Phraseological units and fixed phrases

CONCLUSION

We often see the phrase “language is a living thing”, but we mostly do not stop to think what it really means, since living things grow and change, so does language, where some fixed phrases can become unique due to their idiomatic meaning, which results in considering them as phraseological units.
Phraseological units are just a type of many other fixed phrases, such as slang phrases, euphemistic phrases, terminological phrases and clichés, the boundary between which is highly changeable, so we can deal with fixed phrases, which are considered to be both phraseological units and slang phrases, phraseological units and euphemistic phrases, phraseological units and terminological phrases, with most of them being classified without such an ambiguity.
As the general tendencies of ...

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 4
CHAPTER 1. THE PROBLEM OF DIFFERENTIATION OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS AND FIXED PHRASES 8
1.1 Conceptual Picture of the World: Denotation and Connotation of Various Word Combinations 8
1.2 Distinctive Features and Types of Fixed Phrases 14
1.3 Distinctive Features and Types of Phraseological Units 28
1.4 Summary of Results 38
CHAPTER 2. ANALYSIS OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS AND FIXED PHRASES 40
2.1 Nominal Phraseological Units and Fixed Phrases Having the Same Word Components 40
2.2 Verbal Phraseological Units and Fixed Phrases Having the Same Word Components 46
2.3 Adjectival Phraseological Units and Fixed Phrases Having the Same Word Components 49
2.4 Adverbial Phraseological Units and Fixed Phrases Having the Same Word Components 52
2.5Results and Discussion 57
CONCLUSION 58
REFERENCES 61

INTRODUCTION

Communication of people is carried out, not only by words they link to one another due to their own choice but by means of a wide range of phraseological units and fixed phrases they remember and quite often use without thinking of the collocation structure and composition. In case of the intercultural dialogue which is at a loss use of different languages as a communication medium, it is very difficult to find an equivalent to this or that phraseological unit and this or that fixed phrase \ collocation, because every language has its own cultural traditions making people use a wide range of phraseological units and fixed phrases, which already exist.
The same slice of a reality, the same concept has different forms of language phraseological units and fixed phrases in vario us languages, which are more or less full, to some extent specific.
The language consciousness in whole of each nation or ethnic group is important, as their self-identification is realised in it the consciousness by means of creating specific phraseological units and fixed phrases.
The practice of language communication shows that each language is not a mechanical appendage of concrete culture as in this condition it could not be used in numerous situations of intercultural dialogue resulting in exchange of a number of phraseological units and fixed phrases. The linguistic relativity would limit potential features of each language to the frameworks of one culture. Actually one of the major properties of the language is its universality allowing a native speaker to use his or her mother tongue as a means of dialogue in all potentially possible situations of communications, including communication with representatives of other cultures.
According to T.G. Grushevitskaya, relations between language and culture can be considered as those of a part and a whole entity. «Language can be apprehended as a component of culture and as a culture tool. However each language at the same time is independent in relation to the culture in whole, and it can be considered as an independent semiotics system. As each native speaker simultaneously is also a culture carrier of his or her own phrases, which get an ability to carry out the function of signs of one culture and serve as a means of representation of basic installations of culture. For this reason each language is able to display cultural and national mentality of its carriers» [38, p. 248].
«A culture component – it is not simple cultural information informed by a certain language, and an integral property of language inherent in all its levels and all branches» [44, p. 15].
The problem of mutual relation of language and culture traditionally have been in sphere of interests of linguists. However in the recent decades the concept «culture» gets an increasingly wider interpretation due to the growing interest to phraseological units and fixed phrases [47, p. 23].
The opinion on national character according to which it is «not a set of specific, original lines inherent only in the given people, but the original set of universal features is widespread enough» [44, p. 136].
The process of phraseological unit and fixed phrase formation in each particular language highly depends on the national character of mass consciousness resulting in producing these or those implicit motivation of any type of word formation process involved.
The object of the research is English phraseological units and fixed phrases.
The urgency of the present research is determined by the general orientation of the modern paradigms of English phraseological units and fixed phrases, which make intercultural communication tremendously difficult and lead from time to time to communication failure.
