Sources of phraseological units. The use of phraseological units in speech

The Russian language is one of the richest and most expressive in the world due to the abundance of expressive means. Phraseology is a section of linguistics in which lexically indivisible combinations of words are studied, called special phraseological units. With the help of them, speech becomes more beautiful.

What does phraseologism mean? The meaning of the term

Each person uses winged phrases in his speech, intentionally or unconsciously, to give it an emotional coloring. Not everyone knows the origin of phraseological units and how they differ from other expressions. To understand the functions of winged phrases and not to confuse them with other units of speech, you need to know their characteristics.

1. Phraseologisms are always complex in composition, that is, they consist of two or more words.

2. Have unpartitioned meaning. Phraseologism cannot be divided, but can be expressed in other synonymous words. For example, the expression "roll a barrel" is used in the meaning of "unreasonably reproach someone."

3. In contrast to free phrases, phraseological units are characterized by a constant composition - the components do not change in numbers and genders (you can’t say "the cat cried" instead of the classic combination "the cat cried" or the "chickens do not peck" - "the roosters do not peck"; by the way, phraseologisms with the meanings “many” and “little” are most often used in speech).

4. In winged phrases the order of words is fixed. It is wrong to say “bones and skin” instead of “skin and bones”. This rule applies to all phraseological units.

5. The winged phrases of one language, as a rule, are not translated literally into another. If in Russian there is a phrase “spit on the ceiling”, the British will say “sit and twirl your thumb,” with only one sense: “idle”.

The functions of phraseological units in the language

Winged phrases give speech vividness and imagery. Knowledge of phraseology is appreciated in all areas of human activity, often journalists turn to such techniques in feuilleton and essays, but for this it is necessary to know exactly what phraseology means. The performance of a comedian or satirist becomes brighter and more expressive if he inserts catchphrases into his speech. The use of phraseologisms in newspaper headlines has always been relevant, and often the author of the article exposes them to creative transformations. There are 5 cases where the catch phrase carries a new meaning.

1. The expansion of the composition through the use of clarifying words: "Cats, not small fluffy, but large, with dirty sharp claws, scratched her by the heart." In this case, the famous phraseological unit was dismembered in other words.
2. Reception reduction (reduction) is demonstrated in the famous series "Do not be born beautiful." The continuation begs: "but be born happy."
3. Sources of author's phraseologisms are drawn from classical stable combinations. So, the Latin motto “veni, vidi, vici” (“came, saw, won”) the journalist can redo in his own way: “come, saw, wrote down”.
4. The combination of several expressions: "Is it because fear is called panic because the god Pan laughed at Homer's laughter?" The connection must be successful so that the phrase does not look ridiculous.
5. Destruction of figurative meaning when phraseological unit has a direct meaning, and not a metaphorical one, for example: "The Buddha statue had golden hands."

How did winged phrases come about?

The formation of the culture of each nation took place over many centuries, the heritage of one country began to interest others, as a result of which one can notice the phenomenon of assimilation. Sources of Russian phraseological units are divided into two large groups: native-Russian and borrowed. Winged expressions in the Russian language were borrowed from Slavic and non-Slavic languages. Interesting phrases came from English: “a storm in a glass of water”, “to be or not to be”, “princess on a pea”. In turn, Russian phraseological units spread throughout the world. Czechs and English are still delighted with the catchphrases “bear service”, “hero of our time” and many others.

Original Russian phraseological units are divided into three large groups: Slavic, East Slavic, and proper Russian. The differences are explained by the territory in which they were distributed.

1. The most ancient pan-Slavic or Proto-Slavic phrases include topics related to biblical motifs, for example, "at Christ's bosom" in the meaning of "in complete safety."
2. East Slavic phraseological units were spread by Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians (“put a pig” - “commit vileness”, “not a stake or yard” - “absolutely nothing”).
3. Own Russian winged expressions: "with a gulkin nose" - "little", "keep your mouth shut" - "keep silent."

Stylistic layers of phraseology

A person uses well-established combinations of words with a figurative meaning in his speech, without even thinking about it, and some of them sometimes seem indecent. Scientists subdivided all phraseological units into three layers depending on their stylistic coloring.

