Principles of classification of PH U

The term pr u was introduced into linguistics by Kunin – a non-motivated w-combination, which can’t be freely made in speech, it can only be used as a ready-made unit. There exist various classifications.

1) Semantic classification of phraseological units

Phr u can be classified according to the degree of idiomaticity (lack of motivation). This classification was suggested by Vinogradov. 3 types of ph u:

a) fusions are completely non-motivated w grs where, we cannot guess the meaning of the whole from the meanings of its components, at least synchronically,they are highly idiomatic and cannot be translated word for word into other languages, #on Shank’s mare - (on foot), at sixes and sevens - (in a mess), to set one's cap at smb. (to try and attract a man; spoken about girls and women) etc; these are w grs with a completely changed demotivated mng, the metaphor has lost its clarity and became obscure. Idiomaticity as a rule is combined with complete stability of the lexical components and the gr-l structure of the fusion.

b) unities are w grs partially motivated with a completely changed mng , the mng of the w gr doesn’t correspond to the mngs of its constituent parts BUT the metaphor on which the shift of mng is based is still transparent. e.g. to play the first fiddle ( to be a leader in something), old salt (experienced sailor), to lock the stable door after the horse is stolen (~ to take precautions too late, when the mischief is done

c) collocations/combinations motivated made up of words possessing specific lexical valence which accounts for a certain degree of stability in such w-groups, their mng can be easily deducted from the mng of its constituents, e.g. cash and carry - (self-service shop), in a big way (in great degree), to stick to one's word etc. Variability is poss, but strictly limited # to bear a grudge, malice NOT a fancy

+ it’s semantic & suits any lang.

- we have no instrument to measure the degree of idiomaticity, our opinion of including a ph u into this or that group is subjective (some people know the lang. better or the origin of words); the border-line b-n the 1 & 2 groups is vague, 3 group & free word-combinations; doesn’t take into consideration str-l characteristics of ph u

2) Structural classification of phraseological units + semantic

Phraseological units in this classification system are grouped according to the number and semantic significance of their constituent parts. Accordingly two large groups are established. word-groups functioning as word-equivalents

Prof. Smirnitsky: one-top/ summit units which have one meaningful constituent & two-top or multi-summit units which have two or more meaningful constituents.

Among one-top units he points out three structural types;

a) units of the type «to give up» # to back up, to drop out, to buy into. verbal-adverbial units equivalent to verbs in which the semantic and the grammatical centres coincide in the first constituent

b) units of the type «to be tired» . units equivalent to verbs. Some of these units remind the Passive Voice in their structure but they have different prepositons with them, while in the Passive Voice we can have only prepositions «by» or «with», e.g. to be tired of, to be interested in, to be surprised at etc. There are also units in this type which remind free word-groups of the type «to be young», e.g. to be akin to, to be aware of etc. The difference between them is that the adjective «young» can be used as an attribute and as a predicative in a sentence, while the nominal component in such units can act only as a predicative. In these units the verb is the gram-l centre and the second component is the semantic centre;

c) prepositional-nominal ph u. These units are equivalents of unchangeable words: prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs , that is why they have no gram-l centre, their semantic centre is the nominal part, e.g. on the doorstep (quite near), in the course of, on the point of etc. In the course of time such units can become words, e.g. tomorrow, instead etc.

Among two-top units A.I. Smirnitsky points out the following types:

a) attributive-nominal such as: a month of Sundays, grey matter, a millstone round one’s neck. Units of this type are noun equivalents and can be partly or perfectly idiomatic. In partly idiomatic units (phrasisms) sometimes the first component is idiomatic, e.g. high road, in other cases the second component is idiomatic, e.g. first night. In many cases both components are idiomatic, e.g. red tape, blind alley.

b) verb-nominal phraseological units equivalent to verbs, e.g. to read between the lines , to speak BBC, to sweep under the carpet etc. The gram-l centre of such units is the verb, the semantic centre in many cases is the nominal component, e.g. to fall in love. In some units the verb is both the grammar and the semantic centre, e.g. not to know the ropes. These units can be perfectly idiomatic as well, e.g. to burn one’s boats,to vote with one’s feet, to take to the cleaners’ etc.

