Numerical Components of English and German Phraseological Units as a Reflection of Language and National Mentality Interaction.

CONCLUSION
In the conclusion we would like to give a brief resume of the work that has been done. According to the tasks we set in the introduction, we may sum up several points.
The first chapter of our research was dedicated mostly to the three of four problems that were formulated in our introduction. So, in the first chapter we gave a definition to the term “phraseological unit”, also we pointed out the role of the phraseological unit in languages and we described their closeness to the lexical units (words).
There are many classifications of the phraseological units, and this fact shows us the wide spectrum of possibilities to divide the phraseological units into the different groups (grammar aspect, lexical aspect, etc.).
Then we analysed the interaction between the language and cu ...

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………..………………………..………………….....5
CHAPTER 1. LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS…………………..………………………………..…………………….8
1.1 The Definition of Phraseological Units and their Characteristic Features……………………………………………………..……...……...…....8
1.2 Functions of Phraseological Units…………………..…..…...…………....11
1.3 Classifications of Phraseological Units…………..……..………………...14
1.4 Interaction between Culture and Language Represented through the Phaseological Units…………………………………………….…………......18
1.5 The Symbolic Meaning of Numbers in the World Culture……..……..….21
1.5.1 Number in Mythopoetic System…………..……………..……...…...22
1.5.2 Number as a Sign of Denomination………………………...………..27
CHAPTER 2. PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS WITH NUMERICAL COMPONENTS IN MODERN ENGLISH AND GERMAN……......……31
2.1 The Specifics of Use of PU with Numerical Components in the English Language……………………………………………………………..…...…...31
2.1.1 The Numeral “One” in Phraseological Units…………………….......32
2.1.2 The Numeral “Two” in Phraseological Units……………………......35
2.1.3 The Numeral “Three” in Phraseological Units…………………..…..37
2.1.4 The Numeral “Four” in Phraseological Units…………………..…....40
2.1.5 The Numeral “Five” in Phraseological Units…………………..…....42
2.1.6 The Numeral “Six” in Phraseological Units…………………..……..43
2.1.7 The Numeral “Seven” in Phraseological Units……………...……….44
2.1.8 The Numerals “Eight”, “Nine”, “Ten”, “Twelve” in Phraseological Units……………………..…………………………………………..………...45
2.2 The Specifics of Use of PU with Numerical Components in the German Language…………………………………..………..……………..………….48
2.2.1 The Numeral “Null” in Phraseological Units…………..…………....49
2.2.2 The Numeral “Eins” in Phraseological Units………..……………....50
2.2.3 The Numeral “Zwei” in Phraseological Units……..……………..…51
2.2.4 The Numeral “Drei” in Phraseological Units…………………..…...52
2.2.5 The Numerals “Vier” and “Fünf “ in Phraseological Units…......…..53
2.2.6 The Numerals “Sechs” and “Sieben “ in Phraseological Units….....54
2.2.7 The Numerals “Acht” and “Neun “ in Phraseological Units…..…...55
2.2.8 The Numeral “Zehn” and Larger Numerals in Phraseological Units……………………………………..…………………………………….57
2.3 A Comparative Analysis of English and German PU with Numerical Components……………………………..……………………………….........59
2.4 Results and Discussion……………..……………………………………..65
CONCLUSION……………………..……………………………..…………67
REFERENCES……………………..……………………………………..…70
APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………81

INTRODUCTION
Language is an important element of the culture of any nation, including the fact that the language reflects the culture, the history of the nation and the ideology and world view of the nation. Many units of the language can be such a mirror, but there are some language units, which by their very nature can be the better mirror of the culture, history and world view of the nation. One of these language units is a phraseological unit.
The present graduation research is based on the analysis of the phraseological units with numerical components, which defines the object and subject of the research. The object of the present research is the English and German phraseological units with numerical components. The subject is the linguistic features of the numerical components of En glish and German phraseological units reflecting language and national mentality interaction.
The objective of our research is to analyse how the language and culture mentality are represented in the phraseological units containing numerals.
According to the objective of this bachelor paper, we can identify the following tasks:
• to give a definition to the term “phraseological unit” and to analyse its role in the language lexical system;
• to describe the different classifications of the phraseological units in order to show the different aspects of these language units;
• to give a characteristic to the role that the numerals play in the culture and language;
• to analyse the English and German phraseological units containing numerals from the point of their frequency, structure and cultural specifics.
