DOI: 10.22363/2686-8199-2020-7-392-397

STYLISTIC ASPECT OF IDIOMS’ ETYMOLOGY

Milana D. Krasotskaya¹, Yana A. Volkova² Рeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) Moscow, Russia 1 e-mail: [email protected] 2 e-mail: [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1456-5881

Abstract. The purpose of the research is to analyze the etymological component in the semantics of idioms, determine the content of the motivational component in the semantics of idioms: reveal the basis, content and criteria for motivation of the meaning of idioms. To accomplish this goal, the following tasks were set: to specify the difference between a phraseological unit and an idiomatic expression; to describe the origin of the most commonly-used phraseological units and idioms; to analyze the stylistic reference and define the stylistic register of the units under study, including the modern stylistic context the analysed expressions are used in. The outlined tasks required the use of such methods of linguistic research as component, cognitive, distributive, etymological analyses. Each of these methods is used for its own purposes: the method of component analysis is used to determine the significative meaning of an idiom; the cognitive method is used to reveal the inner form of an idiom; the etymological method is used to restore the original image of the inner form and historical motivation of the meanings of idioms. Phraseological units and idioms are different in their nature since idioms reflect the national colouring, but there is no consensus reached in this topic. Thought the diachronic aspect of etymology of idioms and phraseological units is still a matter of discussion, the diachronic etymology analysis of the phraseological units and idioms under study yielded the following results: out of thirty-five units, three units reveal Ancient Greek or Roman origin (Latin borrowings); ten units originated in the span of time around the Middle Ages; seven units came into use in the period of the 17th–19th centuries; twelve units refer to the 20th–21st centuries; the diachronic origin of four units is unknown. It was concluded that the 20th and the 21st centuries prove to be the most productive time for the appearance of new idiomatic expressions and phraseology, and most of the idiomatic phrases can be described as coinages made by people in the process of speech. Since etymology does not possess reliable sources and exact data, some origins of the set-expressions are either unknown or vary from source to source. There is no reliable information in linguistic literature about dating the idioms’ origin or of the exact amount of borrowed units. Therefore the conclusions made need further verification. Keywords: phraseological unit, idiom, etymology

392 Introduction Language as the main means of communication actualizes through speech. However sometimes simple words are not enough to achieve the speech effect needed to describe the speaker's feelings and attitude towards certain situations. In such cases people achieve the needed impact of their speech by using phraseological units, idiomatic expressions and other stylistic devices, thus making one’s speech more emotional, colourful and emphatic. Stylistically neutral language units (words, phrases) are not always efficient enough to describe the speaker's feelings, emotions and attitude or to achieve the desired speech effect. Phraseological units and idiomatic expressions are additional linguistic means help to make human speech more expressive, emotional and eloquent. In our speech, we often make use of the expressive means though sometimes it is difficult to specify their meaning. We still face certain complications when guessing the origin and the development history of such items unless we appeal to special phraseological dictionaries. Etymology is a diachronic science, it deals with the origin and evolution of linguistic units. The synchronic state of a language unit is the result of a number of changes but the origin of phraseological units affects the spelling and the usage of lingual units in the process of communication. It is worth mentioning that it is not always easy to give an unambiguous explanation of the word's or the unit's origin unless you apply to academic phraseological or etymological dictionaries. Methodology In order to carry out the analysis of the language material, we have made the sampling of examples and their definitions. In defining their origin we used lexicographic material presented by etymological dictionaries (Macdonald A.M., Oxon B.A., 1966; Long T.H., 1992; White J.G., 1998). The total number of the examples selected for analysis amounts to 35 units. The outlined tasks required the use of such methods of linguistic research as component, cognitive, distributive, etymological analyses. Each of these methods is used for its own purposes: the method of component analysis is used to determine the significative meaning of an idiom; the cognitive method is used to reveal the inner form of an idiom; the etymological method is used to restore the original image of the inner form and historical motivation of the meanings of idioms. Purpose of the study The purpose of the research was to analyze the etymological component in the semantics of idioms, determine the content of the motivational

393 component in the semantics of idioms: reveal the basis, content and criteria for motivation of the meaning of idioms. To accomplish this goal, the following tasks were set: to specify the difference between a phraseological unit and an idiomatic expression; to describe the origin of the most commonly-used phraseological units and idioms; to analyze the stylistic reference and define the stylistic register of the units under study, including the modern stylistic context the analysed expressions are used in. Results and Discussion Idioms are the type of figures of speech, which are emotionally coloured, and the meaning of their constituents cannot be perceived literally. Also idiomatic expressions are specific units of a particular language and may not have any equivalent in another language. Unlike proverbs, idioms cannot be considered as a complete phrase: they need additional context. In Russian linguistics idioms are considered to be a part of phraseological fusions (Vinogradov V., 1977), but in Western schools of linguistics (Cowie A.P., 2009) idioms are equal to phraseological units, yet some scholars (Naciscione A., 2010, p. 17) support Russian approach, thus there is a controversy in the use of the term idiom which is used either as a notion different from phraseological unit, or as a notion referring to phraseology. The biggest problem of idioms and their classification is that Eastern and Western schools cannot come to a consensus in regard to the terms and usage, thus making it difficult to draw a line between phraseological units and idioms. Now let us analyze the following examples of English idioms that we have considered to be peculiar. Rake over the coals (Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, 2020). Other possible variants: “drag over the coals” and “haul over the coals”. It means to scold or to be angry at someone for a mistake they have supposedly made, or to rebuke harshly. The time of origin of this phrase is unknown. However, some sources mention that this phrase in its original literal meaning referred to a centuries-old practice in some parts of Europe of raking heretics over the coals. When being accused of or suspected of going against the Catholic Church's preaching or practicing witchcraft, one had to survive this torture in order to prove innocence. The earliest printed record of this phrase can be traced back to 1565. This phrase belongs to colloquial stratum. The terrorists should be raked over the coals as hard as they could be for killing innocent people.

