Chapter 1 lexicology as a part of linguistics: types and approaches

Phraseological fusions: these are wholly unmotivated word clusters in which the components' meanings are unrelated to one another. For instance, kick the bucket-die, as mad as a hatter- utterly mad, Once in a blue moon – very seldom; to cry for the moon – to demand unreal; under the rose – quietly.

Phraseological units: these are somewhat non-motivated since the metaphoric meaning of the entire phraseological unit generally allows one to understand their meaning.

For example: To come to one’s sense –to change one’s mind;
To come home – to hit the mark;
To fall into a rage – to get angry.
“to show one’s teeth’” or “to wash one’s linen in public” would lead one to understand these in their literal meaning, while the metaphoric meaning suggests “show an intention to injure’ and ‘make public one’s quarrels”

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  Phraseological collocations or combinations (Vinogradov, 1979:75) are motivated; they contain one component used in its direct meaning, while the other is used metaphorically. E.g. to meet the requirements – to meet the necessity, to meet the demands.
  

To make an attempt – to try;
To make haste – to hurry;
To offer an apology – to beg pardon.
A predefined phrase is an idiom. Because the first part emphasizes the most crucial quality of these units, namely their stability, fixedness, and ready-made nature, the word set expression is clear and self-explanatory. A broad phrase for words, groupings of words, and sentences is "expression" (Arnold, I. V,1973:166).
Idioms can be defined as words, phrases, or statements that cannot be taken literally in order to keep things simple. In other words, they have a meaning that is different from what we would find in a dictionary when employed in ordinary English. Idioms vary from language to language. For non-native speakers, they might be a challenge, but mastering them makes comprehending and using a language more simpler and more enjoyable.
Idiom is defined as a "peculiarity of phraseology sanctioned by usage despite having meaning not deducible from that of the component words" in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English (1976). The transparency of meaning and flexibility of patterning are what separate idiom from collocation, according to Mona Baker's "In Other Words" book. Idioms are "fixed patterns of language that allow little or no modification in form and frequently hold meanings that cannot be derived from their individual components," according to Baker (1992:63).
One of the most challenging and fascinating aspects of the English language's lexicon are idioms. They are among the language's most unusual elements, but they are also one of the most challenging due to their erratic syntax and meaning. Additionally, idioms could be culturally specific, which could make the translator's difficulties much worse. Therefore, the translator must select the best approach to translate a source idiom into the target language. The role of idioms in the source and target languages, as well as their features, must be thoroughly studied by the translator.
The translator encounters a number of challenging obstacles while interpreting idioms. The absence of equivalence at the idiom level is the fundamental issue. It is quite difficult to locate an equivalent of the same meaning and form in the target language, according to Mona Baker, who notes that various languages communicate meanings through different linguistic ways such as fixed phrases, idioms, vocabulary, etc. The major issue that leads to issues is culturally distinctive terms or idioms. They are not always difficult to interpret, but they may relate to a particular object or event that is prevalent to that culture, making them difficult to translate as well¹.
In the work “The Moon and the six pence" the author uses a comparison, giving his work picturesqueness. The plot of this work is characterized by a strong emphasis on humanity and sympathy on the part of the reader. Maugham employs a variety of comparisons-comparisons of two items that share a characteristic-to more amply and effectively convey the traits of one of them.
First of all, we should note that it is written in the first person and that the author is continually felt and seen, as evidenced by phrases like "I confess that..." and "I am willing to excuse a thousand faults"², etc. The descriptive sections that are interspersed throughout the story practically give us a thorough portrait of the characters. Simply reading the text's opening phrase is sufficient. There, we discover Captain Nichols' most important quality. It is expressed through a fantastic example of an oxymoron-a stylistic element of Maugham's work-the phrase "married bachelor."
The novel makes use of a variety of stylistic elements. One of the most popular techniques used by authors to naturally draw the reader's attention to a certain object is inversion, for instance:
I never for a moment discerned that there was in him anything out of the ordinary³.
The example shows how well the author used double inversion in only one sentence. Here are some further instances of improper syntactic constructions:
Yet now few will be found to deny..., it is this surely that prevents…, it is this which has excited…. The Moon and Sixpence, p.7
It should be noted that the artistic technique "metaphor," which is psychologically changed from the subject of the description to its author, occupies a significant portion of the description of the main character in the novel "The Moon and sixpence."
As a result, it is apparent that the sentence "He disturbs and arrests" is a metaphor that describes the artist's genius as the possessor of a powerful force.
When depicting the exterior and interior traits of the work's heroes, Maugham's writings frequently use exceptional metaphors that “hit the nail on the head”. When describing the haughty demeanor of the major character Strickland, whom the author refers to as General without an army, Hero of market town, for instance, the metaphor "The Prime Minister out of office is seen" is essential.
The employment of metaphors, such as "... he lays before you the greater gift of himself" and "pilgrim haunted by divine nostalgia" is noteworthy. The fact that Maugham is most prepared to draw attention to the discrepancy between the creator's personality and the audience's personality is characteristic.
The epithets employed to create the characters' distinctive and unique traits are astounding. We'll give instances to demonstrate this: discreet proportions; a personality which is strange, tormented, and complex.
S. Maugham's imaginative figures stand out amid hundreds of other well-known pictures and stick in the reader's memory because of such unusual lexical and stylistic word combinations.
The son of the main character, Robert, uses the adjective "astonishing" which contains exaggeration to describe his father in the following sentence: “The modern clergyman has acquired in his study of science which I believe is called exegesis an astonishing facility for explaining things away…”
In the following case, S. Maugham uses the epithet for the expressiveness of artistic means of speech his father: "Perhaps Charles Strickland's power and originality would scarcely have sufficed to turn the scale if the remarkable mythopoeic faculty of mankind had not brushed aside ...". The main character's dignity seems to be enhanced by the contrast in the following statement: “His faults are accepted as the necessary compliments to his merits”.
After the reader has participated in the alternate process of character description, the author additionally uses the so-called culminating moment of the climax:
“It is still possible to discuss his place in art, and the adulation of his admirers is perhaps no less capricious than the disparagement of his detractors; but one thing can never be doubtful, and that is that he had genius”.
Based on the simile stylistic device, the main character's image goes through a complete transformation: soul like a standing sacrifice; secret has something of the fascination of a detective story. As a result, the author's comparison of the poet's soul to an offering in the first example enhances Strickland's personal qualities.
The author of "The Moon and the six pence" utilizes a comparison to lend his piece a scenic quality. The plot of this work is characterized by a strong emphasis on humanity and sympathy on the part of the reader. Maugham employs a variety of comparisons-comparisons of two things that share a trait-to more amply and effectively highlight the qualities of one of them. For example: "...he is as helpless as a fly in a spider's web"