Stylistic use of phraseological units

10. Stylistic use of phraseological units
Phraseological unit – is a system of words a meaning of which can’t be guessed from the meaning of its components (Koonin).
Each phr.unit is characterized by a certain degree of cohesion.
Phr.units are characterized by the following feature’s: 1. Stability; 2. Semantic integraty; 3. Ready-made structure which can’t be changed or substituted.
Professor Screbnev differentiate
1. Formal/bookish phr.units: Eg. The knight of the Quill = a writer; A heart of oak = brave, courageous; Achilles hill – ахилесова пята
2. Neutral phr.units are units which are devoid of any emotiveness: Eg. By hook or by crock – всеми правдами и неправдами; For good and for all – раз и навсегда
3. Familiar colloquial phr.units: Eg. Have bats in one’s belfry – быть не в своем уме; A pretty kettle of fish – веселенькая история; To rain cats and dogs – неприятности валятся; To be one’s cups – быть навеселе, подвыпившим; Small fry – мелкая сошка
4. Slangish phr.units: Eg. To drop off the hooks – сорваться с петель, умереть; To kick the bucket – дать дуба; To hop the twig – загнуться, дать дуба
Professor I.V. Arnold classifies phr.units into
1. Usual p.units that are fixed in the dictionaries; 2. Occasional p.units that is creation of different authors. They are contextual predetermined. They appeared as a result of some change in usual units. These changes are the following: a. Prolongation. Eg. To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth (usual p.unit) – родится под счастливой звездой: Little George was born with a silver spoon in a mouth which was curly and large (prolongation). b. Substitution. Eg. All the world and his wife (usual p.unit) – всё светское общество: all the world and his mistress (substitution) were at the party. c. Insertion (вклинивание). Eg. To turn one’s nose at sb. (usual p.unit) – смотреть с высока: She turned her well-shaped (insertion) nose at him.
Professor Koonin differentiate phr.units:
1. Stylistically neutral are units which are devoid of any emotiveness: Eg. By hook or by crock – всеми правдами и неправдами; For good and for all – раз и навсегда; 2. Emotive phr.units contain some kind of attitude towards this and that subject. Eg. As welcome as flower in may; 3. Expressive phr.units are characterized by some degree of expressiveness. Eg. He is dead nuts on this girl = he is full of love; 4. Stylistically marked phr.units are those which are referred either to the formal or non-literary informal styles (jargon, slang, vulgarisms, etc.). Eg. The debt of nature = death; A Gordian knot = complicated problem; To go to Canossar = публично покаяться, унизится; 5. Elevated phr.units: Eg. To breath one’s last – до самой смерти; To fiddle while Rome burns – пир во время чумы. Within elevated phr.units he (Koonin) distinguishes: a) Archaic (the iron in one’s soul – душевные муки, to play upon advantage – обманывать, надувать) and b) Poetic phr.units (of high account – имеющий ценность, most and the least – все без исключения); 6. Foreign phr.units (barbarisms). Eg. A la carte – по заказу, a la mode – по моде, beaumonde – бомонд, высший свет, ad patress – к праотцам, ad verbum – слово в слово.
All sorts of proverbs and sayings may undergo some changes.
L.A. Barkova made a research in which she studied pragmatic effect of using phr.units in commercial advertisements: eg. The other side of the medal (usual p.unit) – the other side of the metal (ads.), so far so good (usual p.unit) – sofa so good (ads.).