Philological Sciences / 3.Theoretical and methodological problems in the
language research.
Assistant Professor Yarygina
O.N.
Belgorod National
Research University, Russia
Explication of Phraseological Units as
Reflection
of Author’s Individual Codes
The usage of phraseological units in implicit and explicit ways
originates in the investigation of fixed expressions (FE) and analysis of the syntactical
structure of theirs (L. Danilenko, I. Fillipovskaya, Z. Tarlanov, S. Varlakova
etc.). This paper focuses on the method of explication and its main peculiarities
while decoding phraseological units of Julian Barnes’ discourse.
Phraseological explication presupposes unfolding of a phraseological
unit, adding one or more distributor – components to the intraphraseological
context. It is stated that these two processes have both common and unique
peculiarities from the point of view of phraseological units’ functioning in
the literary discourse.
It should be singled out that the capability of phraseological unit’s components
to add “extra” elements acts as a base structure for the method of explication.
As a rule, these “extra” elements actualize the phraseological unit’s connotative
seme.
As observed, when applying the method of explication, the writer’s individual
usage of phraseological units and their functioning as a result is possible due
to the support of the inner phraseological context. The latter may specify the meaning
of a singular definite element or the meaning of a phraseological unit as a whole.
The process of explication, intensifying the pragmatic effect on the semantics
of a phraseological unit, impacts the semantics of a phraseological unit considerably.
Moreover, while using this method, semantic changes are of generalizing
character. Here are some statements and proving passages to them.
A. The intensification of the meaning, the
formation of superfluity of the meaning of a phraseological unit: “No, no! This was not
the way to think. Not little Jacky Pitman, not Jolly Jack, not Sir Jack, not
the future Lord Pitman of wherever he chose. No, he must keep moving, he must
act, he must not wait for time, he must
seize time by the throat. On, on!”
[2, p. 48].
The abstract reveals the case of increasing the intensification of the
function of such a phraseological unit as catch
by the throat ‘to force, to persuade somebody to do something’ due to the
writer’s usage of lexical substitution. The stylistically neutral verb to catch
is replaced by the verb to seize characterized more vividly and
emotionally. The pragmatic impact on the reader-recipient is crowned by the author’s
usage of syntactical parallel constructions and lexical repetition of the modal
verb must.
B. The intensification of the phraseological
unit’s evaluation and the specification of a meaning of the substantive
component are discovered in the following passage: “And the smugness meant he wouldn’t notice as
she separated herself from his reality. If he noticed any absence on her part,
he would cockily presume it was his doing, that he was translating her to a further plane of pleasure, to seventh,
eighth, ninth heaven” [2, p. 55].
The author’s structural and semantic changes and the derivational bonds
with such phraseological units as seventh
heaven, in the seventh heaven, on cloud nine all of them meaning ‘in a state of complete happiness’ are traced
and distinguished in this phraseological unit transformation [3]. The usage of
attributive components seventh and eighth with the substantive element heaven as well as implementing the seme of pleasure “plane of pleasure” significantly intensifies
the ironical writer’s attitude towards the complacent personage, extremely
overestimating himself and paying attention to no one but his own personality.
C. The changes in stylistic colouring of the
phraseological unit, creation of superfluity of the phraseological unit’s
meaning. Consider the example: “And then there was another little difficulty. By some unhappy chance, our species had managed to smuggle seven
members on board” [1, p. 11].
The given passage illustrates the addition of the writer’s “codes” – the
determinate words some and unhappy – to the component chance. This writer’s “intrusion” shares
the ironical shade with the phraseological unit by chance ‘accidentally’ [4, p. 138], changes its stylistic
colouring, creates semantic superfluity.
D. Specification of the literal meanings in both
components of the phraseological unit and changes in the phraseological unit’s
evaluation: “It has to be
said that Noah, rain or shine,
wasn’t much of a sailor. He was picked for his piety rather than his
navigational skills. He wasn’t any good in a storm, and he wasn’t much better
when the seas were calm” [1, p. 19].
The phraseological unit rain or shine
‘whatever the weather; under any circumstances’ explicates Noah’s mediocre skills as a leader of
the Ark [4, p. 618]. The literal use of the notional components can be traced through
the light of explicit semes in a storm
and when the seas were calm characterizing
the extremes of weather conditions and demanding the respective navigational
skills on Noah’s part. However, as the context says, the personage does not
seem to be skilled in that very way. He wants to have some in no way. This is the
factor that proves the writer’s usage of double actualization of the phraseological
unit’s components, and that indicates the writer’s ironic and lenient attitude
towards the main character of the novel.
To sum it up, the method of explication applied by Julian Barnes when
using phraseological units unfolds a great variety of the writer’s “codes” that
help the recipients to perceive all the shades of the author’s attitude to the
characters and events of his works.
References:
1.
Barnes J. A History of the world in
10 ½ Chapters. London: Vintage
books, 2009. 309p.
2.
Barnes J. England, England. London:
Vintage books, 2008. 266 p.
3.
Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s
English Dictionary, 2008. New
Digital Edition. Harper Collins
Publishers.
4.
Kunin A.V. English-Russian Phraseological
Dictionary. Moscow:
Russkii yazyk, 1984. 945p.