Муниципальное автономное образовательное учреждение
Домодедовская средняя общеобразовательная школа №4
с углубленным изучением отдельных предметов.
Секция: английский язык.
Исследовательская работа
«Idioms of modern English»
Автор:
Негрыш Мария
Ученица 10 «Г» класса МАОУ ДСОШ №4
Научный руководитель:
учитель английского языка
Алексеенко Оксана Анатольевна
Домодедово 2014 год
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..3-4
CHAPTER 1. PHRASEOLOGY AS AN OBJECT OF LINGUISTIC RESEARCH.
The subject and tasks of phraseology………………………………….5-6
Phraseological fusion…………………………….……………………6-7
Phraseological unity…………………………………………………...7-8
Phraseological combinations…………………………………………….8
Phraseological expressions…………………………………………....8-9
CHAPTER 2. Phraseological units borrowed from literary sources. 2.1 Bibleista………………………………………………………………..10
2.2 Idioms borrowed from the literature of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome……………………………………………………………….…………10-12
CHAPTER 3.THE RESEARCH.
3.1Comparison of phraseological units of Russian with English idioms.13-17
3.2The national character of the British during the idioms………….…17-19
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….…….20
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..…………21
APPENDIX……………………………………………………………......….22-24
INTRODUCTION.
English has a thousand-year history. During this time it has accumulated a large number of expressions that people have found successful, well-aimed and beautiful. And there was a special stratum of language - phraseology, a set of stable expressions that have independent meaning.
Learning English is widespread in our country. Good knowledge of the language, including English, is impossible without the knowledge of its phraseology. Phraseology knowledge helps to read both journalistic and fiction. Judicious use of phraseological units makes it more idiomatical.
With the help of phraseological expressions, which are not translated literally, as perceived rethought, enhanced aesthetic aspect of language. "With idioms, like using different shades of colours, information aspect of a language is complemented by sensually intuitive description of our world, our lives."
The World of modern English language phraseology is large and diverse, and every aspect of its research certainly deserves proper attention.
The purpose is to prove a link with the national character and phraseology and show how phraseological units reflect the mentality of the English people. And also consider the similarities and differences in the Russian and English languages.
The task is to explore phraseological units of English and the English national character, as well as to consider different approaches to translation of phraseological units.
The object of this work is phraseological units in English and how to translate them into Russian.
For people, who learn English as a foreign language, this layer is the difficulty in mastering, but after mastering phraseology as we begin to speak English, we understand them at a glance, our speech possibility extremely increases. We briefly and accurately can express our thoughts, being confident in the correctness of the expression. In many cases, the knowledge of English phraseology avoids literal translation from Russian into English.
The choice of this theme is not random. Phraseology isa treasure trove of a language. British idioms have a distinct national character. That's why choosing this theme, you can’t just fill up your vocabulary with native-English expressions, but also learn more about the culture and traditions of England.
Methods of research:analysis of documents and facts about phraseology. Surveys, processing and research.
Materials: articles, literature and web-sites.
Chapter 1.Phraseology as an object of linguistic research.
1.1The subject and tasks of phraseology.
Phraseology is a branch of linguistics, which studies the sustainable combination in the language. Phraseology is also called the set of steady combinations in the language in General, in the language of a writer, in the language of separate works of art, etc.
As an independent linguistic discipline phraseology emerged relatively recently. «The subject and objectives, scope and methods of study are not yet clearly defined, have not received full coverage». The least developed questions about the main peculiarities of phraseological units compared to freely phrases, on the classification of the phraseological units and correlation of them with parts of speech, etc. Among linguists there isn’t a unanimous opinion about what is the saying, therefore, there is no unity of views on the composition of these units in a language. Some researchers include sustainable combinations in the phraseology, others only certain groups. So, some linguists do not include discharge of phraseology of Proverbs, sayings and setexpressions, believing that their semantics and syntactic structure is different from phraseological units. V.V. Vinogradov argued: «Proverbs and sayings have a sentence structure and are not semantic equivalents of the words».