The topicality of the research is explained by the profound interest of the modern linguists in the linguacultural aspect of the phraseological units and the numerals taken separately. In our research we combine these two language units, because, according to our provisional hypothesis, the numerals in the phraseological units show the linguacultural specifics being closely related to the mentality of the nation.
The scientific novelty of our research is connected to the combining of the numerals and the phraseological units in the comparative analysis of the cultural features of the languages.
The methods of investigations used in this bachelor’s paper are descriptive method, the method of classification, comparative method, the method of component analysis and sampling and the statistical method.
The theoretical significance of the bachelor’s paper is based on the necessity of detailed analysis of the phraseological units containing the numerals.
The practical significance of the research is defined by the results of the study, which can help to understand the correlation between the language and the culture in this aspect.
The present bachelor paper consists of an Introduction, Chapter 1 “Linguistic analysis of phraseological units”, Chapter 2 “Phraseological Units with numerical components in modern English and German”, Conclusion, References including the list of sources which were used in our work and two Appendices. Appendix I contains the English phraseological units which were a base for our statistics for English language; and Appendix II contains the German phraseological units which were a base for our statistics for German language. The introduction represents the main tasks of the research and the methods used to achieve these tasks. Chapter 1 “Linguistic analysis of phraseological units” is a general description of the phraseological units, their classifications and role on the language. Also there is a description of the numerals in culture and language in the first chapter. Chapter 2 “Phraseological Units with numerical components in modern English and German” is an analysis of the phraseological units with the numerical components in English and German.
The material for the research was taken from the dictionaries and resource of the two languages (see: References). We analyzed 100 English phraseological units: 19 phraseological fusions, 73 phraseological unities, 8 phraseological collocations; and 100 German phraseological units: 18 phraseological fusions, 70 phraseological unities, 12 phraseological collocations with the numerical component.

There we must note that in such idiom this numeral take clear negative connotations as “not enough”, “too little” in comparison with a “standard” (two hands, capability to several different tricks, etc.). So we can conclude that the numeral "one" is in some cases contrasted to the numeral "two", both numerical component are not usually used in their specific meaning. “Two" expresses a certain set, "one" means the absence of a set.But there are idioms where “one” is opposed to “nothing” and there it takes a positive (or at last not negative) connotations. For example:In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king — if surrounded by people less capable or able, someone who would not normally be considered special can shine.In very rare cases this numeral can take an additional meaning “the beginning of a sequence”. The rareness of this meaning is rather peculiar, since this numeral appeared to be a beginning of a sequence (one, two, three, etc.). We can presume that the cause of this rareness is that this word is used as a pronoun more often that as a numeral in speech. But we find an example:One good turn deserves another — when people do something good, something good will happen to them;one fire drives out another — to remove the results of some action with the same action;There is another meaning of this numeral, which is close to the opposition ”small number” — "infinitely large number", but it has some additional aspects. This meaning is represented in the idioms: one-man band — when one person does all the work or has all the responsibility somewhere, then they are a one-man band;one over the eight — very drunk (more than eight).one in a thousand — very rare and precious. Here we can recall the Russian proverb «один в поле не воин» (compare to English one man no man), to which all these idioms are opposite. The Russian proverb means that “one” is always less than “many”, but in this English idioms we can see that in some aspects “one” can be more that “many”, though not all of these aspects are good or healthy. One of the most common meanings of the numeral “one” appearing in the idioms is the meaning “very fast”. Though this meaning exists not exceptionally in English linguaculture (for example, Russian одним ударом — very fast, in one move), it seems very interesting, since the concept of number here corresponds with the concept of movement or time. Such meaning development became possible due to the figurative meaning of the words, and here it based on metaphorical shift of meaning. There are several examples: One fell swoop — a single hasty action or occurrence;with one stroke of the pen — very fast, with a single actionWe should pay particular attention to the frequent juxtaposition in English PhU of "one" and "another' V 'the other", for example:one man may steal a horse while another may not look over a hedge — people may take different degrees of liberty depending on our opinion of them;in (at) one ear and out at the other — if information