Phraseological units in English

the cap fits; ‘the statement is true’(e.g. “He called me a liar.”- “Well, you should know if the cup fits.”) Cf.also:

Butter would not melt in his mouth; His bark is worse than his bite.

And one more point: free word combinations can never be polysemantic, while thereare polysemantic phraseological units, e.g:

„To be on the go”

1.to be busy and active

2. to be leaving

3.to be tipsy

4.to be near one’s end have done with

Synonymy of phraseological units that do not contain any synonymous words and are based on different images, e.g.

To leave no stone unturned = to move heaven and earthTo haul down colours=to ground arms.In free word combinations synonymy is based on the synonymy of particular words (anold man = elderly man).

Phraseological units have word synonyms:

To make up one’s mind = to decide To haul down colours = to surrender.

SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

Phraseological units can be classified according to the degree of motivation of their meaning. This classification was suggested by acad. V.V. Vinogradov for Russian phraseological units. He pointed out three types of phraseological units:

According to the degree of idiomaticity phraseological units can be classified into three big groups: phraseological fusions , phraseological unities and phraseological collocations.

 Phraseological fusions are completely non-motivated word-groups, e.g. as mad as a hatter — 'utterly mad'; white elephant — 'an expensive but useless thing'.

 Phraseological unities are partially non-motivated as their meaning can usually be perceived through the metaphoric meaning of the whole phraseological unit, e.g. to bend the knee — 'to submit to a stronger force, to obey submissively'; to wash one's dirty linen in public — 'to discuss or make public one's quarrels'.

 Phraseological collocations are not only motivated but contain one component used in its direct meaning, while the other is used metaphorically, e.g. to meet the requirements, to attain success. In this group of phraseological units some substitutions are possible which do not destroy the meaning of the metaphoric element, e.g. to meet the needs, to meet the demand, to meet the necessity; to have success, to lose success. These substitutions are not synonymical and the meaning of the whole changes, while the meaning of the verb meet and the noun success are kept intact.

THE ETYMOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF PH.UNITS

According to their origin phraseological units are divided into native and borrowed.

Native phraseological units are connected with British realia, traditions, history:

By bell book and candle (jocular) . This unit originates from the text of the form of excommunication which ends with the following words: Doe to the book, quench the candle, ring the book!

To carry coal to Newcastle (parallells:A pleca pe ospete cu mincarea ta)

According to Cocker –dupa toate regulile,exact. E. Cocker is the author of a well-known book on arithmetics.

To native phraseological units also belong familiar quotations came from works of English literature. A lot of them were borrowed from works by Shakespeare: a fool’s paradise (“Romeo and Juliet”), the green-eyed monster (“Othello”), murder will out – (“Macbeth”), etc.

A great number of native phraseological units originate from professional terminologies or jargons: one’s last card, the game is up/over lay one's cards on the table hold all the aces (terms of gambling).

Borrowed phraseological units come from several sources.

A number of units were borrowed from the Bible and were fully assimilated: to cast pearl before swine, the root of all evil, a woolf in sheep’s clothing, to beat swords into plough-shares.

A great amount of units were taken from ancient mythology and literature: the apple of discord, the golden age, the thread of Ariadne, at the greek calends, etc, They are international in their character.

A lot of phraseologisms were borrowed from different languages – let’s return to our muttons (revenons à nos moutons), blood and iron, blue blood, to lose face  and from the other variants of the English language – a green light, bark up the wrong tree,  to look like a million dollars, time is money (B. Franklin “Advice to a Young Tradesman”).

CLASSIFICATION OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS ACCORDING TO THEIR ORIGIN.

The consideration of the origin of phraseological units contributes to a better understanding of phraseological meaning. According to their origin all phraseological units may be divided into two big groups: native and borrowed.

The main sources of native phraseological units are:

1) terminological and professional lexics, e.g. physics: center of gravity (centru gravitational), specific weight (greutate specifica); navigation: cut the painter (a taia funia) — 'to become independent', military sphere:, fall into line (a se alinia in rind) — 'conform with others';

2) British literature, e.g. the green-eyed monster — 'jealousy" (W. Shakespeare); like Hamlet without the prince — 'the most important person at event is absent' (W.Shakespeare); fall on evil days— 'live in poverty after having enjoyed better times' (J.Milton); a sight for sore eyes — 'a person or thing that one is extremely pleased or relieved to see' (J.Swift); how goes the enemy? (Ch. Dickens) — 'what is the time?'; never say die — 'do not give up hope in a difficult situation' (Ch.Dickens);

3) British traditions and customs, e.g. baker's dozen — 'a group of thirteen'. In the past British merchants of bread received from bakers thirteen loaves instead of twelve and the thirteenth loaf was merchants' profit.

4) superstitions and legends, e.g. a black sheep — 'a less successful or more immoral person in a family or a group'. People believed that a black sheep was marked by the devil; the halcyon days — 'a very happy or successful period in the past'. According to an ancient legend a halcyon hatches/grows its fledglings in a nest that sails in the sea and during this period (about two weeks) the sea is completely calm;

5) historical facts and events, personalities, e.g. as well be hanged (or hung) for a sheep as a lamb — 'something that you say when you are going to be punished for something so you decide to do something worse because your punishment will not be any more severe'. According to an old law a person who stole a sheep was sentenced to death by hanging, so it was worth stealing something more because there was no worse punishment; to do a Thatcher — 'to stay in power as prime minister for three consecutive terms (from the former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher)';

6) phenomena and facts of everyday life, e.g. carry coals to Newcastle — 'to take something to a place where there is plenty of it available'. Newcastle is a town in Northern England where a lot of coal was produced; to get out of wood — 'to be saved from danger or difficulty'.