The tasks of the phraseology as a linguistic discipline includes a comprehensive study of the phraseological Fund of this or that language. Important aspects of the study of this science are: the sustainability of the phraseological units, the consistency of phraseology and semantic structure of phraseological units, their origins and basic features. Especially difficult branch of phraseology is the translation of idioms, requiring considerable experience in the field of study of this discipline.
Phraseology is developing principles of allocation of phraseological units, methods of their study, classification and phraseography - descriptions in dictionaries. Phraseology is the use of different research methods, such as component analysis values. Phraseology offers different types of classifications of a language phraseological structure depending on the properties of phraseologisms and methods of their research.
The subject of the history of phraseology is the study of primary, initial forms and meanings of phraseological units, determination of their sources for all of the available sites, the identification of the spheres of their usage in different periods of existence of the language, and determining the scope of the phraseological structure and its system of order in a particular historical epoch in development of the language.
Unfortunately the question of phraseology is not put by English and American scientists as a linguistic science. This explains the absence of names for the discipline in English .
1.2 Phraseological fusion.
Phraseological adhesions, or idioms are absolutely indivisible, indecomposable sustainable combinations, the total value of which does not depend on the values of components of their words: kick the bucket (colloquial) - to die, to die; = to stretch his legs; send smb. to Coventry - to boycott someone to stop talking to someone; at bay - trapped in a desperate situation; be at smb.’s beck and call - to be always ready to serve you; =to be at the Beck and call; to rain cats and dogs - pouring buckets (for rain); be all thumbs to be awkward, clumsy; Kilkenny cats - mortal enemies. Phraseological Union was founded on the basis of portable values of the components, but later, these portable values were estranged from the point of view of the modern language. «Imagery phraseological growths revealed only historically». For example, the word «bay», meaning «dead end», and «beck» - «the wave of the hand» are archaisms and are not used anywhere except the above-phraseological. Or, for example, the expression to be all thumbs takes its origin from the historical expression “of one's fingers are all thumbs”.
Thus, in phraseological fusions the connection between direct and portable values is lost, real for them has become the major. That is why phraseological bridges are difficult to translate into other languages.
Phraseological growths have a number of distinctive features:
1. in their structure the so-called necrotism can be included - the words are not used anywhere except this fusion from the point of view of the modern language
2. the composition of the growths may include archaisms;
3. they are syntactically indecomposable;
4 .in most cases rearranging of the components in them is not possible;
5. they are characterized by proof - do not allow in its composition additional words.
Losing their independent lexical meaning, «...the words contained in the structure of phraseological bridges become the components of a compound lexical unit, which is close in meaning to a single word». So many phraseological bridges are synonymous with the words: kick the bucket - to die. To Coventry - to ignore etc.
1.3 Phraseological unity.
Phraseological unity is a set combination of keywords where the signs of non division is kept: to spill the beans to give away the secret; to burn bridges to burn bridges; to have other fish to fry have better things to do; to throw dust into smb.’s eyes - talk teeth; to burn one's fingers - burn; to throw mud at smb. - pour mud; to be narrow in the shoulders - not to understand jokes; to paint the devil blacker than he is - to exaggerate; to put a spoke in smb.’s wheel to put a spoke in the wheel ; to hold one's cards close to one's chest - to keep something secret, not disclose anything to keep quiet, keep your tongue ; to gild refined gold to gold-plate of pure gold, and try to improve, to decorate something already quite good; to paint the lily - tint color of lilies, try to improve or beautify something that does not need improving.
«Phraseological unity is close to phraseological growths in its imagery, metaphors» . But unlike phraseological fusions, where the imaginative content is revealed only a diachronic, in phraseological the unity of imagery, changing understood from the point of view of the modern language. No wonder academician V.V. Vinogradov considers imagery characteristic only of phraseological unities.
«The relationship between the components of the phraseological unity motivated, clearly felt metaphorically». To understand phraseological unity it is necessary to perceive components in a figurative sense. For example, the meaning of the make a mountain out of a molehill - making mountains out of molehills, i.e. exaggerated anything (literally, to make a mountain out of a mound of mink mole), revealed only in case, if the word molehill can be considered to mean “something minor, small”, and the word mountain - “something big”. In the structure of phraseological unities there are no words that you can’t understand from the point of view of a modern language.