Very close to such units are word-groups of the type to have a glance, to have a smoke. These units are not idiomatic and are treated in grammar as a special syntactical combination.

c) phraseological repetitions, such as: now or never, part and parcel etc. Such units can be built on antonyms, e.g. ups and downs , back and forth; often they are formed by means of alliteration, e.g cakes and ale, as busy as a bee. Components in repetitions are joined by means of conjunctions. These units are equivalents of adverbs or adjectives and have no gram-l centre. They can also be partly or perfectly idiomatic, e.g. cool as a cucumber (partly), bread and butter (perfectly).

Ph u can have more than two tops e.g. to take a back seat, to be a shadow of one’s own self.

Professor Koonin objects to the inclusion of such word-groups as black art, best man, first night in phraseology (in Professor Smirnitsky's classification system, the two-summit phraseological units) as all these word-groups are not characterised by a transferred meaning. It is also pointed out that verbs with post-positions (e. g. give up) are included in the classification but their status as phraseological units is not supported by any convincing argument.

The classification system of phraseological units suggested by Professor A. V. Koonin is the latest out-standing achievement in the Russian theory of phraseology. The classification is based on the combined structural-semantic principle and it also considers the stability of phraseological units.

Phraseological units are subdivided into the following four classes according to their function in communication determined by their structural-semantic characteristics.

1. Nominative ph u are represented by word-groups, including the ones with one meaningful word, and coordinative phrases of the type wear and tear, well and good.

The first class also includes word-groups with a predicative structure, such as as the crow flies, and, also, predicative phrases of the type see how the land lies, ships that pass in the night.

2. Nominative-communicative phraseological units include word-groups of the type to break the ice — the ice is broken, that is, verbal word-groups which are transformed into a sentence when the verb is used in the Passive Voice.

3. Ph u which are neither nominative nor communicative include interjectional word-groups # a pretty kettle of fish!

4. Communicative ph u are represented by proverbs and sayings.

N.N. Amosova's approach is contextological. She defines ph u as units of fixed context. Fixed context is defined as a context characterized by a specific and unchanging sequence of definite lexical components, and a peculiar semantic relationship b-n them. Units of fixed context are subdivided into phrasemes and idioms. Phrasemes are always binary: one component has a phraseologically bound meaning, the other serves as the determining context (small talk, small hours, small change). In idioms the new meaning is created by the whole, though every element may have its original meaning weakened or even completely lost: in the nick of time ‘at the exact moment’. Idioms may be motivated or demotivated. A motivated idiom is homonymous to a free phrase, but this phrase is used figuratively: take the bull by the horns ‘to face dangers without fear’. In the nick of time is demotivated, because the word nick is obsolete. Both phrasemes and idioms may be movable (changeable) or immovable.

50. Variants and dialects of contemporary English + p.34

It is natural that the English language js not used with uniformity in НИ British Isles and in Australia, in the USA and in New Zealand, in Canada and in India, etc. The English language also has some peculiarities in Wales, Scotland, in other parts of the British Isles and America.

Modern linguistics distinguishes territorial variants of а national language and local dialects. Variants of а language are regional varieties of а standard literary language characterized by some minor peculiarities in the sound system, vocabulary and grammar and by their own literary norms. Dialects are varieties of а language used as а means of oral communication in small localities, they are set off (more or less sharply) from other varieties by some distinctive features of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

The varieties spoken in small areas are local dialects. The status of the other varieties is more difficult to establish.

It is over half а century already that the nature of the two main variants of the English language, British and American (Br and AE) has been discussed.

Still more questionable is the position of Australian English (АиЕ) and Canadian English (CnE).

The differences between the English language as spoken in Britain, the USA, Australia and Canada are immediately noticeable in the field of phonetics. However these distinctions are confined to the articulatory-acoustic characteristics of some phonemes, to some differences in the use of others and to the differences in the rhythm and intonation of speech. The few phonemes characteristic of American pronunciation and alien to British literary norms can as а rule be observed in British dialects.

The variations in vocabulary are not very numerous. Most of them are divergences in the semantic structure of, words and in their usage.

The differences in grammar like АЕ gotten, proven for ВЕ got, proved are scarce. For the most part these dissimilarities consist in the preference of this or that grammatical category or form to some others. (eg the preference of Past Indefinite to Present Prefect, the formation of the Future Tense with will as the only auxiliary verb for all persons etc). Recent investigations have also shown that the Present Continuous form in the meaning of Future is used twice as frequently in ВЕ as in the American, Canadian and Australian variants; infinitive constructions are used more rarely in АЕ than in ВЕ and АиЕ and passive constructions are, on the contrary, more frequent in America. than in Britain and in Australia.