So as to provide the theoretical basis required concerning discourse theories, functional style distinctive features, stylistic and semantic categories of expressivity, evaluation and emotionality, use of various tropes we refer to the latest linguistic theories developed by a number of researchers, whose investigations are referred to in the bibliography further on.
The objective of our research is analysis of English phraseological units and fixed phrases concerning their difference in structure as well as implicit motivation. Therefore we intend to take into consideration the following tasks:
describing language picture of the world in general,
characterizing conceptual picture of the world: denotation and connotation of various word combinations,
outlining some distinctive features and types of fixed phrases and phraseological units,
analyzing specificity of English fixed phrase and phraseological unit structure as well as semantics.
The topicality is explained by the profound interest to the peculiarities of fixed phrases and phraseological units in the English language.
The scientific novelty of the research is defined by the concrete result of investigation that can be useful for future studies.
The methods of investigations used in this research are:
• descriptive method;
• the method of classification;
• comparative and translation methods;
• the method of semantic analysis.
The theoretical significance of the research is motivated by the necessity to distinguish fixed phrases and phraseological units as well as paying attention to the problem of their adequate translation.
The practical significance of the research is defined by the results of the study, which can help to understand the distinctive features of fixed phrases and phraseological units.
The present research consists of Introduction, Chapter 1 “The problem of differentiation of phraseological units and fixed phrases”, Chapter 2 “Analysis of phraseological units and fixed phrases, Conclusion and Bibliography. In the first part of our study we take into account specific features of formation language picture of the world, denotation and connotation of various word combinations, distinctive features and types of fixed phrases and phraseological units.
In the second part of our research we characterize English distinctive features and types of fixed phrase and phraseological unit structure as well as their implicit distinctive features.
The bibliography contains 64 items.

beat-up - видавший виды; потрёпанный, побитый, полуразвалившийся; поношенный [34].
Besides, considering phrasal verbs as phraseological units, would have made dictionaries of phraseological units about three or four times bigger.
Lots of phrasal verbs are highly idiomatic.
rabbit 1) а) кролик \ any of various common gregarious burrowing leporid mammals
2) а) трус б) слабый игрок; начинающий, новичок \ a novice or poor performer at a game or sport [34, 51]
rabbit on - разглагольствовать, распространяться (на какую-л. тему) \ talk inconsequentially; chatter
I suppose her mother is still rabbiting on as usual. — Я думаю, её мать опять долго беседует, как обычно. [34]
The meaning of this phrasal verb is semantically derived from the metaphorical meaning of the noun “начинающий, новичок”
But we should consider them as single words because of the opportunity to express the same or similar meaning by means of an ordinary verb.
pick = pick off - собирать, снимать; рвать, срывать (цветы, фрукты)
pick = pick out выбирать, отбирать, подбирать [34].
1.3. Distinctive features and types of phraseological units
Such a concept as phraseological unit denoting a specific type of fixed phrases was introduced by Russian linguists long ago and is generally applied in our country, whose language has its own phraseological units with their semantics and structure distinguished from differentiated to English ones mostly [43: 559].
It is often assumed that unlike components of free word groups which may vary according to the needs of communication, words that make up phraseological units are reproduced as unchangeable collocations, although they may be variable as well [12: 56].
read smb.'s mind \ read smb.'s thoughts - читать чужие мысли [30]
Lina looked at Erich with a sudden guilty start as though she feared he could read her thoughts. (M. Dodd, ‘Sowing the Wind’, ch. XXVII) — Лина бросила виноватый взгляд на Эриха, словно опасаясь, что он прочтет ее мысли.
Even nowadays, however, there is a certain divergence of views as to the binding feature of phraseological units differentiated to other fixed phrases or collocations and the nature of word combinations that can be rightly termed as phraseological units [4: 12].
This problem seems to be rather complex and may be mostly accounted for by the fact that the difference between free or variable word combinations and phraseological units can not be clearly defined since both of them may be both highly idiomatic and a bit idiomatic. When looking at phraseological units we can see that such a class of them as idiomatic phraseological units (= идиоматические фразеологические выражения) are highly idiomatic [4: 19].
Most Russian linguists nowdays classify into idioms (= идиоматические фразеологические выражения), phraseological fusions (=фразеологические сращения), phraseological unities (=фразеологические единства) and phraseological combinations (=фразеологические сочетания) [4; 5; 9; 10; 12; 15; 20; 23; 29; 31; 33; 40; 45; 46].