Characteristic features of the phraseological unities:
1. Vivid imagery and the consequent possibility of coincidence in parallel with existing phrases (cf.: to throw dust into smb.’s eyes, to be narrow in the shoulders, to burn one's fingers, to burn bridges);
2. Save the semantics of individual components to put a spoke in smb.’s wheel);
3. Impossibility to replace some of the components of other (to hold one's cards close to one's chest);
4. Emotional - expressive coloring plays a crucial role (to throw dust into smb.’s eyes, to paint the devil blacker than he is);
5. The ability to enter into a synonymic relations with individual words or other idioms (to gild refined gold = to paint the lily).
1.4 Phraseological combinations.
Phraseological combinations are set expressions which are composed of words and with free and phraseologically connected meanings: a bosom friend is a bosom friend, a pitched battle - a strong fight, (to have) a narrow escape is to be saved by a miracle, to frown one's eyebrows - knitting his eyebrows, Adam's apple - Adam's Apple, a Sisyfean labor - Sisyphean task, rack one's brains - puzzle (to think hard to remember), to pay attention to smb. - to pay someone for the attention, etc.
Unlike the phraseological growths and phraseological unities with indecomposable integral meaning, «phraseological combinations are characterized by semantic decomposability». In this respect they are close to free word combinations (Appendix 1).
1.5 Phraseological expressions.
You can consider phraseological expressions asset expressions consisting of words with «free nominative meaning and semantically divided». Their only feature - repeatability: they are used as set speech units with constant lexical composition and specific semantics.
Phraseological expressions are only expressions with the literal meaning of components. In the structure of phraseological expressions numerous English Proverbs and sayings are included, which are used in direct meaning, do not have shaped the allegorical sense: live and learn – век живи, век учисьn; better than untaught than ill taught – лучше быть неученым, чем неправильно ученым many men, many mind – сколько голов, столько и умов; easier said than done – легче сказать, чем сделать ; nothing is impossible to a willing heart – кто хочет, тот добьется.
Chapter 2. Phraseological units borrowed from literary sources.
2.1 Bibleista.
The Bible is the most important literary source of phraseological units. This greatest work has enriched the idioms not only English, but many other languages of the world. «The tremendous impact on the English translations of the Bible is much spoken and discussed ». For centuries the Bible is the most widely read and quoted book in England; «...not only separate words but whole idiomatic expressions (...) has entered the English language from the pages of the Bible». The number of biblical phrases and expressions enter the language, so great that to collect and remit them it would be a very difficult task. To expressions used in modern English speech and biblical origin of which is firmly established, you can include the following (Appendix 2).
«The idioms of biblical origin are often different from their biblical prototypes». This is due to the rethinking of the Bible prototype and to the word order change. For example, the expression “to kill the fatted calf” in the parable of the prodigal son is used in its literal meaning “to kill the fatted calf.” Later this expression has got a new meaning “to treat somebody the best there is at home”. In FE “gall and wormwood” - something hateful, disgusting flipped compared with the biblical prototype and discarded articles (the wormwood and the gall. There are cases, when the Bible phrase is used in a positive sense, but in modern language, it is reconsidered and FE is negative.
2.2 Idioms borrowed from the literature of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Except for the fixed phrases from the Bible, in English, as in the languages of other European Nations which are descendants of ancient culture, there are many Proverbs, aphorisms and figurative expression, incurred by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The idioms of the golden age - – золотой век, the apple of discord –яблоко раздора, Pandora's box - – ящик Пандоры, an Achilles’ heel –ахиллесова пята, Augean stable(s) – авгиевы конюшни, a labor of Hercules –геркулесов труд, a labor of Sisyphus –сизифов труд, Lares and Penates (portrait)-лары и пенаты, то, что создаетуют, домашний очаг (лары и пенаты в древнеримской мифологии – боги-покровители домашнего очага), the thread of Ariadne (book.) –ариаднина нить, путеводная нить, способ, помогающий выйти из затруднительного положения (дочь критского царя Ариадна, дав греческому герою Тезею клубок ниток, помогла ему выбраться из лабиринта) are taken from antique mythology.
