Idioms, winged expressions, proverbs and sayings make up a huge layer in any language, thanks to which speech becomes richer and brighter. Otherwise they are called phraseological units. What it is and what they are, we will consider in this article.
Definition
Phraseology is the study of the vocabulary in question. A phraseological unit is a stable idiomatic expression in a language, the meaning of which is clear to all its speakers. Synonyms of this concept are the words phraseme, phraseologism.
Functions
Phraseological unit can perform the functions of different parts of speech. For example, it could be:
- noun (Kazan orphan, dog in the manger);
- verb (beat the buckets, burn life, drink up the green snake);
- adjective (drunk as hell);
- adverb (head-on, tirelessly).
Like any linguistic phenomenon, phrasemes have their own characteristics.
- Reproducibility. This feature shows that the phraseological unit is familiar to most native speakers, and it is not invented anew each time. For example, “beat the buckets”means “to mess around”.
- Semantic integrity, which is understood as a complete or partial reinterpretation of the words that make up the phrase. For example, the expression “he ate a dog” means “experienced”, and not the fact that someone ate a dog.
- Separate framing implies the presence of two or more words in a phrase that have a different meaning outside of it.
- Stability is a sign showing the possibility or impossibility of changing the component composition by reducing, expanding or replacing its constituent words. An unstable phraseological unit can be changed with:
- lexicon when one word is replaced by another;
- grammar, when the expression is subjected to grammatical changes without changing the meaning;
- quantitativeness, when the phraseologism changes due to the expansion or reduction of components;
- positions when components are swapped.
Review of classifications
Many linguists tried to classify phraseological units, and the approaches were different. Some relied on grammar and structure, others on style, and still others on meaning and theme. Each classification has a right to exist, and below we will consider the most important ones.
- The first classification of phraseological units was proposed by L. P. Smith, in which the latter were grouped according to their theme. For example, “human activity”, “natural phenomena”. The main drawback of this typology is the ignoring of the linguistic criterion.
- Bunlike its predecessor, the linguistic principle was put into the classification developed by V. V. Vinogradov. The types of phraseological units proposed by him were divided according to semantic unity - unity, combination and fusion.
- N. M. Shansky proposed, in addition to phraseological units, to single out a separate classification for expressions (sayings, proverbs and catch phrases).
- The classification proposed by A. I. Smirnitsky was based on the structural and grammatical principle.
- N. N. Amosova's classification was based on the meaning of phraseological units and analysis of their context.
- S. G. Gavrin approached the classification from the point of view of their functional and semantic complexity.
- A. V. Kunin supplemented the classification of V. V. Vinogradov.
Classification by V. V. Vinogradov
In unity, the word (phraseological unit) coincides with its components, that is, from what has been said, it is clear what is at stake. For example, pulling the strap means doing something for a long time.
Splices - the value does not match its constituent components. For example, "to beat the buckets" - to mess around. In some fusions there are words that have lost their original meaning and are no longer used in modern Russian. For example, baklushi are chocks that were used in the manufacture of wooden spoons.
In combinations, the meaning of a phraseological unit consists of components, one of which has a linking function, in which one of the components of a phraseological unit is combined with somewords, but not combined with others. For example, you can say "fear takes", "sadness takes" in the sense of "scary" or "sad", but you cannot say that "joy takes" in the meaning of "fun".
Classification by A. I. Smirnitsky
This classification divided phraseological units into idioms, phrasal verbs and actually phraseological units. Both the first and second were divided into 2 groups, which, in turn, were divided into subgroups:
a) unimodal:
- verb-adverbial (by hook or by crook);
- equivalent to verbs whose semantic core is in the second component (easy to do);
- prepositionally substantive, equivalent to adverbs or predicatives (brothers in mind);
b) two- and multi-vertex:
- attributive-substantive, the equivalent of which is a noun (dark horse, gray cardinal);
- verb-substantive, the equivalent of which is a verb (take the word);
- repetitions are equivalent to adverbs.
- adverbial multi-vertex.
Classification by N. N. Amosova
In the typology of N. N. Amosova, phraseological units are divided into idioms and phrasemes, the approach to classifying which is based on context analysis. Analysis is understood as a combination of a semantically realizable word with a demonstrative minimum. Such a context may be fixed or variable. With constant contextthe demonstrative minimum is constant and the only one possible for a given meaning of a semantically realizable word. For example, "white lie", "leave in English".
In a variable context, the words in the index minimum may change, but the meaning will remain the same. For example, with the word "dark" you can use the words "horse" and "man" - "dark horse", "dark man" in the meaning of "secret, secretive".
Phraseologisms with constant context are divided into phrasemes and idioms.