Since ВЕ, АЕ and АиЕ have essentially the same grammar system, phonetic system and vocabulary, they cannot be regarded as different languages. Nor can they be referred to local dialects; because they serve all spheres of verbal communication in society, within their territorial area they have dialectal differences of their own; besides thev differ far less than local dialects.

Another consideration is that AE has its own literary norm and AuE is developing one. As to CnE its peculiarities began to attract linguistic attention only some 20 years ago.

Main differences bw AE and BE:

The reform in the English spelling for American English was introduced by the famous American lexicographer Noah Webster who published his first dictionary in 1806. Those of his proposals which were adopted in the English spelling are as follows:

a) the delition of the letter «u» in words ending in «our», e.g. honor, favor;

b) the delition of the second consonant in words with double consonants, e.g. traveler, wagon,

c) the replacement of «re» by «er» in words of French origin, e.g. theater, center,

d) the delition of unpronounced endings in words of Romanic origin, e.g.

catalog, program,

e) the replacement of «ce» by «se» in words of Romanic origin, e.g. defense, offense,

d) delition of unpronounced endings in native words, e.g. tho, thro.

In American English we have r-coloured fully articulated vowels, in the combinations: ar, er, ir, or, ur, our etc. In BE the sound / / corresponds to the AE /^/, e.g. «not». In BE before fricatives and combinations with fricatives «a» is pronounced as /a:/, in AE it is pronounced / / e.g. class, dance, answer, fast etc.

On the British Isles there are some local varieties of English which developed from Old English local dialects. There are six groups of them: Lowland /Scottish/ , Northern, Western, Midland, Eastern, Southern. These varieties are used in oral speech by the local population. Only the Scottish dialect has its own literature /R. Berns/.

One of the best known dialects of British English is the dialect of London - Cockney. Some peculiarities of this dialect can be seen in the first act of «Pigmalion» by B. Shaw, such as : interchange of /v/ and /w/ e.g. wery vell; interchange of /f/ and /0/ , /v/ and / /, e. g/ fing /thing/ and fa:ve / father/; interchange of /h/ and /-/ , e.g. «’eart» for «heart» and «hart» for «art; substituting the diphthong /ai/ by /ei/ e.g. «day» is pronounced /dai/; substituting /au/ by /a:/ , e.g. «house» is pronounced /ha:s/,«now« /na:/ ; substituting /ou/ by /o:/ e.g. «don’t» is pronounced /do:nt/ or substituting it by / / in unstressed positions, e.g. «window» is pronounced /wind /.

Another feature of Cockney is rhyming slang: «hat» is «tit for tat», «wife» is «trouble and strife», «head» is «loaf of bread» etc. There are also such words as «tanner» /sixpence/, «peckish»/hungry/.

Peter Wain in the «Education Guardian» writes about accents spoken by University teachers: «It is a variety of Southern English RP which is different from Daniel Jones’s description. The English, public school leavers speak, is called «marked RP», it has some characteristic features : the vowels are more central than in English taught abroad, e.g. «bleck het»/for «black hat»/, some diphthongs are also different, e.g. «house» is pronounced /hais/. There is less aspiration in /p/, /b/, /t/ /d/.

The American English is practically uniform all over the country, because of the constant transfer of people from one part of the country to the other. However, some peculiarities in New York dialect can be pointed out, such as: there is no distinction between / / and /a: / in words: «ask», «dance» «sand» «bad», both phonemes are possible. The combination «ir» in the words: «bird», «girl» «ear» in the word «learn» is pronoinced as /oi/ e.g. /boid/, /goil/, /loin/.In the words «duty’, «tune» /j/ is not pronounced /du:ti/, /tu:n/.

45. The fundamental problems of dictionary compilation

The work at а dictionary consists of the following main stages: the collection of material, the selection of entries and their arrangement, the setting of each entry.

At different stages of his work the lexicographer is confronted with different problems. Some of these refer to any type of dictionary, others are specific of only some or even one type. The most important of the former are: 1) the selection of lexical units for inclusion, 2) their arrangement, 3) the setting of the entries, 4) the selection and arrangement (grouping) of word-meanings, 5) the definition of meanings, 6) illustrative material, 7) supplementary material.

