Stylistic potential of phraseological units. Allusion

The vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by words but also by word combinations which are differently called. Some of them refer to free word combinations, the others are called set expressions and the term phraseological units is often used for them. Phraseological units, including proverbs, sayings, clichés, quotations as well as various kinds of allusions may be used for stylistic purpose.

Phraseology has attracted rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of language related disciplines, which has yet to coalesce into an agreed set of terms and frameworks. [see Cowie A.P. ] This approach is regarded as necessary in studies focusing on stylistic features of phraseology, which inevitably require close analysis of the production of individual speakers and writers rather than the processing of large corpora en masse.

A phraseological unit is a stable, cohesive combination of words with a fully or partially figurative meaning.

Phraseological units are word-groups that cannot be made in the process of speech, they exist in the language as ready-made units. They are compiled in special dictionaries. The same as words phraseological units express a single notion and are used in a sentence as one part of it. American and British lexicographers call such units "idioms".

Phraseological units can be classified according to the ways they are formed, according to the degree of the motivation of their meaning, according to their structure and according to their part-of-speech meaning. Their constant characteristic features are:

· Linguistic stability

· Semantic unity

· Intact syntactical structure

In other words, phraseological unit is a fixed word-combination in which the meaning of the whole doesn’t depend on the meaning of its components. Syntactically the relations in a phraseological unit are those of a free word combination. Ex.: to be born with a silver spoon in the mouth; to pull somebody’s leg, to kick the bucket.

Phraseological units are crystallized metaphors the expressiveness of which is often intensified by parallelism, antithesis, and alliteration.

Phraseologists no longer have to defend themselves from accusations that they are wasting their time on trivial phenomena: phraseological units of all kinds permeate everyday language use throughout all linguistic registers: in everyday speech, journalism, academic prose, literature, political or diplomatic speech and writing etc. Phraseology plays important psychological and cultural roles in language processing and social cohesiveness. The use of phraseology can be seen to contribute to clarity of expression and ease of comprehension in formal registers, and ease of linguistic composition in spontaneous speech. The use of phraseology contributes to a socially convergent style of speech or writing. Pawley (1985) points out that «probably the large majority of customary institutions are denoted by phraseological expressions» eg front door / back door, go to church, leave school etc. In emotive prose phraseological units are used in author's speech, in character's speech and in inner monologue. Phraseological units, which are used in character's speech help to learn about the character, his manners of speech and about his emotional state. The phraseological units which are used in inner monologue help understand his inside qualities.

Violation (decomposition) of phraseological units. Violation of phraseological units is a device based on the interaction between the primary and secondary meanings. The inner mechanism of this device lies in the literal interpretation of the elements of a phraseological unit, though the ways to achieve it are different

The expressive potentiality of a phraseological unit is increased when linguistic stability and semantic unity are violated and syntactical relations actualized in this case. It’s transformed into a free word combination and simultaneously realizes two semantic patterns: as a phraseological unit with a specific meaning and at the same time as a metaphor in the transformed variant of a phraseological unit. The fixed form is broken by replacing one word for another, by altering the whole structure or by some other changes. Ex.: “The number of women who flirt with her husband is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It’s simply washing dirty linen in public ”. “Don’t cry, the milk is spilt. ”

Violation of phraseological units can be realized in the author’s intrusion into the unit. E.g. “… it took a desperate, ungovernable, frantic hold of him.” (the original variant is – to take hold of)

Another way of violation of a phraseological unit is its prolongation. The semantic unity is violated by restoring primary meanings of the words in the phraseological unit. Ex.: “You’re pulling my leg”- I’m not pulling your leg. Nothing would make me pull or even touch your beastly leg.

She was born with a silver spoon in the mouth, but judging by the size of her mouth it must have been a ladle.

" Little Jon was born with a silver spoon in his mouth which was rather curly and large." (Galsworthy) The word " mouth ", with its content, is completely lost in the phraseological unit which means " to have luck, to be born lucky ". Attaching to the unit of the qualification of the mouth, the author revives the meaning of the word and offers a very fresh, original and expressive description.

Very often violation of a phraseological unit takes place in proverbs and sayings, most of which are set phrases and fusions.

