Similarity and difference between a set expression and a word

The main point of difference between a word and a set expression is the divisibility of the latter into separately structured elements, which is contrasted to the structural integrity of words. Although equivalent to words in being introduced into speech ready-made, a set expression is different from them, because it can be resolved into words, whereas words are resolved into morphemes. Morphological divisibility is evident when one of the elements is subjected to morphological change like in the following examples:

He played second fiddle to her in his father's heart (Galsworthy).... She disliked playing second fiddle (Christie). To play second fiddle 'to occupy a secondary, subordinate position'. There is also the possibility of morphological changes in ad­jectives forming part of phraseological units: He's deader than a door­nail; It made the night blacker than pitch.

It goes without saying that the possibility of a morphological change cannot regularly serve as a distinctive feature, because it may take place only in a limited number of set expressions (verbal or nominal).

The question of syntactic ties within a phraseologocal unit is even more controversial. All the authors agree that phraseological units (for the most part) represent one member of the sentence, but opinions differ as to whether this means that there are no syntactical ties within phraseologocal units themselves.

The existence of syntactical relations within a phraseologocal unit can be proved by the possibility of syntactical transformations (however lim­ited) or inversion of elements and the substitution of the variable member, all this without destroying the set expression as such. By a variable element we mean the element of the set expression, which is structurally necessary but free to vary lexically. It is usually indicated in dictionaries by indefinite pronouns, often inserted in round brackets: make (somebody's) hair stand on end 'to give the greatest as­tonishment or fright to another person'; sow (one's) wild oats 'to indulge in dissipation while young'. The word in brackets can be freely sub­stituted: make (my, your, her, the reader's) hair stand on end.

All these facts are convincing manifestations of syntactical ties within the units in question. Containing the same elements these units can change their morphological form and syntactical structure, they may be called changeable set expressions, as contrasted to stereotyped or unchangeable set expressions, admitting no change either morphological or syntactical. The second type, indivisible and unchangeable, are nearer to a word than their more flexible counterparts.

All these examples proving the divisibility and variability of set expressions throw light on the difference between them and words.

PROVERBS, SAYINGS, FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS AND CLICHÉS

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 phraseologocal units, 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 think proverbs must be studied together with phraseological units.

Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration to­gether with phraseologocal units 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'.

As to familiar quotations, they are different from prov­erbs in their origin. They come from literature but by and by they become part and parcel of the language, so that many people using them do not even know that they are quoting, and very few could accurately name the play or passage on which they are drawing even when they are aware of using a quotation from W. Shakespeare.

The Shakespearian quotations have become and remain extremely numerous – they have contributed enormously to the store of the lan­guage. Some of the most often used are: / know a trick worth two of that; A man more sinned against than sinning ("King Lear"); Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ("Henry IV"). Very many come from "Hamlet", for example: Frailty, thy name is woman; Something is rotten in the state of Denmark; Brevity is the soul of wit; The rest is silence; Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Excepting only W. Shakespeare, no poet has given more of his lines than A. Pope to the common vocabulary of the English-speaking world. The following are only a few of the best known quotations: To err is human; To forgive, divine; For fools rush in where angels fear to tread; At every word a reputation dies.

Some quotations are so often used that they come to be considered clichés. The term comes from the printing trade. The cliché (the word is French) is a metal block used for printing pictures and turning them out in great numbers. The term is used to denote such phrases as have become hackneyed and stale. Being constantly and mechanically repeated they have lost their original expressiveness and so are better avoided. Opinions may vary on what is tolerable and what sounds an offence to most of the listeners or readers, as everyone may have his own likes and dislikes. The following are perhaps the most generally recognized: the acid test, ample opportunities, astronomical figures, the arms of Morpheus, to break the ice, consigned to oblivion, the irony of fate, stand shoulder to shoulder, swan song, etc.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11