goes in one ear and out the other the person who is told it forgets it immediately because he does not listen carefully enough.Sometimes this opposition is only implied, for example: one side of the medal — one side of a coin, one aspect of a person’s character or of any business, event, object; friendship cannot stand always on one side — friendship must be mutual or it is not friendship.This opposition between "one" / "another" ("the other") complicates the value of a numeric component and separates it from the specific value of a numeral.So, concluding this part of our research we can notice that there are several main additional meanings, which the numeral “one” can get when it is used in the PhU. 2.1.2 The Numeral “Two” in Phraseological UnitsThe numeral “two” goes back to the Old English word twa "two” [71]. According to the Collins English Dictionary, this word has several meanings:the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one;a numeral, 2, II, (ii), etc, representing this number;something representing, represented by, or consisting of two units, such as a playing card with two symbols on it [70].So we can see that this numeral in its most common meaning denotes duality, the fact that something consists of the two parts (a sum of one and one). But in the idioms this duality often means the lack of unity:fall (sit) between two stools — if smth falls between two stools, it fails because it is neither one type of thing nor another and if someone falls between two stools, they fail because they try to combine two different types of thing that cannot be combined.The meaning “duality” can represent also some negative concepts, for example the double danger or double mishaps: between two fires — difficult / painful situation without any escape;one-two punch — two unpleasant things that happen together;The uncertainty:be in two minds — be unable to decide about smth; which also can be expressed by means of the negation of “two”, i.e. if “two” implies “uncertainty, choice”, so “not two” naturally implies “certainty, absence of choice”:(there’s) no two ways about it — something that you say in order to emphasize that somethi1ng is true.Furthermore, in some units "two" may indicate the similarity of objects or people:as like as two peas — to be very similar;As well as on the difference between what it is about:saying and doing are two things — to say something and to do something take different time.In some cases, "two" may be used in the meaning of "small amount":in two shakes of a lamb's tail — very fast.We can compare it to the idiom in one stroke. There we can see that in some idiomatic contexts the two numerals “two” and “one” can be synonyms, though in the other contexts these two numerals are opposed. For example, when we want to underline that there not only one person, who is involved in some business, we can use the idiom “it takes two for tango”. Also, this idiom often implies a negative meaning, because it is usually said when someone wants to emphasize that both people involved mostly in a difficult situation and that is why both of them must accept the blame, or that an activity needs two people who are willing to take part for it to happen.But it is also possible to use it in the meaning of "division one (whole) into two (parts)":two in distress makes sorrow less =company in distress makes trouble less.According to the temporary conclusion, we may point out that in several PhU the numerals “one” and “two” can be used as synonyms (“very few”, “very fast”, “duality as unity”) or as antonyms (“unity vs. duality”,). Besides there are several meaning that are distinctive for each numeral. 2.1.3 The Numeral “Three” in Phraseological UnitsThe next numeral is “three”, and it has its own specifics, which is connected to the major role this numeral plays in numerology and folklore. According to Emory B. Lease, from time to time of history of the world various numbers, chiefly those from 1 to 12, have been regarded as possessing mystical significance, but there can be no doubt that in extent, variety and frequency of its use the number 3 surpasses all the rest. This very word itself shows a threefold use: one definite, its actual intrinsic value; another, symbolic, mystic, esoteric; the third is indefinite, of an indeterminate number of times, even in the sense of many [63]. There is even a special term — a triple deity (i. e. sometimes referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic, or as a trinity), which is a deity associated with the number three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology.The Collins English Dictionary gives us such a description of this numeral.the cardinal number that is the sum of two and one and is a prime number.a numeral, 3, III, (iii), representing this numberthe amount or quantity that is one greater than twosomething representing, represented by, or consisting of three units such as a playing card with three symbols on it [70].And according to the Online Etymology dictionary this word derives from Old English þreo, fem. and neuter (masc. þri, þrie), from Proto-Germanic thrijiz (cognates: Old Saxon thria, Old Frisian thre, Middle Dutch and Dutch drie, Old High German dri, German drei, Old Norse þrir, Danish tre), from nominative plural of PIE root trei— "three" [71].So this numeral has several basic meanings: “greater than two”, “sum of two and one”, “sum of the three units”. The concept of quantitative superiority (“greater than two”) reflects in the PhUs becoming universal concept of the "indefinite large number":fish and guests stink after three days — no host can be hospitable enough to prevent a friend who has descended on him from becoming tiresome after three days.Meaning close to this one we also can see in the idiom:three's a crowd — a third person spoils the ideal combination of a couple. This expression, alluding to a third person spoiling the privacy of a pair of lovers, was already a proverb in 1546 [75]. There is a longer version of the PhU, which is more proverb than PhU: Two is company, (but) three's a crowd — a way of asking a third person to leave because you want to be alone with someone. (Often implies that you want to be alone with the person because you are romantically interested in him or her.We should point out that here we can see the meaning of redundancy, which derives from the idea of a couple + one. The couple, the pair, “duality” seems to be a complete unit, and this “plus one” is something that breaks its integrity. So this meaning refers to the meaning of the numeral “two” as a unity, something that consists of two parts and still can be the “one”.Or another example:Moving three times is as bad as a fire — it means that if you move your household three times, you will lose or damage as many things as a fire in your house would have destroyed or damaged. Here “three” adds the meaning “too much” and negative connotation of redundancy.Also the concept of a “large number” can be represented in the metaphorical way and to be close to the meaning a “high level expression of a certain trait”. For example, in the PhU:three dogs night — A very cold night. Back in pre-central heating days, on nights when a thick quilt wasn't available or didn't provide enough heat, rural dwellers might take a dog into bed to provide additional warmth. Chilly weather called for one dog, even colder for two, but when it was cold enough to freeze a brass monkey, you'd make room for three dogs.Here we can see that the number “three” corresponds with the adjective “cold”.At the same time, the active component is sometimes used in a numerical value as the "small amount": the three tailors of Tooley Street — a small group of people who consider themselves to be representatives of the whole people;didn't exchange more than three words with someone — to say hardly anything to someone. Also in this PhU the number may vary, that is here the number “three” represents the meaning of the “small amount” in the most pure way and it does not have here any of its folklore or mystical additional meanings. The concept of the “small amount” can be intertwined with the concept of “easiness”. There is a PhU, which has not a very long history. It derives from literature:three pipe problem — according to Sherlock Holmes, it is an easy problem, which has rather obvious solution. To smoke three pipes does not take a lot of time.There is comparatively large amount of the PhU, containing this numeral, which are built upon the same scheme. For example:a three-alarm fire (also a five-alarm fire) — someone or something very exciting;a three-ring circus — a lot of noisy or confused activity.give three cheers — compare: to express approval, salute sb/sth in the formula "Hip, hip" (by a cheer-leader) and "Hurray" (by all), shouted three times.In all three cases the meaning is connected to the idea of the excitement and noisiness and through it to the idea of the “large amount” (of noise or feelings). The other PhU which is built upon the same scheme has a very different meaning. It is rather modern and it derives from the intricacies of using the PCs:a three-finger salute — The keyboard keys Control, Alternate, Delete pressed at the same time when a program fails under the Windows operating system.Here the meaning of the “three” directs on the real number (of finger). It has a close connection to the modern-day life.2.1.4 The Numeral “Four” in Phraseological Units Here we can see that the larger the numeral becomes, the more specific meaning it has. The numeral “four” is a very good example of this principle. The main meanings of this word are:the cardinal number that is the sum of three and onea numeral, 4, IV, etc, representing this numbersomething representing, represented by, or consisting of four units, such as a playing card with four symbols on it [70].The other meanings are terminological and do not have any wide usage, but we can notice that most of them are figurative and derived due to metaphorical or metonymical shift of the meaning. This numeral derives from Old English feower "four; four times". Besides, the Online Etymology Dictionary shows us, that the PhUs with this numeral have a rather long history. To be on all fours is known from 1719; earlier on all four (14c.). Four-letter word as a euphemism for one of the short words generally regarded as offensive or objectionable is attested from 1923; four-letter man is recorded from 1920 (apparently as a euphemism for a shit). Compare Latin homo trium litterarum, literally "three-letter man," a euphemism for fur "a thief." A four-in-hand (1793) was a carriage drawn by four horses driven by one person; in the sense of "loosely tied necktie" it is attested from 1892. To study The History of the Four Kings (1760, compare French Livres des Quatre Rois) contains an old euphemistic slang phrase for "a pack of cards," from the time when card-playing was considered a wicked pastime for students. Slang 4-1-1 "essential information" (by 1993) is from the telephone number called to get customer information. The four-color problem so called from 1879. The four-minute mile was attained 1954 [71].The numeral "four" basically states the actual number