1 - No dictionary of reasonable size could possibly register all occasional applications of a lexical unit, nor is it possible to present all really occurring lexical items. The choice of lexical units for inclusion in the prospective dictionary is one of the first problems the lexicographer faces.

First of all the type of lexical units to be chosen for inclusion is to be decided upon. Then the number of items to be recorded must be determined. Then there is the basic problem of what to select and what to leave out in the dictionary. Which form of the language, spoken or written or both, is the dictionary to reflect? Should the dictionary contain obsolete and archaic units, technical terms, dialectisms, colloquialisms, and so forth?

There is nо general reply to any of these questions. The choice among the different possible answers depends upon the type to which the dictionary will belong, the aim the compilers pursue, the prospective user of the dictionary, its size, the linguistic conceptions of the dictionary-makers and some other considerations.

2 - The order of arrangement of the entries to be included is different in different types of dictionaries and even in the word-books of the same type. In most dictionaries of various types entries are given in a single alphabetic listing. In many others the units entered are arranged in nests, based on this or that principle. In some explanatory and translation dictionaries, for example, entries are grouped in families of words of the same root. Synonym-books – in synonymic sets

Each of the two modes of presentation, the alphabetical and the cluster-type has its own advantages. The former provides for an easy finding of any word and establishing its meaning, frequency value, etc. The latter requires less space and presents a clearer picture of the relations of each unit under consideration with some other units in the language system, since words of the same root, the same denotational meaning or close in their frequency value are grouped together.

3 - The most complicated type of entry is that found in explanatory dictionaries. In explanatory dictionaries of the synchronic type the entry usually presents the following data: accepted spelling and pronunciation; grammatical characteristics including the indication of the part of speech of each entry word, the transitivity and intransitivity of verbs and irregular grammatical forms; definitions of meanings; modern currency; illustrative examples; derivatives; phraseology; etymology; sometimes also synonyms and antonyms.

А typical entrv in diachronic explanatory dictionary will have some specific features. Apart from the chronological arrangement of meanings and illustrative quotations to present the historical sense development, the etymology of the word is accorded an exhaustive treatment, besides а distinguishing feature of such reference books is the dates accompanying each word, word-meaning and quotation that indicate the time of its first registration or, if the word or one of its meanings is obsolete, the time of its last registration.

Sometimes the entries for the same word will look quite different in dictionaries of the same type. Thus the setting of the entry varies in different books of synonyms depending upon the practical needs of the intended users. Some word-books enumerate synonyms to each meaning of the head-word to help the user recall words close in meaning that may have been forgotten. Other word-books provide discriminating synonymies, i.e. they explain the difference in semantic structure, use and style, and show how each synonym is related to, yet differs from all the others in the same group

4 - One of the most difficult problems nearly all lexicographers face is recording the word-meanings and arranging them in the most rational way in the order that is supposed to be of most help to those who will use the dictionary.

Students sometimes think that if the meaning is placed first in the entry, it must be the most important, the most frequent in present-day use. This is not always the case. It depends on the plan followed by the compilers.

There are at least three different ways in which the word meanings are arranged: in the sequence of their historical development (called historical order), in conformity with frequency of use that is with the most common meaning first (empirical or actual оrdеr), and in their logical connection (logical order).

5 - Meanings of words may be defined in different ways 1) by means of definition that are characterized as encyclopaedic, 2) by means of descriptive definitions or paraphrases, 3) with the help of synonymous words and expressions, 4) by means of cross-references.

It is the descriptive definitions that are used in an overwhelming majority of entries. Encyclopaedic definitions are typical of nouns, especially proper nouns and terms. Synonyms are used most often to define verbs and adjectives. Reference to other words is resorted to define some derivatives, abbreviations and variant forms. Apart from the nature of the word to be defined the type of definitions given preference depends on the aim of the dictionary and its size.

6 - All dictionaries save those of narrowly restricted purpose (pronouncing, frequency) provide illustrative examples. The purpose of these examples depends on the type of the dictionary and on the aim the compilers set themselves. They can illustrate the first and the last known occurrences of the entry word, the successive changes in its graphic and Phonetic forms, as well as in its meaning, the typical patterns and collocations, the difference between synonymous words, they place words in а context to clarify their meanings and usage.

