Phraseology

Lecture VI

The E. lang-ge is very rich in w-d-combinations, ~ aren’t free. They constitute a considerable part of the voc-ry of the E. lang-ge. In these set-expressions we have no right to change the order of the components without destroying the meaning ~ sometimes cannot be derived from the meanings of its components. Phras-l units—w-d-groups, consisting of 2 / > w-s integrated as a unit with a specialized meaning of the whole (the meaning of each component is weakened or entirely lost).

to find the mare’s nest — попасть пальцем в небо;

to draw a red herring across the train — сбить к-л. с толку;

husband’s tea — жидкий, испитой чай;

white lie — невинная ложь;

to talk 19 to the dust — заговорить к-л. до смерти.

Peculiarities of the phraseological units

~ euphony [΄jufəni] (благозвучие) — the definite rhythmical pattern (ритмическая организация), accompanied by alliteration (аллитерация):

with might & main; high & mighty — изо всей силы, со всей решимостью;

safe & sound — цел и невредим;

thick as thieves — спаянные крепкой дружбой, закадычные друзья;

bright as a button — чистенький, нарядный;

part & parcel

~ stylistic figures—tropes having contrast, simile, metaphor → they are stylistically coloured:

fair as a lily — прекрасная как лилия;

bright as new pin — чистенький, нарядный;

like patience on a monument — как скорбное изваяние;

a big fish in a little pond — местный туз, заправила;

great cry & little wool — шуму много, а толку мало;

ships that pass in the night — мимолётные встречи.

Due to these characteristics phras. un. are used as bright expressive linguistic means.

They aren’t created in speech but used as readymade units. The current meanings of constituent parts / w-s build up a certain picture, but the actual(подлинное) meaning of the whole unit has little / nothing to do with that picture, in itself creating an entirely new image:

to drop a brick — сплоховать, сделать ляпсус, допустить бестактность;

to join the silent majority — отправиться к праотцам.

Sources of phraseological units

Creators of the majority of native phr. un. are unknown, especially it concerns proverbs. In general, phr. un.are created by people.

1) they reflect traditions & customs of E. people:

baker’s dozen; devil’s dozen — 13

loaves of bread were sold in dozens. The extra loaf was given to avoid a heavy penalty for underweight. To be on the safe side the baker added an extra loaf to the dozen.

to eat a humble pie — to admit that you w. wrong about smth.

(umble — внутренности живота)

when feasts w. given in baronial halls lords & ladies ate the flesh of the deer but the servants w. admitted to a huge pie with umble.

by bell, book & candle — окончательно, бесповоротно (shutting (захлопывание) of the book, breaking of the candle & ringing of bells testified to one’s dismissing from church).

to cut smb. off with a shilling — to deprive smb. of inheritance, to disinherit

Testators (завещатели) often left 1 shilling to disinherited to prove the disinheritance to be deliberate.

2) English realia:

blue stocking — derog., scornful

Dutch admiral Boskoven called one of London’s literary salons of the XVIII c. “the collection of blue stockings”, as the scientist Benjamin Spellingflit appeared in blue stockings in that salon.

to carry coals to Newcasttle — ехать в Тулу со своим самоваром.

Newcastle — the centre of English coal industry.

to put smb. in the cart — to put smb. in a very difficult situation.

Criminals were delivered to the place of execution in a cart.

Kilkenny cats — mortal enemies (ожесточённая борьба между городами Kilkenny & Irishtown в XVII в. привела к их разорению).

3) phr. Un. Are connected with names & nicknames of E. kings, queens:

copper-nosed Henry

Having squandered(промотал) his inheritance Henry VIII created coppers (медные монеты) with small silver impregnations (вкрапления).

When queen Ann was alive — при царе Горохе.

4) English literature:

man of destiny — избранник судьбы (created by W.Scott);

from Shakespear:

the be-all & end-all — то, что заполняет жизнь; всё в жизни (Macbeth);

cakes & ale — беззаботное веселье, наслаждение жизнью (Twelfth Night);

a fool’s paradise — призрачное счастье (Romeo & Juliet);

the green-eyed monster — чудовище с зелёными глазами; ревность;

midsummer madness — умопомрачение, чистое безумие (Twelfth Night);

to one’s heart’s content — вволю, сколько душе угодно, всласть (Merchant

of Venice);

give the devil his due — отдавать должное противнику (King Henry V);

smth. Is rotten in the state of Denmark—ч-т. Неладно (Hamlet).