The main sources of borrowed phraseological units are: 1) the Holy Script, e. g. the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing — 'communication in an organization is bad so that one part does not know what is happening in another part'; the kiss of Judas — 'any display of affection whose purpose is to conceal any act of treachery' (Matthew XXVI: 49);

2) ancient legends and myths belonging to different religious or cultural traditions, e.g. to cut the Gordian knot —  'to deal with a difficult problem in a strong, simple and effective way' (from the legend saying that Gordius, king of Gordium, tied an intricate knot and prophesied that whoever untied it would become the ruler of Asia. It was cut through with a sword by Alexander the Great); a Procrustean bed — 'a harsh, inhumane system into which the individual is fitted by force, regardless of his own needs and wishes' (from Greek Mythology. Procrustes — a robber who forced travelers to lie on a bed and made them fit by stretching their limbs or cutting off the appropriate length of leg);

3) facts and events of the world history, e.g. to cross the Rubicon — 'to do something which will have very important results which cannot be changed after'. Julius Caesar started a war which resulted in victory for him by crossing the river Rubicon in Italy; to meet one's Waterloo — 'be faced with, esp. after previous success, a final defeat, a difficulty or obstacle one cannot overcome (from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo 1815)';

4) variants of the English language, e.g. a heavy hitter— 'someone who is powerful and has achieved a lot' (American); a hole card — 'a secret advantage that is ready to use when you need it' (American); be home and hosed — 'to have completed something successfully' (Australian);

5) other languages (classical and modern), e.g. second to none - 'equal with any other and better than most' (from Latin: nulli Secundus.

STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION.

There are three classification principles of phraseological units. The most popular is the synchronic (semantic) classification of phraseological units by V.V. Vinogradov. He developed some points first advanced by the Swiss linguist Charles Bally and gave a strong impetus to a purely lexicological treatment of the material. It means that phraseological units were defined as lexical complexes with specific semantic features and classified accordingly. His classification is based upon the motivation of the unit that is the relationship between the meaning of the whole and the meanings of its component parts. The degree of motivation is correlated with the rigidity, indivisibility and semantic unity of the expression that is with the possibility of changing the form or the order of components and of substituting the whole by a single word though not in all the cases.

As i mentioned before there are different classifications of ph.u. from the synchronic point of view based on different approaches: semantic (V.V.Vinogradov), functional (A.I. Smirnitsky), contextual (H.N.Amosova).

Phraseological units are classified in accordance with several criteria.

V.V.Vinogradov’s Semantic Classification

V.V.Vinogradov’s classification is based upon the motivation of the unit that is the relationship between the meaning of the whole and the meanings of its component parts. The degree of motivation is correlated with the rigidity, indivisibility and semantic unity of the expression that is with the possibility of changing the form or the order of components and of substituting the whole by a single word though not in all the cases.

According to Vinogradov’s classification all phraseological units are divided into phraseological fusions, phraseological unities and phraseological combinations.

1. Phraseological fusion is a semantically indivisible phraseological unit which meaning is never influenced by the meanings of its components. [2; 244]

It means that phraseological fusions represent the highest stage of blending together. The meaning of components is completely absorbed by the meaning of the whole, by its expressiveness and emotional properties.

Once in a blue moon –  very seldom;

To cry for the moon –  to demand unreal;

Under the rose – quietly.

Sometimes phraseological fusions are called idioms under which linguists understand a complete loss of the inner form. To explain the meaning of idioms is a complicated etymological problem (tit to tat means “to revenge”, but no one can explain the meaning of the words tit and tat).

Phraseological fusions are non-motivated. The meaning of the whole is not deduced from the meanings of the components: to kiss the hare’s foot, to kick the bucket, the king’s picture.

2. Phraseological unity is a semantically indivisible phraseological unit the whole meaning of which is motivated by the meanings of its components [2; 245].

In general, phraseological unities are the phrases where the meaning of the whole unity is not the sum of the meanings of its components but is based upon them and may be understood from the components. The meaning of the significant word is not too remote from its ordinary meanings. This meaning is formed as a result of generalized figurative meaning of a free word-combination. It is the result of figurative metaphoric reconsideration of a word-combination.

To come to one’s sense –to change one’s mind;

To come home – to hit the mark;

To fall into a rage – to get angry.

2. Phraseological unities are characterized by the semantic duality. One can’t define for sure the semantic meaning of separately taken phraseological unities isolated from the context, because these word-combinations may be used as free in the direct meaning and as phraseological in the figurative meaning.

Phraseological units are motivated through the image expressed in the whole construction, the metaphores on which they are based are transparent: to turn over a new leaf, to dance on a tight rope.

3. Phraseological combination (collocation) is a construction or an expression in which every word has absolutely clear independent meaning while one of the components has a bound meaning [2; 246].

It means that phraseological combinations contain one component used in its direct meaning while the other is used figuratively:

Bosom friend, to get in touch with.

To make an attempt – to try;

To make haste – to hurry;

To offer an apology – to beg pardon.

Some linguists who stick to the general understanding of phraseology and refer to it communicational units (sentences) and winged words, define the fourth type of phraseological units.