In principle only some technical terms that are monosemantic can, if precisely defined, be presented without examples even in a large dictionary. In practice, however, because of space considerations this is not the case. It is natural that the bigger the dictionary the more examples it usually contains. Only very small dictionaries, usually of low quality, do not include examples at all.

As to the nature of examples, diachronic dictionaries make use of quotations drawn from literary sources, while in synchronic dictionaries quoted examples are preferred by big dictionaries, in middle-size dictionaries illustrative sentences and phrases drawn from classical and contemporary sources or those constructed by the compilers are employed.

The form of the illustrative quotations can differ in different dictionaries; the main variation can be observed in the length of the quotation and in the precision of the citation.

Some dictionaries indicate the author, the work, the page, verse, or line, and (in diachronic dictionaries) the precise date of the publication, some indicate only the author, because it gives at least basic orientation about the time when the word occurs and the type of text.

W-meanings can be explained not only with the help of definitions and examples but also by means of showing their collocability.

7 - structure of the dictionary. Apart from the dictionary proper, that make up the bulk of the wordbook, every reference book contains some separate sections which are to help the user in handling it — an Introduction and Guide to the use’ of the dictionary. This prefatory matter usually explains all the peculiarities of the word-book, it also contains a key to pronunciation, the list of abbreviations used and the like.

Some supplementary material. This material may be divided into one of linguistic nature and the other pertaining to matters distinctly encyclopaedic. In explanatory dictionaries the appendixes of the first kind usually include addenda or/and various word-lists: geographical names, foreign words and expressions, forenames, etc., record new meanings of words already entered and words that have come into existence since the compilation of the word-book. The educational material may include a list of colleges and universities, special signs and symbols used in various branches of science, tables of weights and measures, etc.

In translation dictionaries supplementary material is in some respects different from that in explanatory dictionaries, e.g. the Russian-English dictionary referred to above does not only include a list of geographical names, standard abbreviations pertaining to the public, political, economic and industrial life, but also contains the rules of English and Russian pronunciation as well as brief outlines of English and Russian grammar.

Thesaurus

Ideographic dictionaries designed for English-speaking writers, orators or translators seeking to express their ideas adequately contain words grouped by the concepts expressed.

The world famous ideographic dictionary of English is P. M. Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. The Latin word thesaurus means ‘treasury’. P. Roget’s book gave the word a new figurative meaning, namely, ‘a store of knowledge’, and hence ‘a dictionary containing all the words of a language’.

The ideographic type of dictionary is in a way the converse of the usual type: the purpose of the latter is to explain the meaning when the word is given. The Thesaurus, on the contrary, supplies the word or words by which a given idea may be expressed. Sometimes the grouping is in parallel columns with the opposite notions. The book is meant only for readers (either native or foreign) having a good knowledge of English, and enables them to pick up an adequate expression and avoid overuse of the same words.

The first example of this genre, Roget's Thesaurus, was published in 1852, having been compiled earlier, in 1805, by Peter Roget.

Roget's Thesaurus is the world's best-known thesaurus, created by Dr. Peter Mark Roget (1779 - 1869) in 1805 and was released to the public in 1852. The original edition had 15,000 words, and each new edition has been larger.

Thesaurus is composed of six primary classes. Each class is composed of multiple divisions and then sections. This may be conceptualized as a tree containing over a thousand branches for individual "meaning clusters" or semantically linked words. These words are not exactly synonyms, but can be viewed as colours or connotations of a meaning or as a spectrum of a concept. One of the most general words is chosen to typify the spectrum as its headword, which labels the whole group.

The simile

He is as busy as a bee. They are like two peas in a pod

The intensification of some feature of the concept in question is realized in a device called simile. Ordinary comparison and simile must not be confused. They represent 2 diverse processes. Comparison means weighing 2 objects belonging to 1 class of things with the purpose of establishing the degree of their sameness or difference. To use a simile is to characterize 1 object by bringing it into contact with another object belonging to an entirely different class of things. The boy is as clever as his mother - comparison (human beings).

Similes may be based on adj-attributes, adverb-modifiers, verb-predicates, etc.

Similes have formal elements in their structure: connective words # like, as, such as, as if.

# to swim like a duck

Sly as a fox

Slow as a tortoise

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1419