No wonder when translating English idiomatic phraseological units into Russian you can hardly preserve their original structure as well as conceptual meanings of the words they consist of.
move hell - пустить всё в ход, идти на всё, сделать всё возможное, стараться изо всех сил [30]
go to town - проявлять несдержанность, выходить из границ; дать волю (воображению, чувствам и т. п.) [30]
...he doesn't have much time to describe the murder, but when it comes to describing the guy's wife he really goes to town. (E. S. Gardner, ‘The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife’, ch. XII) — ...на то, чтобы описать само убийство, у него, видите ли, нет времени, но, говоря о вдове убитого, он красноречия не жалеет.
While translating English phraseological fusions into Russian there appears just a slight opportunity to preserve their original structure as well as conceptual meanings of the words they consist of.
move heaven and earth - сделать всё возможное, стараться изо всех сил, приложить все усилия, пустить всё в ход, ни перед чем не останавливаться; ≈ лезть из кожи вон [30]
I... am already deep in debt again, and moving heaven and earth to save myself from exposure and destruction... (M. Twain, ‘Pudd'nhead Wilson’, ch. VIII) — Я опять по горло в долгах и лезу из кожи вон, чтобы избежать разоблачений и гибели..."
When translating English phraseological unities into Russian you can preserve their original structure as well as conceptual meanings of the words they consist of much more easily but not quite very often.
move one's bowels - освободить кишечник, иметь стул [30]
‘What a headache,’ Keane said. ‘From constipation. I haven't been able to move my bowels for five days.’ (I. Shaw, ‘The Young Lions’, ch. XXVI) — - Ужасно болит голова, - сказал Кин. - Это от запора. У меня пять дней не было стула.
move \ run in a groove - идти по привычному пути, по проторенной дорожке [30]
move \ start one's boots - уходить, отправляться [30]
move \ stir smb.'s blood - возбудить страсть, энтузиазм, волнение в ком-л. [30]
move \ pull up stakes - сняться с места, переселиться; ≈ смотать удочки [30]
No more living in Oakland I'll die if I have to. It's pull up stakes and get out (J. London, ‘The Valley of the Moon’, book II, ch. XVII) — Хватит жить в Окленде. Я умру, если останусь здесь. Значит, надо уезжать отсюда, сматывать удочки.
get a move on - поторапливаться, пошевеливаться [30]
‘Come on, get a bloody move on,’ the shift boss called from the brace. (K. S. Prichard, ‘Golden Miles’, ch. 8) — - Ну, пошевеливайтесь, чтоб вам пусто было! - гремел на платформе у спуска в шахту голос сменного мастера.
fly high \ fly a high pitch \ fly at high game \ fly one's kite high - высоко заноситься, быть честолюбивым; лелеять честолюбивые мечты [30]
‘He told me last summer that I was doing better and he'd let me exhibit this year.’ ‘Not in this place, surely?’ ‘Of course not. The Salon.’ ‘You fly high.’ (R. Kipling, ‘The Light That Failed’, ch. V) — - Прошлым летом он сказал, что я работаю лучше и что в этом году он позволит мне выставляться. - Не здесь, конечно! - Разумеется, нет, в Салоне. - Ишь ты, размечтался!
The implicit meanings of phraseological unities may be varied due to the context and cultural traditions they are concerned with.
in a round-about way - вокруг да около, издалека; обходя суть дела [30]
the worst way; ((in) the worst way) - очень, крайне, чрезвычайно
She wanted a doll... in the worst way. — Девочке... очень хотелось получить куклу. [30]
lay smth. in smb.'s way (lay (put или throw) smth. in smb.'s way) - давать кому-л. возможность, предоставить кому-л. случай (воспользоваться чем-л.) ; оказывать (услуги) [30]
What a really nice girl might have done with him I cannot tell, but fate had thrown none such in his way. (S. Butler, ‘The Way of All Flesh’, ch. X) — Как бы повлияла на Теобальда хорошая девушка, я не могу сказать, так как судьба не устроила этой встречи.
As we see that phraseological unity is both varied in its structure and ambiguous due to the interpretation of the implicit meanings it includes.