1. Neutral combinations , such as "New Year", "point of view." Phraseologisms with meanings of a similar plan, as a rule, are not difficult to interpret, since a person uses them in his speech quite often.
2. Book . They can be used not only in print, but also in everyday speech - this will testify to a person’s education (“Babel Babel”, “Achilles heel”). However, it is inappropriate to use book idioms in an informal setting or too often.
3. Conversational . Quite often “white crow”, “pea jester” and other phraseological units are used. Grade 6 is the best time to familiarize the student with similar expressions so that he begins to actively use them.
4. Colloquial idioms are unacceptable in the speech of an educated person, especially in an official setting. For characterization, you can choose a more decent phrase. So, the phrase "full of fool" can be replaced by the phraseology "comes as a giraffe."

Winged Expressions in Other Languages

All the peoples of the world have a great cultural heritage, which includes literature. Winged phrases are present not only in Russian, but also in many others. Often the components change, so it’s not always possible to understand what phraseology means, but its meaning remains the same. Some differences can be identified by the example of the English language.

• The expression "rare bird" ("rara avis") came from Latin. In Russian, the phrase “White Crow” appeared, but in English the translation has not changed.
• "Fight like a fish on ice" - this is what they say about a person who is engaged in complex and empty work. In English, the expression sounds like "pull the line by the tail."
• Phraseologisms "make a mountain out of a molehunt" and "make a fly out of an elephant" are complete synonyms, but the former is found among the peoples of Europe.
• In English, the catchphrase "how it blew off the wind" sounds like "disappear into the clear air." This is what they say about a man who quickly and suddenly disappeared without explanation.
• The famous expression "like two, two, four" in the English sounds completely different: "it is clear as a nose on his face." Is this really due to poor knowledge of mathematics?
• In English, the phraseology “call a spade a spade” sounds more verbatim: “call a spade a spade”. An interesting question may arise: "Why a garden tool, and not pudding or coffee?"

• If a Russian person says "keep your mouth shut," the Englishman will force the talker to "fasten his lips." To know for sure what phraseology means that you have not heard before, you need to turn to the dictionary.
• Some popular phrases from different peoples of the world completely retain the vocabulary component during translation. So, the phraseologisms “pass through fire and water”, “verbal diarrhea”, “soul wide open” and “look for a needle in a haystack” sound the same in both English and Russian.

The winged expressions of carpenters, sailors and others

In the Russian language, a large group is occupied by phraseological units that were once used in a certain type of activity. Pay attention to how phraseological units arise in a narrow circle of people who subsequently become relevant in the people. Thus, the popular sayings “sailing aground” and “go with the flow” of the sailors have a figurative meaning - “to stay with nothing” and “obey circumstances”. The phrases “not a hitch”, “to finish with nuts” and others were used in the professional sphere by joiners, and later by all the others. If fishermen use in their speech the phrases “get caught” or “peck at the hook” in the direct sense, the rest say so in situations that are not related to fishing. Thus, the sources of phraseological units can be found in professional fields of activity.

Winged Expressions and Antiquity

The modern world owes a lot to the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome, since classical art samples were laid precisely in this era. Excerpts from ancient myths and epics are used in the literature of these years. Sources of phraseological units can be traced in Ancient Greece and Rome, since ancient subjects have always been of interest to the public.

Today, you rarely hear the phraseology “fall into the arms of Morpheus,” and before the masters of the word often turned to this turn. The origin of the winged expression is immediately associated with two phenomena. Morphine sleeping pills are obtained from poppy flower heads, and the god Morpheus in Ancient Greece was showered with poppy flowers and never opened his eyes.

The hymen in the ancient world is the patron of marriage. Speaking about the union of two lovers, they often use phrases that contain a word symbolizing chains, ligaments or other connecting elements. They tied one person to another with ties - this is how the phraseology “Hymen's bonds” appeared, meaning eternal love and affection of two people.

