The aspects of the stability of phraseological units

Phraseological unitspossess phraseological stability which may be called macrostability; it is made up of several microstabilities. The aspects of their stability are: stability of use, lexical stability and semantic stability.

1. The stability of use. Phraseological unitsare reproduced ready-made and not created in speech, they are not based on a grammatical and semantic pattern of a free word-group. They are registered in dictionaries and handed down from generation to generation; they are public property, not private. They are not elements of individual style of speech but language units.

2. Stability of meaning. Semantic stability is based on the lexical stability of set expressions. Even when occasional changes are introduced the meaning of set expression is preserved. It may only be specified, made more precise, weakened or strengthened. In other words in spite of all occasional phraseological and phraseomatic units, as distinguished from free phrases, remain semantically invariant or are destroyed. For example, the substitution of the verbal component red tape, mare's nest in the free phrase makes it only specified, more precise, weakened or strengthened. In other words in spite of all occasional phraseological and phraseomatic units, as distinguished from free phrases, remain semantically invariant or are destroyed. For example, the substitution of the verbal component in the free phrase to raise a question by the verb to settle (to settle a question) changes the meaning of the phrase, no such change occurs in to raise (stir up) a hornets' nest about one's ears.

The meaning of phraseological units is fully or partially transferred. Metaphor and metonymy are the common types of the complication of meaning. E.g., fully transferred meaning: a bull in a china shop, to make a mountain out of a molehill, like a fish out of water; Wall Street, Fleet Street; time and tide wait for no man, на козаку нема знаку; Ten Commandments, to be or not to be, десять заповідей, бути чи не бути, Jack Ketch (hangman), Tom Pepper(great Her), Tom Tailor (tailor), Tom Thumb (a small man, a Lilipntian), Nosy Parker (людина, що втручається/суне ніс не в свої справи). Partially transferred meaning: as brave as a lion, as sly as a fox, to drink like a fish.

3. Lexical stability.

Lexical stability means that the components of set expressions are either irreplaceable (e.g.) or partially replaceable within the bounds of phraseological or phraseomatic variance.

1) Phraseologisms are units with no lexical replacement, e.g., red tape, mare's nest, to pay through the nose (to pay a very large sum of money), Tomy Atkins (American soldier), a bloody Mary (a drink). But they may have grammatical forms, e.g., He kicked the bucket (He died);

2) certain, limited replacements are possible: lexical replacem ent (e.g. a skeleton in the cupboard – a skeleton in the closet, close (near) at hand, not to stir (raise, lift, turn) a finger, to close (shut) one's eyes to smth.).grammatical replacement (e.g. to be in deep water – to be in deep waters), positional replacement (e.g. head over ears – over head and ears), quantitative replacement (e.g. to lead smb a dance- to lead smb a pretty dance), mixed variants of replacement (e .g. raise (stir up) a hornets' nest about one's ears – arouse (stir up) the nest of hornets).

e.g.,

Phraseological stability might roughly correspond to another term idiomaticity, used by English and American linguists and some of the Soviet ones (Ginzburg R.A., e.g.). By idiomaticity they mean two essential features of phraseological units – stability of lexical components and lack of motivation.

Besides phraseological stability phraseological units are characterized by structural separability (the term of A.I. Smirnitsky). Phraseological units are made up of words which have grammatical forms. The markers of structural separability are: a)morphological – changes of the verb, e.g., to burn one's finger (burnt, has burnt, will burn); changes of the noun, e.g., he is pulling my leg (our legs); changes of adjectives, e.g., he is poorer than a church mouse; b)morphological and syntactical, e.g., the formation of the Passive Voice – Don't you see that our legs are being pulled? c) the structure of the phraseological unit as a whole is different from that of compound words, e.g., my God! good Heavens!

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