Translation of phraseological combinations seems to be the easiest ones because the conceptual meaning they have is expressed explicitly enough.
go with the current \go with the current tide - плыть по течению [30]
He had a habit, as every listener knew, of opposing the majority... to show his independence. But tonight he was not risking it. He went with the tide, though in his own fashion. (J. B. Priestley, ‘Festival’, part II, ch. 2) — Каждому слушателю была известна его манера проявлять свою независимость, выступая против большинства... Но на этот раз он не стал рисковать. Сегодня вечером он решил плыть по течению, хотя и на собственный лад.
go to blazes! \go to blazes! \go to hell! \go to Jericho! \go to the devil! \go to Halifax!\ go to grass!)) - пошёл к чёрту!, убирайся к чёрту! [30]
‘I say, Rose, don't be a perfect beast.’ ‘Oh, go to hell!’ (W. S. Maugham, ‘Of Human Bondage’, ch. 19) — - Послушай, Роз, не будь такой скотиной - А пошел ты к черту! ‘If I'm to be locked up,’ said Hal, ‘I've certainly a right to know what is the charge against me.’ ‘Go to blazes!’ said the other, and slammed the door and went down the corridor. (U. Sinclair, ‘King Coal’, book II) — - Если я должен сидеть под замком, - продолжал Хэл, - я, несомненно, имею право знать, в чем меня обвиняют - Пошел ты ко всем чертям! - ответил человек и, хлопнув дверью, зашагал прочь по коридору.
go slow - не торопиться, быть осмотрительным [30]
‘I prefer to go slow with these lymphoid tissues,’ he said to Andrew as they washed up. (A. J. Cronin, ‘The Citadel’, ch. XI) — - я предпочитаю не торопиться, когда имею дело с лимфоидными тканями, - сказал он Эндрю, когда они оба мыли руки.
go up and down like a yoyo - то повышаться, то понижаться, колебаться [yoyo - игрушка "чертик на ниточке"]
come \ get back \ down to earth - спуститься, упасть с небес на землю, стать на реальную почву [30]
Now, Virgie, come down to earth and give me the low-down. What's happened to Mrs Bedford's diamonds? (E. S. Gardner, ‘The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe’, ch. 2) — Теперь, Верджи, вернись к действительности и расскажи мне, что произошло с бриллиантами миссис Бедфорд.
run a good foot - хорошо, резво бежать (о лошади) [30]
jump at smth. like a cock at a groser \ groset - жадно наброситься, накинуться на что-л., ухватиться за что-л. [30]
He just jumped at the ready penny like a cock at a grosert [= gooseberry]. (W. Scott, ‘St. Ronan's Well’, ch. II) — Он с неприкрытой жадностью набросился на деньги.
move like a shadow - двигаться бесшумно, как тень, идти крадучись[30]
move \ stir \ touch smb.'s heart - тронуть чьё-л. сердце, растрогать кого-л. [30]
move \ step in the right direction - шаг вперёд, шаг в нужном направлении [30]
...that concession was a step in the right direction she thought. (J. O'Hara, ‘Butterfield 8’, ch. 8) — Глория считала, что эта уступка пусть на шаг, но приближает ее к цели.
As we have seen looking at “make a move” even phraseological combinations may be polysemantic or varied as to the implicit meaning range they refer to.
Phraseological units appear to be comparatively stable, rich in connotative meaning and semantically inseparable, but there are innumerable borderline cases between the extremes of entire justification and variability of member words as well as lack of whatever justification combined with full stability of their word components and their grammatical structure and syntactic features [46: 32].
