what goes around comes around, the archaic form of the verb to sow is discarded (cf. whatever a man soweth, that shall he reap). There are cases when a biblical phrase is used in a positive sense, but in modern language it is reinterpreted and is a phraseology with a negative assessment, for example:
Not to let one "s left hand know what one"s right hand does - the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing (modern version).
When thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does - “When you do alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (biblical prototype).
Some phraseological units go back to the biblical story. So we find biblical images and concepts in such phraseological units as forbidden fruit - forbidden fruit, Job's comforter - grief-comforter, Juda's kiss - the kiss of Judas, a prodigal son - a prodigal son, a dead letter - a dead letter; a law or slogan that has lost its meaning.
2.2 Phraseologisms borrowed from the fiction of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome
In addition to phraseological units taken from the Bible, in the English language, as well as in the languages of other European nations that are heirs of ancient culture, there are many proverbs, aphorisms and figurative expressions that arose from the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Phraseologisms the golden age - golden age, the apple of discord - apple of discord, Pandora's box - Pandora's box, Achilles" heel - Achilles' heel, Augean stable(s) - Augean stables, a labor of Hercules - Herculean labor, a labor of Sisyphus - the work of Sisyphus, Lares and Penates (book) - laras and penates, that which creates comfort, a home (lares and penates in ancient Roman mythology - patron gods of the hearth), the thread of Ariadne (book) - Ariadne's thread, a guiding thread, a way to help get out of a difficult situation (the daughter of the Cretan king Ariadne, giving the Greek hero Theseus a ball of thread, helped him get out of the labyrinth) are taken from ancient mythology.
The following expressions are associated with Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”: Homeric laughter - Homeric laughter (the phrase is associated with Homer’s description of the laughter of the gods); an Iliad of woes - a story of countless misfortunes; a sardonic laugh - sardonic, sarcastic laughter; Penelope "s web - Penelope's weaving, pulling tactics; winged words - winged words; between Scylla and Charybdis - between Scylla and Charybdis, in a hopeless situation; on the knees of the Gods - only God knows; on the razor"s edge - in in a dangerous position, on the edge of an abyss, like a Trojan - courageously, valiantly, heroically (Virgil in the Aeneid also glorifies the courage of the defenders of Troy); the Trojan Horse - Trojan horse, hidden danger.
The following expressions come from Aesop's fables and other ancient Greek tales and fables: to blow hot and cold - to hesitate, to do mutually exclusive things, to take an ambivalent position (in one of Aesop's fables, the traveler simultaneously blew on his fingers to warm them, and on the soup to cool it down), to add insult to injury - aggravate insults; to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs - kill the hen that lays the golden eggs; to cry wolf too often - raise a false alarm; the lion's share - the lion's share; the last straw (that broke the camel's back) - the last drop that overflowed the cup, the limit of patience; sour grapes - green grapes (about something unattainable and therefore condemned); to nourish a viper in one "s bosom - warm a snake on the chest; an ass in a lion"s skin - a donkey in a lion's skin; a fly on the wheel - a person who exaggerates his participation in some matter.
From one of Phaedrus's fables comes the saying to take time by the forelock - take advantage of the opportunity, do not yawn.
Expressions the small of the lamp - the smell of a lamp (i.e. oil in the lamp, by the light of which the writer reworked his work); forcedness, artificiality and to know where the shoe pinches - to know what the problem is, what the need is - became known thanks to the writings of Plutarch.
This is where the phraseological unit “the skeleton at the feast” comes from - a person who darkens, spoils someone else’s fun; the expression to call a spade a spade - to call a spade a spade originates from an inaccurate, but successful rendering by Erasmus of Rotterdam of a proverb cited by Plutarch (Plutarch says “to call a trough a trough” (No. 16)).
Some phraseological units go back to the works of ancient Roman writers: a snake in the grass - an underwater snake, an insidious, hidden enemy (Virgil); the golden mean - the golden mean (Horace); the sinews of war (book) - money, material resources (necessary for waging war) (Cicero); anger is a short madness - “anger is a short madness” (Horace). Phraseological units that came into the English language from the literature of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are endowed with extraordinary colorfulness and expressiveness, which explains their prevalence not only in English, but also in other languages of the world.
2.3 Phraseologisms borrowed from English fiction of the 16th - 20th centuries
2.3.1 Shakespeareisms
In modern English there are many phraseological units, the main function of which is to enhance the aesthetic aspect of the language. Many phraseological units originated in connection with customs, realities, and historical facts, but most of the English phraseological fund one way or another arose thanks to artistic and literary works.
The works of the famous English classic W. Shakespeare are one of the most important literary sources in terms of the number of phraseological units that have enriched the English language. Their number is over a hundred. Here are examples of some of the most common Shakespearean expressions. (All the following examples of phraseological units are taken from the English-Russian phraseological dictionary by A.V. Kunin (No. 16) (in total, 350 phraseological units are presented in the practical part).
To make assurance double sure - for greater fidelity.
The be-all and end-all is what fills life, everything in life.
The milk of human kindness - “balm of good nature” (ironically), compassion, humanity.
To screw one's courage to the sticking place - gain courage, dare.
To win golden opinions - to earn a favorable, flattering opinion about yourself.
At one fell swoop - with one blow, in one fell swoop, at one moment.
The sere and yellow leaf - approaching old age, decrepitude.
Pride of place - high position, intoxication with one’s own position, arrogance.
Full of sound and fury - loud, menacing speeches that mean nothing.
To be or not to be? - To be or not to be?
To cudgel one's brains - to puzzle over (something).
The observed of all observers - the center of everyone's attention.