With the poems by Homer, the «Iliad» and «Odyssey» related expressions: Homeric laughter –гомерический хохот hysterical laughter (the expression connected with the description of Homer of laughter gods); an Iliad of woes - повесть о бесчисленных несчастьях; story of countless tribulations; a sardonic laugh - sardonic, sarcastic laughter; Penelope's web textile Penelope, the tactics of delay; winged words - winged words; between Scylla and Charybdis - between Scylla and Charybdis, in a desperate situation; on the knees of the Gods - God only knows; on the razor’s edge - in a dangerous position, on the edge, like a Trojan - bravely, heroically ; the Trojan Horse - a Trojan horse is a hidden danger.
The following expressions are from Aesop's fables and other ancient tales and fables: to blow hot and cold - to oscillate, to do contradictory things, take an ambivalent position (in one of Aesop's fables traveler simultaneously blew on his fingers to warm them, and the soup to cool him), to add insult to injury - exacerbate abuse; to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs is to kill the goose that lays the Golden eggs; to cry wolf too often - to raise a false alarm; the lion's share - the lion's share; the last straw (that broke the camel's back), the limit of patience; sour grapes - green grapes (about something unreachable and therefore objectionable); to nourish a viper in one's bosom - to warm a snake in his bosom; an ass in a lion's skin - ass in the lion's skin; a fly on the wheel - people overestimating their participation in any case.
From one of the legends Phaedra is saying to take time by the forelock -
To take your chance. Expressions the smell of the lamp - smell lamp (i.e. oil in the lamp, in the light of which have altered his work, writer); to know where the shoe pinches - know what's wrong, what need has become known thanks to the works of Plutarch. From there goes the saying the skeleton at the feast - man, disturbing, spoiling someone else's fun; the expression to call a spade a spade - to call things by their names originates from inaccurate, but the successful translation of the Erasmus.
Some idioms traced back to the works of ancient writers: a snake in the grass - snake in the grass, insidious, hidden enemy (Virgil); the golden mean is the Golden mean (Horace); the sinews of war (book.) - money, material means (to war) (Cicero); anger is a short madness - “anger is a short madness” (Horace).
Phraseological units which came into English from the literature of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, endowed with extraordinary beauty and expressiveness, and this explains their prevalence not only in English but other languages of the world.
Chapter 3.The research.
3.1 Comparison of phraseological units of Russian with English idioms.
When comparing other phraseological units in the English and Russian languages, we have found similar in the structure of phraseological units. Analyzing them comparability, imagery and stylistic colouring in the structure were found ,:
Играть с огнем – to play with fire;
Сжигать мосты – to burn bridges;
Нет дыма без огня – there is no smoke without fire;
трудолюбивый, как пчела – busy as a bee
жить как кошка с собакой – a cat and dog life
дела сердечные – affair of the heart
делочести – affair of honour
рыцарь без страха и упрека – knight without fear and without reproach
сливки общества – the cream of society
игра стоит свеч – the game is worth the candle
оборотная сторона медали - the reverse side of the coin.
Some of these idioms are already international, and on the primordial their claim different languages claim their origin, i.e. in each language, they are considered as their own.
The following expressions are very similar in Russian and English languages:
Труден только первый шаг – it is the first step that costs;
Искать иголку в стоге сена – look for a needle in a bottom of hay;
Аппетит приходит во время еды – appetite comes with eating;
Браки совершаются на небесах – marriages are made in heaven;
глаза – зеркало души – the eyes are the mirror of the soul;
если бы молодость знала, а старость могла – if youth but knew, if age but could.
These idioms are perceived both in Russian and in English, assimilated, i.e. lost their links with language-source. However, they are exact tracing paper and French. And almost all of them have their author, for example: appetite comes while eating - Houses; all for the best in this best of all worlds - Voltaire; to understand is to forgive - De Stael.
The widely held in the Russian language winged expressions that some linguists also referred to the idioms that have lost their links with language-source, but they had authorship.
