The Main Principles of English Phraseology

=Phraseological unit: definition and main features=

Currently there is no single opinion on the aspect of defining a phraseological locution as a language unit. Despite many common attributes, these definitions often differ in terminology selection and necessary criterions quantity. N.M. Shanskiy has given the following definition “a phraseological locution is a cut and dried language unit, consisting from two or more foremost components of verbal origin, fixed in its meaning, contents and structure”. He noted that phraseologisms are not created in the process of communication, but are recreated in the form of complete integral units. A phraseological locution consists of the same components, placed near each other in a strictly set order.

Sofie Mujiri provides the following laconic definition of a phraseological unit: “expression consisting of a few words, composing a syntactic and lexicological unity”.

From the point of N. Teliya’s view, “a phraseologism is a general name of semantically connected word combinations and sentences which as distinct from similar forms of syntactical structures, are not made according to general regularities of choice and word combinations upon expression organization, but are reproduced in speech in a fixed correlation of semantic structure and definite lexical-grammatical content”. In A. Kunin’s opinion, phraseologisms “are stable word combinations with complicated semantics, not formed under generated structural-semantic models of variable word combinations”.

Upon studying signs distinctive for phraseological units, it is necessary to pay attention to such notion as “equivalence of a phraseologism to a word”. Theory of phraseologism equivalence to a word was developed by Charles Bally. In his opinion, main signs of a phraseological locution is a possibility or impossibility of an identifier-word.

In opinion of another scientist – A. Kunin, synonyms can belong not only to stable phrases, like “sufferings of body = pain”, and many phraseologisms, for example “pigeon’s milk = something that does not exist” may not have identifier words but only synonymic word combinations.

Point of A. Kunin’s view appears to be more grounded, because the integrity of a phraseological unit can be determined only upon comparison of its meaning to meaning of component words, and upon consideration of context peculiarities in which the unit is used.

After analyzing different views of scientists on the named issue, a conclusion can be made that phraseological units have the following specific features, which are accepted by major part of scientists: stability of content and structure of phraseologisms, replication of phraseologisms in speech, semantics integrity, structure solidity, visualization.

/Classification of phraseological units/

/Functions of phraseological units/

=References=