Contents introduction chapter phraseological units with names of animals and their distinguishing features

CHAPTER 2.
CLASSIFYING PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS WITH NAMES OF ANIMALS IN ENGLISH AND IN RUSSIAN
2.1. Classifying phraseological units with names of animals in English

All phraseological units with the names of animals can be divided into the following groups, This classification was offered by Kurazhova:

1) the biological nature of person (bald as a coot, cock-eyed, grizzly chicken, etc.),
2) intellectual-strong-willed sphere of the person (act the goat, as silly as a goose, a queer duck, etc.),
3) moral-ethical side of a person (behave like a hog, dirty dog, pigs in clover, etc.),
4) emotional-psychological sphere of the person (like a hen with one chicken like a singed/scalded cat, etc.),
5) social sphere (like a drowned mouse, as poor as a church mouse, etc.),
6) gender-based invective (old cat, chicken, cock of the school, etc.).





the biological nature of person



social sphere

intellectual-strong-willed sphere of the person



gender-based invective

moral-ethical side of a person


Scheme 1. Groups of English phraseological units with names of animals by Kurazhova
In our investigation we used 215 English phraseological units with names of animals and classified them. Analysis showed that a great number of this phraseological units refer to the biological nature of person (74 units), some phraseological units refer to intellectual-strong-willed sphere of the person, phraseological units having the character if moral-ethical side of a person, emotional-psychological sphere of the person, phraseological units of social sphere , gender-based invective phraseological units. We’ve decided to show it the following form:

In General, the formation of zoomorphism and phraseological units with zoomorphic component can be divided into three groups. The criterion of this classification is the degree of similarity – differences in the representation of the language picture of the world. This way of the classification was offered by Golikova.
Units of the first group transmit the universal language meanings with the same zoomorphic images. Units of this group are divided on the etymology of the Scriptura; stable expression came from Latin and ancient Greek texts; borrowing from Aesop's fables.
As English phraseological units with names of animals, which are based on biblical subjects, it is possible to result such as: the lion's mouth – "a dangerous place", the golden calf – "the power of money", the fatted calf – "a hearty meal", a dead dog – "useless, useless thing".
Match the animal images in different languages can also occur as a result of borrowing sayings from the Latin and Greek texts. Due to the fact that the access to the cultural heritage of antiquity had different peoples, these cultural units caught in each of the analyzed languages. For example, eng.: the fish are rotting from the head, the Augean stables, dog in the manger; Engl.: a Trojan horse, a dog in the manger.
The second group is units representing similar subjects using different zoomorphic images. Among them are such semantic layers as attitude to work, to the problem of life preferences, and the representation of concepts such as laziness, idleness, false – imaginationn, etc.
To specifically reflected in the use of different zoomorphic images with the same stories and meanings (e.g., lexical-semantic group ‘lazy - idleness’).
In this universal formation picture of the world as "life priorities" of various zoomorphic images convey the idea of greater value to small, but real compared to the great, but unavailable. Wed., for example, eng.: better a bird in the hand is worth two in the Bush;
The third group of units expresses a unique, nationally specific meanings. National-cultural semantics is reflected in phraseological units, is etymologically rooted in the precedent texts, among which the priority belongs to the English – art works by such authors as Shakespeare – very like a whale! "I almost believe, well, of course! no way!"; scotch the snake not kill it "temporarily neutralize the enemy"; L. Carroll – as mad as a March hare "crazy, deranged".