The main way of communication between people is speech. From the moment a person realizes that he can speak, his world becomes completely different. All their lives, people improve in the expression of their thoughts. In order not to be tongue-tied, a person often uses phraseological units. We’ll talk about one of them ("mountain from the shoulders") today.
What are phraseologisms?
Linguists call phraseologisms stable folk expressions. What are their features? Words in phraseologism cannot be separated, in which case they lose their whole meaning. Surprisingly, we quite often do not think about the meaning of certain phrases. Our brain perceives them as a habitual speech revolution, the meaning of which has been understood since the youngest years. After all, our mothers and fathers also applied certain turns and learned their meaning from their parents.
The meaning of phraseological units in speech
Almost all phraseological units have a bright emotional connotation and convey it if applied. If you use certain turns in speech, it means that you unconsciously want to strengthen the meaning of the words you said. It is for this purpose that phraseological units are used.
They are often used by poets and writers. In their works, idioms are very common. It is hard to imagine how the authors would convey their mood without winged phrases. After all, each person in his own way understands different words, and only stable phrases are perceived equally by all segments of the population at any time.
How to recognize phraseologism?
Any person understands what phraseological unit is. But can everyone list the signs of these speech turns? Let's look at them on the example of one of the common phrases.
"Mountain from the shoulders" - phraseology is stable and has all the signs inherent in these turns of speech. First of all, it is indivisible, the slightest permutation of words in this phrase makes it absolutely unnecessary and inapplicable in many situations. If we say instead of the usual phrase “mountain from the shoulders” something like “mountain from the shoulders”, then our interlocutor will most likely think out the semantic load of what was said.
Most phraseologisms can be replaced with one word. For example, instead of the phrase "mountain from the shoulders" you can use the word "relief".
You can recognize phraseologism by its imagery. After all, in fact, when we say that “a mountain has fallen off our shoulders,” we attach figurative meaning to the phrase. No one believes that we had a real mountain on our shoulders, preventing us from moving and living.
Mountain from the shoulders: the meaning of phraseology
Many people like to use stable phrases in their colloquial speech, but it is very funny to use them incorrectly. To avoid this annoying mistake, you need to know their original meaning. Only in this case, the use of phraseological units will be justified.
We often pronounce the phrase "mountain from the shoulders." The meaning of this turn of speech is obvious: it means getting rid of any trouble and problem. A person gets rid of the heavy burden of problems and is greatly relieved.
Another meaning of phraseology
In some cases, the use of a stable phrase in another sense is justified. Many people say that "the mountain fell off his shoulders" not only when the problem is resolved. In some cases, the phrase characterizes the speed of resolution of the situation.
For example, you really need work to pay a mortgage for an apartment for a family, and you are in the mood for a long search for a suitable place. But suddenly the very first interview brings you a prestigious position with good pay. What do you say in this case? Of course, that now "you have a mountain off your shoulders."
Remember that an unexpectedly quick solution to the problem ideally fits the phrase we are considering.
When can I use the phrase "mountain from the shoulders"?
Most phraseological units are exaggerated, so they are not suitable for every situation in life. It’s not enough to know what “mountain from shoulders” means, you should understand well when adding this phrase to speech is justified.
Historically, it has become customary that the phraseological unit we are considering means not just a problem, but an excessive burden. It is the factor that is constantly present in the life and thoughts of a particular person, completely obscuring all other joys and troubles.
Getting rid of such a burden may mean the beginning of a new happy life stage.
The history of the phrase
Each phraseologism has its roots. You can find them in the cultural traditions of the people who gave rise to a specific speech. In search of prerequisites for the emergence of the phrase "mountain from the shoulders" we must turn to the peculiarities of the perception of the world by the ancient Slavs.
For our ancestors, it was symbolic to divide the whole world into low and high. The Slavs belong to cultures, which in most of their ideas about the world use clear distinctions and contrasts. It was believed that reality is just one form of worldview, and the upper and lower worlds always bring an ordinary person a lot of problems and troubles.
In this sense, the word "mountain" meant problems sent from above. It was very difficult to get rid of them, because they have a character unknown to an ordinary person. Shoulders always symbolized the person himself. In Slavic culture, they have always been identical to the understanding of strength and power. However, even the ancient Greeks shouldered the sky on the shoulders of their Atlanteans. Therefore, it is not surprising that shoulders played the same serious role in the culture of our ancestors. It was believed that if a person takes on any obligations, then they necessarily become a burden precisely on his shoulders.
Therefore, in the time of Ancient Russia, the phraseological unit “mountain from the shoulders” was formed, which remains unchanged to this day.
Conclusion
The ability to use phraseological units in their everyday speech distinguishes literate and educated people. They can express their thoughts in various ways, including using stable phrases.
Therefore, if you have a desire to make your speech more diverse, then it is worth studying the phraseological units. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to remember absolutely all winged expressions, but most of them will become closer and more understandable to you then. Many thirsty for knowledge seek information from dictionaries of phraseological units or search for special sites on the Internet.
When you learn the basic rules for the use of phraseological units, you can show off your knowledge with peers and older people who appreciate colorful and figurative speech. And then you definitely "the mountain will fall off your shoulders."