394 In this sentence the idiom can be interpreted ambiguously, depending on the context and the extent of the author's anger. On the one hand, if the author wants to punish the terrorists in the Medieval way, we can interpret this word-combination literally, thus the idiom loses its idiomatic character and turns into a stylistically neutral phrase. On the other hand, if we interpret this phrase as “harshly rebuking”, it preserves its colloquial register and adds up to the emotionality of the phrase. Vim and vigor (Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, 2020). Used to describe high spirits, liveliness, and enthusiasm. This phrase is an example of tautology — the same idea stated twice in order to emphasize the meaning. In this case “vigor” is unnecessary. The term was introduced in the 19th century. “Vim” seems to be used only in this phrase” — it wasn't recorded until 1843. On the contrary, “vigor” has been in use since the 14th century. This word is believed to be derived from the Latin “vigere” — to be lively. Actually, the original variant is likely to be “vis and vigor”. But for an unknown reason after the 19th century “vis” was replaced by “vim”. Some scholars believe that the original phrase gave birth to such crude saying as “piss and vinegar”, which gave a reason to more educated people to change this phrase, so that it doesn't sound the same. This is a literary phrase. Even though my grandmother is in her 80s, she is still full of vim and vigor. Even though this phrase is casual in its nature, the use of a higher register idiom creates a specific imagery of the seemingly-colloquial example. Screw up (Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, 2020). Used as a slang phrasal verb, depicting that a mistake has been made. Also has such meanings as “being puzzled, confused, worried or neurotic”, “to ruin something”, “to damage on injure yourself”, “to make something smaller by compacting it.” This is a relatively new term that gained popularity in the 1950s. The first recorded use in the meaning of “blunder” can be traced to 1942. Even though it is said to be more or less modern, its “dirty” connotations have been around since the 18th century. But there is no scientifically based explanation of the current meaning origin. Nowadays this phrase mostly belongs to the colloquial stratum, especially in a field of slang. I screwed up my knee when I tripped over that brick last weekend. Here we can interpret our unit under analysis as “to injure, to hurt”. However, since the sentence is casual and neutral, and the preceding event has left the speaker emotional, they decided to use a slang phrase to show their annoyance and express the feeling of pain.

395 Discussion Language changes in time because it reflects all social, cultural, political events that take place in the history of the people speaking the given language. Thus the history of separate languages renders definite material for etymological research because it tells about various types of changes that take place in the process of evolution of languages. Lexical system of language is unable to provide adequate nomination (naming) of all objects and phenomena of objective reality (Arnold I.V., 1998). Phraseological units and idioms fill in the lacunas in the word stock that appear because the resources and means of language do not manage to supply new words and expressive means to reflect all those changes that take place in the community speaking the given language (Kunin A., 1996). Some scholars refer idioms and phraseological units to two different categories, there is no consensus between various linguistic schools on this issue, so the exact place of phraseology in the word stock of language and the place of idioms within phraseology has not been fixed up to now and thus remains one of the debatable problems in linguistics (Amosova N., 1963; Kunin A., 1996). The analysis of 35 idioms revealed the following: the diachronic aspect of etymology of idioms and phraseological units is still a matter of discussion: out of 35 units, three units refer to Ancient Greece or Rome (they are Latin borrowings); ten units originated in the span of time around the Middle Ages; seven units came into use in the period of the New Times (17th–19th centuries); twelve units refer to Modern Times (20th–21st centuries); the diachronic origin of four units is unknown. The results of the analysis of stylistic reference of the units under study are as follows: out of 35 units, 16 units are literary; 13 units are colloquial, two of which are slang phrases; six units belong to neutral register. Most of the idioms under study are used in belles-lettres or colloquial functional styles of speech because these styles are the most tolerant to expressiveness in language. Conclusion The 20th and the 21st centuries make the most productive time for the appearance of new idiomatic expressions and phraseology, and most of the idiomatic phrases can be described as coinages made by people in the process of speech. Since etymology does not possess reliable sources and exact data, some origins of the set-expressions are either unknown or variable from source to source. There is no reliable information in linguistic literature either about dating the idioms’ origin or of the exact amount of

396 borrowed units. That is why the conclusions we arrived at, may be considered approximate. The results of this research may be beneficial in such linguistic fields as theory and methodology of teaching English as a foreign language, stylistics, etymology, idiomatics, and translation theory.

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