Idioms, phraseological units. Phraseological expressions and their types

Idioms, phraseological units. Phraseological expressions and their types (proverb, folk tales)
The place of proverbs, sayings and familiar quotations with respect to set expressions is a controversial issue. A proverb is a short familiar epigrammatic saying expressing popular wisdom, a truth or a moral lesson in a concise and imaginative way. Proverbs 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. That is why some scholars following V.V. Vinogradov think proverbs must be studied together with phraseological units. Others like J. Casares and N.N. Amosova think that unless they regularly form parts of other sentences it is erroneous to include them into the system of language, because they are independent units of communication. N.N. Amosova even thinks that there is no more reason to consider them as part of phraseology than, for instance, riddles and children’s counts. This standpoint is hardly acceptable especially if we do not agree with the narrow limits of phraseology offered by this author. Riddles and counts are not as a rule included into utterances in the process of communication, whereas proverbs are. Whether they are included into an utterance as independent sentences or as part of sentences is immaterial. If we follow that line of reasoning, we shall have to exclude all interjections such as Hang it (all)! because they are also syntactically independent. As to the argument that in many proverbs the meaning of component parts does not show any specific changes when compared to the meaning of the same words in free combinations, it must be pointed out that in this respect they do not differ from very many set expressions, especially those which are emotionally neutral.
Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration together with set expressions is that they often form the basis of set expressions. E. g. the last straw breaks the camel’s back : : the last straw; a drowning man will clutch at a straw : : clutch at a straw; it is useless to lock the stable door when the steed is stolen : : lock the stable door ‘to take precautions when the accident they are meant to prevent has already happened’
Proverbs and Sayings
Proverbs and sayings are facts of language. They are collected in dictionaries. There are special dictionaries of proverbs and sayings. It is impossible to arrange proverbs and sayings in a form that would present a pattern even though they have some typical features by which it is 1 possible to determine whether or not we are dealing with one. These [typical features are: rhythm, sometimes rhyme and/or alliteration. But the most characteristic feature of a proverb or a saying lies not |fn its formal linguistic expression, but in the content-form of the utter-pnce. As is known, a proverb or a saying is a peculiar mode of utterance Vhich is mainly characterized by its brevity. The utterance itself, taken at Bits face value, presents a pattern which can be successfully used for other liitterances. The peculiarity of the use of a proverb lies in the fact that Ithe actual wording becomes a pattern which needs no new wording to [suggest extensions of meaning which are contextual. In other words, la proverb presupposes a simultaneous application of two meanings: [the face-value or primary meaning, and an extended meaning drawn Hrom the context, but bridled by the face-value meaning. In other words, [the proverb itself becomes a vessel into which new content is poured. IThe actual wording of a proverb, its primary meaning, narrows the [field of possible extensions of meaning, i. e. the filling up of the form. •That is why we may regard the proverb as a pattern of thought. Soit is I'm every other case at any other level of linguistic research. Abstract [formulas offer a wider range of possible applications to practical pur-Iposes than concrete words, though they have the same purpose.
Almost every good writer will make use of language idioms, by-[phrases and proverbs. As Gorki has it, they are the natural ways in ^hich speech develops.
Proverbs and sayings have certain purely linguistic features which [must always be taken into account in order to distinguish them from [ordinary sentences. Proverbs are brief statements showing in condensed [form the accumulated life experience of the community and serving as |conventional practical symbols for abstract ideas. They are usually I didactic and image bearing. Many of them through frequency of repeti­tion have become polished and wrought into verse-like shape, as in the [following:
"to cut one's coat according to one's cloth."
"Early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
Brevity in proverbs manifests itself also in the omission of connec-|fives, as in:
"First come, first served." "Out of sight, out of mind."
But the main feature distinguishing proverbs and sayings from or­dinary utterances remains their semantic aspect. Their literal meaning is suppressed by what may be termed their transferred meaning. In other words, one meaning (literal) is the form for another meaning (transferred) which contains the idea. Proverbs and sayings, if used appropriately, will never lose their freshness and vigour. The most no­ticeable thing about the functioning of sayings, proverbs and catch-phrases is that they may be handled not in their fixed form (the tradi­tional model) but with modifications. These modifications, however, will never break away from the invariants to such a degree that the cor­relation between the invariant model of a word-combination and its variant ceases to be perceived by the reader.
Epigrams
An epigram is a stylistic device akin to a proverb, the only difference being that epigrams are coined by individuals whose names we know, while proverbs are the coinage of the people. In other words, we are always aware of the parentage of an epigram and therefore, when using one, we usually make a reference to its author.
Epigrams are terse, witty, pointed statements, showing the ingenious turn of mind of the originator. They always have a literary-bookish air about them that distinguishes them from proverbs. Epigrams possess a great degree of independence and therefore, if taken out of the context, will retain the wholeness of the idea they express. They have a generaliz­ing function and are self-sufficient. The most characteristic feature of an epigram is that the sentence gets accepted as a word-combination and often becomes part of the language as a whole. Like proverbs, epigrams can be expanded to apply to abstract notions (thus embodying different spheres of application). Brevity is the essential quality of the epigram. A. Chekhov once said that brevity is the sister of talent; 'Brevity is the soul of the wit' holds true of any epigram.
Epigrams are often confused with aphorisms and paradoxes. It is dif­ficult to draw a demarcation line between them, the distinction being very subtle. Real epigrams are true to fact and that is why they win general recognition and acceptance.
Let us turn to examples. Somerset Maugham in "The Razor's Edge" says:
"Art is triumphant when it can use convention as an instru­ment of its own;;purpose."
This statement is interesting from more than one point of view. It shows the ingenious turn of mind of the writer, it gives an indirect de­finition of art as Maugham understands it, it is complete in itself even if taken out of the context. But still this sentence is not a model epigram because it lacks one essential quality, viz. brevity. It is too long and therefore cannot function in speech as a ready-made language unit. Be­sides, it lacks other features which are inherent in epigrams and make them similar to proverbs, i.e. rhythm, alliteration and often rhyme. It cannot be expanded to other spheres of life, it does Hot generalize.
Compare this sentence with the following used by the same author in the same novel.
"A God that can be understood is no God."
This sentence seems to meet all the necessary requirements of the epigram: it is brief, generalizing, witty and can be expanded in its appli­cation.