A false phraseological coinage occurs mainly in direct speech of personages to characterize them through their speech. The main stylistic function of the violation of phraseological units has the achievement of humorous effect.

Proverbs, sayings, quotations, clichés. The place of proverbs, sayings and familiar quotations with respect to set expressions is a controversial issue though they are treated by many linguists as set expressions on the ground that they are usually characterized by stability.

A proverb is a brief, witty phrase of generalizing nature characterized by the completeness of the thought and generally expressing the wisdom of the people. According to I.V. Arnoldproverbs have much in common with set expressions, because their lexical components are also constant, their meaning is traditional and mostly figurative, and they are introduced into speech ready-made. Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration together with set expressions is that they often form the basis of set expressions. Ex.: He laughs best who laughs last. Never say never. You can't get blood of a stone.

So, we may say that proverbs are expressions of culture that are passed from generation to generation. They are words of wisdom of culture - lessons that people of that culture want their children to learn and to live by. They are served as some symbols, abstract ideas. Proverbs are usually dedicated and involve imagery. Ex.: Out of sight, out of mind.

A saying is a common phrase differing from a proverb in that the thought is not completely expressed. Ex: to kill two birds with one stone.

Proverbs and sayings are mostly used by writers in the direct speech of characters to individualize their speech, and also as laconic, expressive and emotional ready-made phrases, they are often used both in the speech of characters and the author’s narrative to clarify and conform the thought.

Quotation is a phrase or sentence taken from a work of literature or other piece of writing and repeated in order to prove a point or support an idea. Quotations are marked graphically: by inverted commas, dashes, italics. They come from literature and gradually become an integral part of the language, so that many people using them do not even know that they are quoting. The Shakespearian quotations have become and remain extremely numerous — they have contributed enormously to the store of the language. Very many come from "Hamlet", for example: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark; Brevity is the soul of wit; The rest is silence; Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.

Some quotations are so often used that they come to be considered clichés.

A cliché is generally defined as an expression that has become hackneyed and trite. It has lost its precise meaning by constant reiteration: in other words it has become stereotyped. Cliché is a kind of stable word combination which has become familiar and which has been accepted as a unit of a language, e. g. rosy dreams of youth, growing awareness.

Being constantly and mechanically repeated they have lost their original expressiveness. The following are perhaps the most generally recognised: the acid test, ample opportunities, astronomical figures, the arms of Morpheus), to break the ice, the irony of fate, etc.

In discussing cliché, it is important to note that it is a stylistic category rather than phraseological, in spite of its inclusion in many typologies of word combinations. By definition, cliché is a reflection of language change, since the term as popularly used is a comment by the listener on the speaker, who is unaware that the expression no longer possesses the figurative force it once had. The term is used well beyond the boundaries of phraseology to include an opinion expressed in any form:

The stylistic nature of cliché is seen in the fact that a phrase can become almost instantly a cliché. For example, in the space of a few utterances a UK TV documentary presenter produced the initially novel expression: explosively productive enterprise twice and then explosive productivity. It appeared to lose force very quickly and by the third time to be used rather self-consciously.

Allusion is an indirect reference to (a hint at) a historical or literary (mythological) fact (or personage) contained in the text or to a fact of everyday life made in the course of speaking or writing. The source of reference isn’t mentioned in it. It presupposes the knowledge of the fact, thing or a person alluded to by the reader or listener, so no particular explanation is given (although this is sometimes needed by the readers). Otherwise the allusion is lost to the reader and he will understand a contextual meaning only. Ex.: Her conversation was of a kind which would have Helen of Troy with any handsome man.

Very often the interpretation of the fact or person is broadened, generalized or even symbolized. Ex.: Hers was a forceful clarity and a colorful simplicity and a bold use of metaphor that Demosthenes would have envied (W. Faulkner) (allusion to the widely-known ancient Greek orator).

He felt as Balaam must have felt when his ass broke into speech (Maugham) (allusion to the biblical ‘parable of an ass that spoke the human language when its owner, the heathen prophet Balaam, intended to punish it).

Allusion mixes with the text and if the readers are acquainted with the event eluded they will have a more complete understanding of the phrase used in its original. The stylistic effect of an allusion can be achieved only if the facts and personages alluded to are well known to the reader.