It is syntactic features of phraseological units that most Russian linguists nowadays draw attention to classifying them into nominal, verbal, adjectival, adverbial, modal and interjectional ones [5, 10, 27, 31, 42 etc]
The nominal phraseological units are a sort of a noun-based expression and therefore may be used as a subject or object or a part of nominal predicate most of all.
hot blood - пылкость, страстность, горячая кровь
It's drink that's been against me, drink and my hot blood. There's never been a Merlyn yet that died peaceful in his bed. (D. du Maurier, ‘Jamaica Inn’, ch. 2) — Всю жизнь меня подводили пристрастие к спиртному и проклятая вспыльчивость. Еще ни один из Мерлинов не умер в собственной постели.
hot coppers - пересохшее горло (с похмелья) [30]
His smoking tea... went... hissing over the "hot coppers" of that respectable veteran. (W. Thackeray, ‘The Book of Snobs’, ch. XXII) — Когда дымящийся чай... попадал в пересохшее горло этого почтенного ветерана, раздавался звук, напоминавший шипение.
the Milky Way - Млечный Путь [30]
The plane flew high. Above it reached the limitless vault of the heavens, not black, but silvered by that everflowing river of the stars, the Milky Way. (D. Carter, ‘Fatherless Sons’, part III, ch. 24) — Самолет летел высоко. Над ним раскинулся необъятный небесный свод, посеребренный светом Млечного Пути - этой извечной звездной реки.
the right way - путь истинный; правильный путь; правильный способ или метод [30]
He has been instructed in the right way. — Его правильно инструктировали. [30]
As we see some of the nominal phraseological units (the Milky Way, the right way) seems to be very similar both in English and Russian.
The verbal phraseological units contain a verb and may be used as a predicate.
catch smb.'s eye (catch smb.'s eye (или the eye of smb.)) - поймать, перехватить, привлечь чей-л. взгляд
close (или shut) one's eyes to smth. (turn a blind eye on или to smth.) - закрывать глаза на что-л., смотреть сквозь пальцы на что-л.
The adjectival phraseological units may be used as an attribute.
dry behind the ears — зрелый, оперившийся
Root blustered: ‘You think you're hell on wheels just because you been out a few times. You'd think you was a hundred to hear you talk.’ ‘I'm dry behind the ears, anyway,’ said Dick. (J. Steinbeck, ‘The Long Valley’, ‘The Raid’) — - Несколько раз побывал на собраниях и уже возомнил о себе. Тебя послушать, так ты уже на всем этом собаку съел, - кипятился Рут. - А я действительно не новичок, - ответил Дик
scarce as hen's teeth ((as) scarce as hen's teeth) весьма скудные, редкие; ≈ кот наплакал
English and American hands were as scarce as hen's teeth in this unhealthy place. (W. Foster, ‘Pages from a Worker's Life’, ch. II) — Английских и американских рабочих насчитывались единицы в этом гиблом месте.
The adverbial phraseological units are an equivalent of an adverb.
fair and square —
1) честно, прямо
Well, sir, it deeply grieves me that we've failed to reach an agreement and must come into conflict... I will promise you one thing - that we fight you fair and square, with everything open and aboveboard. (A. J. Cronin, ‘The Northern Light’, part I, ch. 5) — Ну, сэр, как ни печально, мы не смогли прийти к дружескому соглашению и предотвратить неизбежный теперь конфликт... я обещаю вам одно: мы будем вести борьбу честную и открытую. I got the horse from him all fair and square, didn't I? (D. Cusack and F. James, ‘Come in Spinner’, ‘Wednesday’) — Но мне его лошадь досталась честным путем, разве это не так?
2) целиком и полностью
But in the final analysis, the responsibility for safety rests fair and square on the employers. (‘Labour Monthly’) — В конечном счете ответственность за технику безопасности лежит целиком и полностью на предпринимателя. [30]
The modal phraseological units are fixed word combinations denoting certainty, opportunity, obligation, possibility, probability.
as anything - очень, чрезвычайно, ужасно, страшно, чертовски, дьявольски, адски
...but Gil I'll bet would be as peeved as anything. (Th. Dreiser, ‘An American Tragedy’, book II, ch. XXIV) — ...но держу пари, что Гил будет ужасно раздражен.
certain as preaching ; ((as) certain as preaching) - наверняка, дело верное; ≈ как пить дать
To the latter (a Southerner) drawing his comparison from his idolized rifle, a thing is "as sure as shooting", while to the former (a Yankee) more pious or more hypocritical, it is "as sartin [= certain] as preaching". (P. Paxton, ‘A Stray Yankee in Texas’, DAE) — Второй (южанин), для которого ружье было священным предметом, любил говорить: "Дело верное, как меткий выстрел"; первый (северянин), человек более набожный, а может, больший ханжа, говорил обычно: "Дело верное, как проповедь".