All is well, a beautiful lady from French songs.
Get up, Earl, you expect great things - Saint-Simon wakes owner.
Every nation has the government it deserves.
To determine the origin of the expression, linguistic scholars attract not only the facts of languages in the present and past, but also the history, Ethnography, reflecting features of everyday life of people. The researcher must know the habits and customs of the nation, its beliefs and superstitions, because it helps to identify the origin of the idiom.
Data phraseological momentum presented in Phraseological dictionary of Russian as borrowed from Latin via French. This allows to conclude that they are Russian and English calques from French.
It is interesting that a French phrase Cherches la femme (A. Dumas) is widely used in both Russian and English languages. But if in the Russian language is its tracing (looking for a woman), in English operates a tracing-paper which reveals the importance of foreign language expression:
There is a woman in it - Here the woman involved.
In English and later in Russianthere are units that are endowed with extraordinary beauty. This explains their prevalence in both languages and the similarity of the images.
Century Shakespeare: To be or not To be - to be or not to be.
Salad days - young-green.
English writer U. Thackeray is the author of idioms:
Vanity Fair - vanity Fair
A skeleton in the closet - a skeleton in the closet (about family secrets, hidden from outsiders).
Danish storyteller Gagarin joined Russian and English expressions:
The emperor has no clothes - And the king is naked.
An ugly duckling ugly duckling (the person ranked below their values but changed suddenly to others).
It turned out that the names of the body parts are among the most frequently involved words in education idioms. They have a symbolic character and the images clear to the speakers of Russian, and English languages: apparently, using the names of the body parts in a figurative sense, of people trying to better convey their thoughts and to make a greater impression said. And what is most interesting, the images are similar in the languages.
To have a good head on the shoulders is to Have a head on their shoulders.
To wash one's head - to lather up (neck).
One's hair stood on end - Hair stood on end.
Not to see beyond the end of a nose - Not see beyond his own nose
To look down a nose at somebody - to perk up
A tooth for a tooth - a tooth for a tooth
Armed to the teeth - armed to the teeth
To have lost a tongue - language swallow
To wag a tongue - tongue wag
To have a heart of gold - to have a heart of gold
To have the heart of kind - to have a good heart
With a heavy heart - stone on his heart, a heavy heart
Thus, if the languages date back their borrowing to one source, you can talk about imaginative and stylistic similarity of such phraseological units that have become so commonplace for Russian, and for the English language that we do not think about their origin.
However, when translating from one language to another often there is a change in the figurativeness. This is such an interesting phenomenon of the English and Russian languages. So you can observe the difference images in the following phraseological units:
Laugh in the beard (laugh in “beard”) is to laugh in his fist
Nothing new under the sun (nothing nothing new under the sun”) is nothing new under the moon
Buy a pig in a poke (up to buy a pig in a bag) - to buy a cat in a bag
Head to Head, face to face (head to head, face to face) - eye to eye
As two peas (as two “peas”) - as two drops of water
To be born with a silver spoon in the mouth (to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth) - born in shirt
To make a mountain out of a molehill (do out of molehills mountain) is making mountains out of molehills
Not worth a bean (not cost and Bob) - farthing not cost
The rotten apple injures its neighbours (rotten Apple spoils the neighbouring) - black sheep spoils a whole herd
A piece of cake (piece of cake) - trifling matter
As cool as a cucumber (cool as cucumber) - calm like a boa constrictor
In hot water (hot water) - to be in trouble, trouble
It is not my cup of tea (not my Cup of tea) - not for me
Thick as blackberries (thick as blueberries) - anyway
To swim like a stone (float like a stone) - float like an axe
As sure as eggs is eggs (true as the fact that the eggs is eggs) - true as twice two
Animals symbolize human qualities, in Russian and English languages have much in common, but there are differences. The similarity is due to common sources, namely, the Bible, and their differences features of the life of each people. Human qualities of the Characters in Russian phraseology Characters in English phraseology (Appendix 3).