Classification by S. G. Gavrin
S. G. Gavrin classified phraseological units from the side of functional-semantic complexity. Thus, his classification of phraseological units included stable and variable-stable combinations of words. The studies of S. G. Gavrin in the field of phraseology were based on the works of V. V. Vinogradov and N. M. Shansky and continued the development of 4 types of phraseological units.
Classification by A. V. Kunin
The classification of phraseological units compiled by A. V. Kunin supplemented the classification of V. V. Vinogradov. It included phraseological units:
- Single-vertex of one significant and two or more non-significant lexemes.
- With the structure of a coordinating or subordinating phrase.
- With partially predicative structure.
- With an infinitive or passive verb.
- With the structure of a simple or complex sentence.
From the point of viewsemantics A. V. Kunin divides the above phraseological units into four groups:
- with a component, that is, denoting an object, a phenomenon - they are called nominative; this group includes 1, 2, 3 and 5 types of phraseological units, except for complex ones;
- without subject-logical meaning, expressing emotions - such phrasemes are called interjectional and modal;
- with a sentence structure, which are called communicative - this group includes sayings, proverbs and catchphrases;
- 4th group refers to nominative-communicative.
Sources of phrases in Russian
Phraseological units of the Russian language can be:
- originally Russian;
- borrowed.
The origin of native Russians is connected with everyday life, dialects and professional activities.
Examples of phraseological units:
- household - goal like a falcon, hang your nose, take it to the quick;
- dialect - peak position, smoke rocker;
- professional - carve walnut (carpenter), pull the gimp (weaving), play the first violin (musician).
Borrowed phraseological units came to Russian from Old Church Slavonic, ancient mythology and other languages.
Examples of borrowings from:
- Old Slavic - forbidden fruit, red eyelids, dark water in the clouds;
- ancient mythology - the sword of Damocles, Tantalus flour, Pandora's box, the apple of discord, sink into oblivion;
- other languages - blue stocking (English), large (German), out of place(French).
Their meaning does not always coincide with the meaning of the words included in them and sometimes requires more knowledge than understanding the meaning of lexemes.
Phraseological expressions
Phraseological expressions and phraseological units of the language are united by the fact that they are stable expressions, and the speaker can easily reproduce them. But in the first place, the components of expressions can be used independently and as part of other phrases. For example, in the expressions “love is submissive to all ages”, “seriously and for a long time”, “wholesale and retail”, all words can be used separately.
It is worth noting that not all linguists studying phraseological units with a component considered it possible to include them in the phraseological dictionary.
Catchwords are expressions borrowed from literature, cinema, theatrical performances and other forms of verbal art. They are often used in modern speech, both orally and in writing. For example, "happy hours are not watched", "all ages are submissive to love".
Proverbs and sayings are holistic expressions that have elements of instructiveness and can be applied in many situations. Unlike popular expressions, they do not have an author, since they were created by the people for many centuries and passed from mouth to mouth, and have come down to our time in their primary form. For example, “Chickens are counted in the fall” means that the results of a case can be judged after its completion.
BUnlike a proverb, a saying is a figurative, emotionally colored expression. For example, the saying “When cancer whistles on the mountain” means that some deed is unlikely to be done.
Proverbs and sayings are a vivid reflection of the values and spiritual development of the people. Through them it is easy to see what people love and approve of, and what not. For example, “Without labor you can’t even pull a fish out of a pond”, “Labor feeds a person, but laziness spoils”, they speak of the importance of labor.
Development Trends
Of all categories of language, vocabulary is the most subject to change, as it is a direct reflection of the changes taking place in society.
Today, the lexical composition of the Russian language is experiencing a neological boom. Why?
The first reason is the social, economic, political and spiritual changes in Russia in the 90s. The second is the activity of the media and the Internet, which led to freedom of speech and a large number of foreign borrowings. The third is the rapid development of technology, which contributes to the emergence of new information and words. Such a situation cannot but affect the meaning of words - they either lose their original meaning, or acquire another one. The boundaries of the literary language are also expanding - today it is open to colloquial, colloquial, slang words and phraseological units. Speaking of the latter, it is worth noting that the peculiarity of modern phraseological units is not the meaning of words, but their combination. For example, "wild market", "shock therapy", "near abroad countries","cool outfit", "commercial break".
Mini test
And now we invite you to test your erudition. What do these phraseological units mean:
- nod off;
- bite your tongue;
- everything in the hands is on fire;
- run headlong;
- wind on the mustache;
- open eyes;
- count crows;
- twisting on tongue;
- lie with three boxes.
Check with the correct answers. Values (in order):
- to want to sleep;
- shut up;
- a person does something easily and beautifully;
- run very fast;
- remember something important;
- a person from a large number of some things cannot choose one thing;
- dabble;
- a person wants to remember something well known, but can't;
- promise or lie.
