8.7 Semantic Structure of Phraseological Units

Elena Arsentyeva argues that semantic structure of a phraseological unit is wider than its meaning as it not only includes the denotative and connotative components, but is also characterized by the type of grammatical meaning as well as its systematic linguistic and speech relations (p. 12). Although phraseological units share figurativeness and relative stability, they may also be motivated and unmotivated/non-motivated, as we discussed earlier. Unmotivated phraseological units are those in which “there [is] no relation whatsoever between the meaning of the whole combination and those of its components” (as cited in Cowie, 2001, p. 214). A motivated phrase is the one whose meaning can be deduced from the meanings of its components, and partially motivated are phraseological units “whose sense could be perceived as a metaphorical and metonymical extension of the whole expression” (Ginzburg et al., 1979, p. 75).

8.8 Phraseological Meaning

The term phraseological meaning was suggested by two linguists, V. L. Arhangelsky and A. V. Kunin, in 1964. Like lexical meaning, phraseological meaning may also be considered as the realization of the notion by means of a definite language system. It may have several components. Arsentyeva further subdivides phraseological units into two components: a denotative component (or significational-denotational component) and a connotative component. A denotative component is “the content and the volume of the notion realized in the meaning and, consequently, in the vocabulary definition of the unit” (p. 12), e.g., to put on the feed bag (to eat a meal). Connotation “reveals the emotive-evaluative and stylistically marked attitude of the speaker towards reality” (p.12). The connotational component is more significant in phraseological meaning than in lexical meaning. Connotation is a semantic value; it reveals the emotive-evaluative and stylistically marked attitude of the speaker towards reality. Most linguists distinguish four subcomponents of connotation: emotive, evaluative, expressive and stylistic (or stylistic reference). Phraseological meaning may have all the above mentioned subcomponents or only some of them in different combinations. Here are some examples:

Emotive: God bless me (my soul)! (an expression of surprise);

God bless his soul (heart)! (an expression of fondness, gratefulness, and kind feelings);

positive emotive charge: a sight for sore eyes;

negative emotive charge: damn your eyes!

Expressive: beat someone to a pulp (beat and hit someone with hard blows; “work like a horse;

work one’s fingers to the bone (work very hard).

Evaluative: positive: a clever dog (a very clever guy);

Negative: (as) bold as brass (impudent).

Stylistically phraseological units may be subdivided into literary and non-literary (labels in dictionaries: coll., lit., euph., poet., etc.);

Neutral: be (stand) at the crossroads;

Jargon: balmy (barmy) on (off) the crumpet.

As a rule, the majority of phraseological units are monosemantic, but polysemy is also typical of English phraseology:

be on the go (1. be busy, not to have even one minute to have a rest; 2. to be going to leave; right and left (1. everywhere, 2. recklessly).