Once upon a time, the goddess of contention Eris decided to take revenge on the gods who did not invite her to the feast. She threw them a golden apple with the inscription "the most beautiful Hera, Aphrodite and Athena." The three goddesses argued for a long time who should rightfully bear this title, but Paris made his choice in favor of the goddess of love. For this, she helped him get Elena, because of which the long Trojan war began. So the phraseology “apple of discord” appeared.

The ancient Greek fabulist Aesop was not given to everyone to understand. In his speech, he often used the technique of allegory, because of which others could not guess what he was talking about. Today, the expression "Aesopian language" means the ability to express your thoughts in allegories and parables.

The role of phraseologisms in the media

The task of print media is to attract the attention of readers and gain a large target audience, thanks to which the demand for the newspaper will always be high. Literate journalists often try to pick up a vivid metaphorical headline, which is based on phraseological units. In the CIS countries, Russian Golden Age writers are honored and remembered; therefore, they often choose the famous quotation of Griboedov "Who are the judges?" from his work Woe from Wit. Most often, authors use phraseological units or supplement them with new vocabulary components. So, in the title “Bills do not burn”, a connection is traced with Mikhail Bulgakov and his famous saying “Manuscripts do not burn.” Thus, the sources of phraseological units are also fiction. The popular winged phrases “a big sailing ship for a big ship” and “chickens in the fall consider” journalists have changed to a “big ruble a big sailing” and “May decrees in the fall count”. Experts confirm that the use of phraseological units in the media always attracts readers. It is important to know the meaning of each stylistic figure so that there is no embarrassment.

Mistakes in the use of phraseological units

An educated person tries to decorate his speech with catch phrases, use professional terms and foreign words. Often the use of one form or another is erroneous, which can affect the meaning of the context and completely change it. There are several gaps that are most often manifested in human speech.

Some unjustifiably reduce the composition of phraseological units as a result of omitting the component: "the success of the student is desired" instead of "the success of the student is poor." The first form is used erroneously. Replacing one of the components may be original, but sometimes it just causes laughter.

Media workers often use phraseologism in their speech “where the foot of a journalist has not yet set foot”. In a stable combination, in this case, instead of the word "man" another was chosen.

Replacing a component with a similar one in sound is a mistake that can lead an educated person to a standstill. So, instead of the correct form “do not lose heart” you can hear “did not lose heart” - a verb in the past tense is chosen instead of an infinitive.

An erroneous replacement of grammatical forms can also cause laughter, especially when instead of phraseologism “kill the worm” people hear “kill the worms”. Changing the singular to the plural is not allowed.

Often a mistake manifests itself in a mixture of two phrases. Phraseologisms “to matter” and “play a role” can be confused with each other, resulting in a ridiculous turn “play a meaning”.

Misunderstanding of the meaning of winged expressions is a rather serious oversight, because ridiculous sentences can turn out because of this, so it is important to know how phraseological units arise and in which cases they should be used. So, the phrase "funny graduates performed their swan song" (the song is sung by a dying bird) sounds ridiculous, so if you are not sure about the use of phraseology, do not risk it.

How often do we use winged phrases? Phraseologisms in everyday speech

A person uses winged phrases in speech much more often than he thinks. As a rule, this happens unconsciously. So, for the day, some pronounce several dozen expressions. Often in the school curriculum include phraseological units (6th grade and beyond).

We call the "scapegoat" of a person who has to account for the misconduct of others, and when angry with someone, we say "I will show you Kuz'kin mother!" Trying to achieve the desired result with all our efforts, we "spin like a squirrel in a wheel," and when we are lazy, we begin to "work through the sleeves." Seeing a quiet, modest old woman, we will call her "God's dandelion", and a person who stands out on the negative side of her character - "a black sheep in the family."

Much less often, a person wants to choose phraseological units consciously to give speech an aesthetic coloring. Speakers, depending on the topic of their speech, start it with catchphrases so that listeners show a keen interest. Young guys often "clog the arrow" to sort things out, and before that they decide to "kill the worm" in order to gain strength. Restless children "pass by the ears" the wise instructions of their parents, about which "deep down" they regret after years. Thus, phraseology firmly entered the life of every person.