Other literary sources:

to wet one’s whistle—промочить горло(“The Canterbury Tales” by J. Chaucer) marriage is a lottery—женитьба—это лотерея (“A Tale of a Tub” by B.Johnson);

the British Lion—британский лев; Великобритания (poem “Hind & Panther”—“Лев и барс” by John Dreiden);

better to reign in hell than serve in heaven—лучше царствовать в аду, чем быть рабом в раю (“Paradise Lost” by John Milton);

as cool as a cucumber—совершенно невозмутимый, спокойный; и в ус не дует, ничем не прошибёшь (“Poems on Several Occasions” by John Gray);

all the world & his wife—видимо-невидимо, кого там только не было (“Polite Conversation” by Jonathan Swift);

to quarrel with one’s bread & butter—бросить занятие, дающее средства к существованию ( там же);

a skeleton in the closet < “The Newcomers” by Williams Tackery, though this phrase w. known earlier; the same about “vanity fair” < A Psalm of Life” by John Banyan; but it became popular & widely used due to the novel by W.Tackery.

5) Borrowings, especially from French & Latin:

translation loans: baptism of fire—боевое крещение (Fr. Bapteme du feu);

make believe—делать вид (Fr. Faire croire);

dead men don’t bite—мёртвые не кусаются (Lat-Gr. mortui non mordent)

hunger is the best sauce—голод—лучший повар (Lat. Fames optimum

condimentum. by Цицерон);

all roads lead to Rome < Fr. tous les chemins vont a Rome;

a marriage of convenience < Fr. mariage de convenance;

speech is silvern, silence is golden < Germ. Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen

ist golden (by Thomas Karleil);

Spanish bor-s: blue blood (< sangre azul), the fifth column (< quinta columna);

Chinese: lose face—потерять престиж, быть униженным, обесчещенным.

ancient mythology: Achilles heel, the apple of discord (яблоко раздора), the golden age (the poem “Labours & Days” by Gesiod), the horn of plenty, the labours of Hercules, rise like phoenix from its ashes, the thread of Ariadne, etc.

American bor-s: blaze a trail(< охот.) — перен. идти новым путём, быть новатором; bread-&-butter letter—благодарственное письмо (the letter to gratify for hospitality); by & large (< мор. по ветру и без ветра)—вообще говоря, в общем; a green light, in the soup—в трудном положении, в беде;

time is money (“Advice to a Young Tradesmen” by B.Franklin);

the last of the Mohicans, go on the war path (by F. Cooper);

the call of the wild—зов природы (by J.London).

Set-expressions m.b. distinguished from free phrases. The task of distinguishing is complicated by the existence of a great № of marginal cases, the so-called semi-fixed or semi-free w-d-groups (called non-phraseological w-d-groups) ~ share with phras. un. their structural stability but lack their semantic cohesion (unity) & figurativeness (метафоричность, образность) — to go to school, to go by bus, to commit suicide.

2 major criteria of their distinguishing: semantic & structural

~ semantic: phras. un. are characterized by semantic unity. They are defined as w-d-groups conveying a single concept. Free w-d-groups — each meaningful component stands for a separate concept:

to drop a brick—допустить бестактность

to take / put / paint a brick / box / any object — взять / положить / покрасить кирпич / коробку / любой предмет.

~ structural integrity (целостность)

Free phrases — substitution of any of its elements without semantic change in the other element is possible.

Semi-fixed combinations — restrictions imposed on types of w-s, ~ c.b. used in a given pattern:

to go to __ school, to go to __market, to go to __ court

the pattern:to go + prepos. + no article — only with nouns of places, where definite actions or functions are performed.

Set-expressions — no substitution / pronominal substitution / substitution restricted to a few synonyms for one of the members only.

to cut a poor (ridiculous) figure, not to cut much of a figure — играть незначительную роль, казаться жалким.

This substitution seems to justify referring it to semi-fixed set-expressions.

to make one’s (my, your, his, etc.) hair stand on end — сильно изумить, напугать к-л.

cf.: to cut bread, cheese, etc.

No substitution:

all the world & his wife—все без исключения, всё светское общество

the black market

a grass widow — not a widow but a woman temporarily living without her husband

busy as a bee

fair & square—open-hearted, frank

not only the semantic unity but also euphonic & expressive qualities of the whole are retained.

Structural stability of phras. un. m.b. displayed in the stability of morphological forms of their componenets. E.g., nouns in many phras. un. is used only in the Singular:

to chase the wild goose — гнаться за недостижимым;

to put one’s finger on smth. — выяснить, определить, попасть в точку.

or only in the Plural:

in high places — в высших сферах;

small potatoes — пустяки, мелочи;

the high seas — открытое море, море за пределами территориальных вод.

safe & sound — if substitution takes place — secure & uninjured — the same denotational meaning but sounds so dull & trivial that the phrase m.b. considered destroyed.