The interjectional ones are fixed word combinations connected with a wide number of emotions.
my eye! ((oh) my eye (eyes; my hat, stars, word или world)!) ≈ вот те на!, вот так так!, вот так штука!, вот это да!, подумать только!, ну и ну!; честное слово!; чёрт возьми!
‘My eyes how green!’ exclaimed the young gentleman. (Ch. Dickens, ‘Oliver Twist’, ch. VIII) — - До чего же он желторотый! - воскликнул молодой джентльмен.
my foot! ≈ ври(те) больше!, так я и поверил!, вот ещё выдумал(и)!, недурно придумано!; чёрта с два, чёрта лысого
‘I thought he was doing a motor-tour.’ ‘Motor-tour your foot! said the Inspector, with more energy than politeness.’ (D. L. Sayers, ‘Lord Peter Views the Body’, story XI) — - Я думал, что Плант отправился в путешествие на машине. - Черта с два он отправился! - сказал инспектор не очень вежливо, но весьма энергично.
Some linguists consider proverbs and sayings as another type of phraseological units because of their idiomatic meaning.
Drunken days all have their tomorrow. - Пьян - храбрится, а проспится – свиньи боится.
Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals / What soberness conceals drunkenness reveals. - Что у трезвого на уме, (то) у пьяного на языке.
Good can never grow out of evil. - Где сусло хорошо, там пиво дурно не бывает.
Do not spur a willing horse. – На послушного коня и кнута не надо.[34]
But many other linguists are against it because proverbs and sayings are equivalents not to fixed or free phrases but sentences [19, 21, 31 etc]. We share this opinion.
Summary of results
As we see the problem of distinguishing phraseological units and fixed phrases seems to be rather complex, because all of them can be highly expressive and idiomatic.
To our mind we should consider phraseological units as a class of fixed phrases since their variety is highly limited.
Counting phraseological units as a class of fixed phrases makes the question whether we should treat this or that fixed phrase a phraseological unit much more evident.
No doubt, we should not consider terminological fixed phrases as phraseological units if their meaning is not expressive or implicite.
We should not consider terminological fixed phrases as phraseological units too if the chance that they may be understood rightly by the people, who are not experts in this or that professional area, is too little.
Such types of fixed phrases as euphemisms and slang may be considered phraseological units if their meaning seems to be idiomatic enough.
Such fixed phrases as noun + noun may be considered both fixed phrases and single words due to their spelling, which quite often changes to a single word.
Phrasal verbs should not consider phraseological units since they happen to be highly polysemantic and their meaning may be expressed by ordinary verbs fairly often.
Chapter II. Analysis of phraseological units and fixed phrases
To see better what makes the difference between phraseological units and fixed phrases let us look at the phraseological units containing such a word as ‘way’ and compare them with some fixed phrases, which are this or that way similar to them.
2.1. Nominal phraseological units and fixed phrases having the same word components
To see that nominal phraseological units and fixed phrases having the same word components let us have a look at some examples.
When having a look at the idioms we can find in the dictionary by J. Seidl & W. McMordie “Oxford Pocket English Idioms” we can see that lots of them may be understood both idiomatically and verbally as well.
Such an idiom as another cup of tea can be understood right way considering the context.
another cup of tea - something or someone very different from that which has been discussed/encountered etc. previously [60]
Implicit meaning this phraseological unit possesses makes a great variety of choice for the interpreter to make his version sound expressive enough.
This girl was another cup of tea altogether. — Эта девушка была совершенно не похожа на них.
Even if you read French easily it's another cup of tea to make conversation in French. — Даже если ты свободно читаешь по-французски, это совершенно не значит, что ты можешь говорить по-французски.
I don't object to giving you a helping hand. But being made use of like this is another cup of tea. — Я не против помочь тебе. Но вкалывать за тебя - ты уж извини.
When we deal with non-idiomatic fixed phrase like that the problem of translation is minimal.
Another cup of tea? — Хотите еще чашку чаю? [34]
There are lots of nominal phraseological unit, whose structure and implicit meaning are fairly clear, since they can be seen as both fixed phrases and phraseological units.
a breath of fresh air - a thing or person that brings a refreshing and welcome change to the present dull or routine situation [60]