Lecture the word and its meaning

Classification of phraseological units.

There are different approaches to studying and classifying phraseological units.

1. 
   The classification of V.V.Vinogradov is synchronic and semantic. It is based upon the type of motivation. He distinguishes:
   
   1. 
      phraseological fusions, e.g. tit for tat. They represent the highest stage of blending, are not motivated nowadays, are specific for every language and cannot be literally translated;
      
   2. 
      phraseological unities , e.g. to know where a shoe pinches, to rise to the bait, etc. They are clearly motivated, some of them are easily translated and even international;
      
   3. 
      phraseological combinations, e.g. to meet the demands, to make friends. They are not only clearly motivated but also contain one component used in its direct meaning (demands, friends).
      

2.Larin’s classification is also semantic but diachronic. He believes that each unit goes through three stages in its development. First it is a free word combination, then a motivated metaphoric phrase and then an idiom with lost motivation, e.g. to give a sack, to give a cold shoulder, to dance attendance on smb., etc.
Semantic classifications of Vinogradov and Larin are open to criticism since the degree of motivation may be different for different speakers depending on their knowledge of history, customs and traditions, level of education, etc. So they are subjective, not reliable enough.

3. 
   N.Amosova’s approach is contextological. She defines phraseological units as units of fixed context characterized by a specific word-order and peculiar semantic relationship between the components. Phraseological units are divided into phrasemes and idioms. Phrasemes are always binary. One of their components has a phraseologically bound meaning, the other serves as the determining context, e.g. small change, small hours, small talk. In idioms the new meaning is created by the whole, each element having its own meaning weakened or lost. Idioms may be motivated and demotivated.
   
4. 
   Koonin’s classification is functional: depends on the functions phraseological units fulfil in communication. There may be: a) nominating (e.g. a man of straw, a bull in a china shop); b) nominative communicative (verbal), e.g. to go round the bush, to pull one’s leg, etc.; c) communicative (sentences by form), e.g. Curiosity killed the cat; d) interjectional, e.g. Good heavens, a pretty kettle of fish, etc. Further classification depends on whether the units are changeable or unchangeable, what their structure is, etc.