To be hoist with one's own petard - fall into your own trap.
To do yeoman service - provide timely assistance.
Our withers are unwrung - blasphemy, the accusation does not affect us.
To shuffle off (this mortal coil) - leave this mortal coil, end (summons with life). To give pause to (smb.) - cause confusion.
To out-Herod Herod - to surpass Herod himself in cruelty.
To know a hawk from a handsaw - to be not devoid of elementary insight; (~be able to distinguish a cuckoo from a hawk).
Caviar to the general is too delicate a dish for the coarse palate (the word general here means the general public).
Germane to the matter - closer to the point.
A towering passion - fury, rage.
The primrose path of dalliance - the path of pleasures.
There's the rub - That's the rub, ~ That's where the dog is buried.
From whose bourne no traveler returns - where no one has ever returned from (i.e. in the kingdom of death).
In the mind's eye - in the imagination, mentally.
To the manner born - accustomed from the cradle.
To the top of one's bent - shreds and shreds.
Sweets to the sweet - beautiful - beautiful (a courtesy when presenting a gift).
In modern English, Shakespearean expressions can be used with some modifications. For example, the expression to wear one "s heart upon one"s sleeve for days to peck at (“Othello”) - flaunt your feelings; (~soul wide open). (This phraseological unit is associated with the medieval knightly tradition of wearing the colors of his lady on his sleeve). In modern English it is usually used in abbreviated form: to wear one's heart upon one's sleeve. Also, instead of the preposition upon, another preposition can be used - on. For example: “It"s lovely to be able to tell the world what does she mean to me.” Howard … adds: “I never back off from showing my emotions whatever they are.” I think if we all wore our hearts on our sleeves a bit more we"d all get on a lot better.” (The times).
Shakespeareanism the better part of valor is discretion (“King Henry IV”) is one of the adornments of courage - modesty exists in modern English with a changed word order: discretion is the better part of valour.
Many Shakespearean expressions acquire lexical variants over time: for example, applaud (or cheer) to the echo - noisily, enthusiastically applaud, give an ovation (applaud to the echo - Shakespeareanism; “Macbeth”); cram (ram or thrust) smth. down smb."s throat - to impose on someone (your opinion, your views, etc.) (thrust smth. down smb."s throat - Shakespeareanism; “Titus Andronicus”).
In Shakespeareanism, buy golden opinions - to deserve a favorable, flattering opinion about oneself, to evoke admiration; in modern language, instead of the verb buy, the verb win is used.
The expression at one fell swoop (“Macbeth”) - with one blow, in one fell swoop, at one moment immediately began to be used in the abbreviated form at one swoop. For example: “They go quick, one after another - five of them vanished already at one swoop.” (S. O'Casey).
In modern English speech, Shakespeareanisms are also used, which include outdated words, i.e. archaisms that are not used anywhere except this phrase. For example, from whose bourne no traveler returns - where no one has ever returned from (i.e. in the kingdom of death). The word bourne is an archaism and means a boundary or limit; it is used in modern English only within the framework of this phraseological unit.
A large number of phraseological units created by Shakespeare have come into general use, which testifies to both the linguistic genius of Shakespeare and his colossal popularity.
2.3.2 Statements of English writers of the 17th - 20th centuries, which have become phraseological units of the modern language
In addition to Shakespeare, many other writers have enriched the English phraseological fund. Chief among them are Alexander Pope, Walter Scott, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens.
Alexander Pop:
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread(“An Essay on Criticism”) - fools rush to where angels are afraid to tread (~the law is not written for fools).
Damn with faint praise (“Epistle to Dr. Arbuth-not”) - condemn, pretending to praise.
Break a butterfly on the wheel (“Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot”) - (~ shoot sparrows from cannons.
Walter Scott:
To catch smb. red-handed (“Ivanhoe”) - to catch someone at the scene of a crime, to capture someone red-handed.
Beard the lion in his den (“Marmion”) - attack dangerous enemy in his own home.
Laugh on the wrong side of one's mouth (“Rob Roy”) - become depressed after fun, move from laughter to tears.
On one's native path (“Rob Roy”) - in one’s native land, in one’s homeland.
Geoffrey Chaucer:
Through thick and thin (“The Canterbury Tales”) - decisively, steadfastly, despite any obstacles.
Murder will out (“The Canterbury Tales”) - everything secret becomes clear.
John Milton:
Fall on evil days (“Paradise Lost”) - fall into poverty, be in poverty; eke out a miserable existence; ~ dark days have come.
Heaven on Earth (also known as Paradise on Earth) (“Paradise Lost”) - heaven on earth.
Confusion worse confounded (“Paradise Lost”) - confusion, complete chaos.
The light fantastic toe |(“L"Allegro”) - dance.
More than meets the ear (“Paradise Lost”) - more than meets the eye; not as easy as it seems, etc.
The statements of other English writers usually remain quotations and only in rare cases replenish the phraseological fund of the English language, entering colloquial speech. Here are some examples of such statements (the phraseological units listed below are classified according to the time of creation of the work in which this phraseological unit is used).
J. Arbuthnot: John Bull - “John Bull” (a mocking nickname for the British). The phrase was first used by the court physician J. Arbuthnot in the satirical pamphlet “Law is a Bottomless Pit” (1712), later republished under the title “The History of John Bull.”
R. Burns: John Barleycorn - John Barleycorn (personification of whiskey, beer and other spirits), (“John Barleycorn”).
J. Gay: (as) cool as a cucumber - completely unperturbed, calm; ~ does not blow his mustache, and does not blink an eye (“Poems on Several Occasions”).
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