Thus, using idiomatic expressions, which are similar to the images in Russian and English languages, and which are not translated literally, and are perceived rethought, increased understanding of the language. Learning idioms is an essential link in language learning and increasing speech culture. The correct and appropriate use of figurative language gives it inimitable originality, significance and accuracy. Such expressions will cause a lot of worries studying our languages. Learning idioms largely helps to understand the culture and the lifestyle of the people, to master a foreign language. For example units can clearly understand how varied and expressive idiom of contemporary English and Russian languages are, how they are similar and different. Unlike those idioms that have acquired the interlanguage equivalence due to borrowings, the similarity of the phraseological units in the image and stylistic colouring is due to a coincidence. Common and distinctive properties shaped funds native English and helped us to see the unity and uniqueness of language units, because the ratio of these images is a very interesting phenomenon in linguistics.
3.2The national character of the British during the idioms.
NATIONAL CHARACTER - set of the most stable psychological qualities, formed from representatives of the nation under certain natural, historical, economic and socio-cultural conditions of its development. In accordance with the methods of analysis, and interpretation of data collection in the study NH are: the cultural-historical, ethnographic and psychological approaches. Leading among them is recognized first, defending the principle of cultural or social determinism, according to which differences in NH different Nations due to the influence of the cultural environment.
English people live on the island of Great Britain. The British are the product of mixing of many ethnic groups - the ancient Iberian population with the peoples of Indo-European origin: tribal Celtic, Germanic tribes of angles, Saxons, Frisians, the Scandinavians, and subsequently the Franco - Norman.
National character tenacious of all Nations. But neither were the people to whom it refers not to a greater extent than to the British, who, apparently, have some kind of patent for survivability of his nature. Thus, the first and most obvious feature of this nation - stability and continuity of the nature of its constituent individuals. They are less exposed to the influence of time, the transitory fashion.
The curiosity of the British allowed them to experience the best of what we have other Nations, and yet they remained faithful to their traditions. Admiring French cuisine, the Englishman will not imitate it at home. Being an epitome of conformism, the British at the same time retain their individuality.
You cannot say that the British never changed. Changes occur constantly, but these differences are so noticeable, they shall not affect the nation.
The principles of the "gentlemanly behavior", were elevated to a cult when Queen Victoria reigned. And they prevailed over steep temper "old England".
Modern Englishmen consider composure main advantage of human nature. Englishman from childhood accustomed to quietly endure the cold and hunger, overcome pain and fear, to curb the attachment and aversion.
The British differ moderate, about which they have not forgotten how, during labor and pleasure. The Englishman has almost nothing flashy. He whole lives first of all and most of all for themselves. His nature to love of order, the comfort, the pursuit of mental activity. He enjoys good transport, fresh suit, and a rich library.
The British simple class is extremely friendly and helpful. Applicants with any question of a foreigner Englishman take him by the shoulder and will show him the way with different visual techniques, several times saying the same things, and then another long will look after not believing that the questioner could so soon all to understand.
The British not only know how to avoid all the obstacles, avoiding breaking, but the work itself is running at them with a perfect calm, so that even the closest neighbour and often do not suspect that his side boils gigantic work.
The British tolerant to other people's opinions (Bite the bullet - bravely endure, Iron nerves - iron nerves).
Nobody knows how strictly to allocate your time and money, as an Englishman. He is extremely long hours, but always finds time to rest ( to have a whale of a time is a great time)
Every Englishman, wherever he lived, bears the seal of his nationality. Wherever he appeared, everywhere he will make their customs, his demeanor, anywhere, and nothing will change their habits, he is everywhere - at home. This is the original, distinctive, highly coherent.
The Englishman is very conceited. He is sure that his country everything is going better than others. So he looks at the alien loftily, with regret, and often with complete contempt. This lack Englishmen have developed due to the lack of sociability and an exaggerated consciousness of their superiority over others.
Money is the idol of the British. None wealth does not enjoy such esteem.
The Englishman has a natural ability to adventures. Phlegmatic by nature, he is able to eager to get involved in all the great, new, original.
In the field of art Englishman likes primarily greatness and originality. The latter manifests itself, in particular, on a massive scale bridges, monuments, parks, etc.
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