of objects or phenomena:the four corners of the earth — the regions of the world distant from the centre (from primitive conceptions of a flat or table-shaped world);to the four winds — if a group of things or people are scattered to the four winds, they are sent to different places which are far away from each other;on all fours — on one's hands and knees, with both hands and both knees on the ground;within these four walls — something that should be kept secret.The meaning “secrecy” in the last PhU can be underlined adding more components to this idiom: between you, me and these four walls.Due to the image of the room or the house, this numeral gets the additional meaning of safety or closeness. But several idioms, which contain the numeral “four”, can have a meaning “large number” (as the idioms with “two” or “three”) or even redundancy. For example:four sheets in the wind — drunk or intoxicated (=drink too much).Besides, we should point out, that due to the image of any four-wheeled vehicle or more ancient images of a square, meaning of this numeral can add the concept of the “completeness” or “fullness”. Square is one the most widespread geometrical figures and also one of the most well-known geometrical symbols. The number “four” has many symbolical meanings and one of them is “completeness”, which corresponds with the square as one of the most complete and perfect geometrical figures. If we compare the two PhUs: the four wheels — a car; transportation;two is company, (but) three's a crowd,We can notice that they are both contain this concept of a “completeness” (broken or not). And when we speak about the number “two”, we conclude that the concept of the “completeness” here is connected to the image of any pair, any couple “two as one”, however when we speak about this concept in connection with the numeral “four” we can conclude that it derives from several ideas (house having for walls, chair having four legs, etc.). 2.1.5 The Numeral “Five” in Phraseological UnitsThe word “five” has several meanings.the cardinal number that is the sum of four and onea numeral, 5, V, etc, representing this numberthe amount or quantity that is one greater than foursomething representing, represented by, or consisting of five units, such as a playing card with five symbols on it [70].It derives from the Old English fif "five". This numeral also complies with our idea that the larger the number, the more typical and certain its meaning in the PhUs. Regarding this numeral, it is the idea of the five finger of the hand. There are some examples:slip someone five — to shake someone's hand;bunch of fives — a punch from a closed fist;five-finger discount — the acquisition of something by shoplifting;high five — 1. n. a greeting where the palm of the hand is raised and slapped against another person’s palm similarly raised. 2. tv. & in. to greet someone as described in sense [75].The fields of usage are varied here, but there is an idea of the “hand” in every PhU, even though in the idiom “five-finger discount” the metaphor is not very clear (someone can use its fist to break the shop window and get any goods he or she wants for free). There are several examples of the idioms, where this numeral is used in the meaning of “small amount”.He wears a ten-dollar hat on a five-cent head — he is stupid but rich (=five cents are a very small sum of money).take five — to take a five-minute rest period; to take a short break (=five minutes is a very small period of time). This meaning derives from the real life facts. We may notice that the idioms with the numeral “five” representing this meaning (“very small”) are rather new in language, so they can reflect the modern reality, not the mythological and philosophical ideas about numbers. 2.1.6 The Numeral “Six” in Phraseological UnitsThe numeral “six” has the same main meaning that numerals five, four, etc., that is “something of six parts”, “number 6”. It derives from Old English siex, six, sex [71] While using in idioms, this numeral can represent the same meaning, the certain number, the certain quantity. For example:be six feet under — to be dead and buried (Refers originally to burying someone or something six feet deep, the standard depth of a grave).It's six of one, half a dozen of another — two options are equivalent.double six — a year; a pair of six-month periods.In all of these idioms the numeral refers to some concrete fact. And even if there is a metaphor, it also based on the facts from the real life: deep six — to kill or dispose of someone. (Usually deep-six as a verb.) But there are several examples of the idioms containing this numeral, which are more figurative or at least which have a less obvious base. For example:at sixes and sevens — in a confused, badly organized, or difficult situation. The most likely this rather strange idiom derives from the phrase, which is an old dice game called hazard, in which to bet on cinque and sice. The French words for “five” and “six”) was particularly risky business. Anyone who did so was considered careless or confused. English-speaking players misheard or chose to pronounce cinque and sice as “sixes and sevens” [75].Here we can see that this numeral can get an euphemistic meaning, which is connected to the realities of common life. Euphemisms are used when the meaning of the word can be found offensive, depressive or unpleasant. The numeral “six” included in the idiom can represent the euphemistic idea of death.2.1.7 The Numeral “Seven” in Phraseological UnitsThe numeral “seven” is derived from the Old English seofon, from Proto-Germanic *sebum.