VI Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2014

Thanks to the ability of phraseological units (for the terms here and further, see Kunin's papers [Кунин 1980-1996]) in general and idioms in particular (for the terms see [Fedulenkova 2003a: 11-12]) to accumulate and retain socio-linguistic information they present an inexhaustible source of knowledge in the field of country-study and a reliable means of cross-cultural understanding. So, while studying phraseological units, we enrich our stock of vocabulary on the one hand, and get to know many interesting facts from the history, literature, culture etc. of the native speakers of English, on the other hand Федуленкова 2004.

While linguistic and didactic semantization [Fedulenkova 2003b: 87-88], idioms and other phraseological units reveal their so-called vertical context, i.e. accumulated and coded, by means of metaphorical transference of components, information. For example, the idiom baker's dozen is used in modern English in the meaning 'thirteen', e.g.: There were twelve occupants of the Maud Long Medical Ward (aged people, female). The ward sister called them Baker's Dozen, not knowing that this is thirteen, but having only heard the phrase. (M. Spark, "Memento Mori").

One can gather from the context given above even the native speaker – the ward sister – does not understand the meaning of the set word combination since it has been shifted. The more so it is interesting for Russian speaking students of English to find out the origin of the idiom which actually dates back to the old English custom of punishing bakers if they sold loaves of bread below a lawful weight. To each dozen, or twelve, loaves that were sold, therefore, an extra loaf was added free, to keep the weight above the lawful standard [Longman 1996: 15]. Language acquisition practice shows that on receiving that information about the origin of the idiom the student never fails to recognize its meaning and is enabled to use it adequately in the needed discourse.

Another old English custom existed, according to which in the houses of rich and important people salt was formerly kept in a large container placed in the middle of the long dining table. Guests of honour at dinner sat between this container and the head of the table [Longman 1996: 283]. That custom evidently caused the appearance of the two idioms: to sit above the salt having the meaning 'in a position of honour' and its antonym to sit below the salt with the meaning 'not in a position of honour', e.g.: (a) Since his rudeness to his sister-in-law, Donald no longer sits above the salt when he visits his brother at Maybrick Hall [Gulland, Hinds-Howell 1994: 162]. (b) Tarkington, the prince of popular novelists, was never taken seriously – in critical circles he sat below the salt... (V.W. Brooks, The Confident Years: 1885-1915).

The idiom to cut somebody off with a shilling dates back to the old English custom demanding to leave a person only one shilling as a heritage in order to show that the deprivation was deliberate. In modern English the idiom is used in the meaning 'to leave or to arrange to leave a person especially a member of one's family little or no money when one dies' [Longman 1996: 293], e.g.: It was still not unheard of for an angry parent to cut off his son with a shilling or to tell his daughter... never to darken his door again. (W.S. Maugham, "Cakes and Ale").

The origin of the idiom to dance attendance on somebody is connected with the old English tradition that urged the bride to dance with any guest who invited her to dance at the wedding party. At present the idiom is used in the meaning 'to give much attention to a person or thing, esp. in an effort to please' [Longman 1996: 11], e.g.: About him flock the courties, great nobles and ecclesiastics, now deprived both of their powers and their duties, and with nothing to do but to dance attendance at court. (U. Sinclair, "Mammonart").

English learners get to know much interesting information about some other habits and ways, customs and traditions of old times in England studying the idioms: to beat the air (meaning: to make efforts that are in vain) [Seidl, McMordie 1983: 195], to rob Peter to pay Paul (meaning: to take from one to give to another, both being in equal circumstances, thereby not altering or improving the situation) [Seidl, McMordie 1983: 199], a good wine needs no bush (meaning: anything of good quality will become known and appreciated on its own merits and should not need to be advertised or boasted about) [Cowie, Mackin, McCaig 1984: 244], etc. and that contributes greatly to their understanding of the circumstances under which this or that idiom may be used [Кунин 1996: 212-213].

So, old English customs and traditions help much to understand the present day phraseoloical units and therefore enable the forein speakers to understand common English.

References

Кунин А.В. Курс фразеологии современного английского языка: Учеб. для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. – М: Высш. шк., Дубна: Изд. центр "Феникс", 1996.

Кунин A.B. Механизм окказиональной фразеологической номи­нации и проблема оценки // Вопросы фразеологии: Сб. науч. тр. / Моск. гос. пед. ин-т иностр. яз. им. М. Тореза, 1980. – Вып. 168. – С. 158-185.

Кунин A.B. Первичная фразеологизация в коммуникативном аспекте // Коммуникативные единицы языка: Тез. докл. Всесоюз. науч. конф. – М., 1984. – С. 75-76.

Кунин A.B. Слова-сопроводители и контекст // Фра­зеология и контекст: Межвуз. сб. науч. тр. – Куйбышев, 1982. – С. 3-9.

Кунин A.B. Фразеологизация и источники фразеологических единиц // Словообразование и фразообразование: Тез. докл. науч. конф. – М., 1979. – С. 146-149.

Кунин A.B. Фразеологическая деривация в английском языке // Вопросы словообразования и фразообразования в германских языках: Сб. науч. тр. / Моск. гос. пед. ин-т иностр. яз. им. М. Тореза, 1980. – Вып. 164. – С. 155-162.

Федуленкова Т.Н. Английская фразеология: лингводидактический аспект / Московский пед. гос. ун-т. – М., 2004. – 82 с. – Библиогр. 150 назв. – Рукопись деп. в ИНИОН РАН № 58972 от 25.11.2004 г.

Cowie A.P., Mackin R., McCaig I.R. Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. Vol. 2: Phrase, Clause and Sentence Idioms. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.

Cowie A.P., Mackin R., McCaig I.R. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. – Vol. 2. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Fedulenkova T. A new approach to the clipping of communicative phraseological units // Ranam: European Society for the Study of English: ESSE 6 – Strasbourg 2002 / Ed. P.Frath & M.Rissanen. – Strasbourg: Université Marc Bloch, 2003a. – Vol. 36. – P. 11-22.

Fedulenkova T. Phraseological Units in Discourse: Towards Applied Stylistics by Anita Naciscione, 2001. Riga: Latvian Academy of Culture, pp. Xi + 283 / Language and Literature 12 (1). – London, 2003b. – P. 86-89.

Gulland D.M., Hinds-Howell D.G. Dictionary of English Idioms: (Containing helpful examples of usage). – London: Penguin Books, 1994.

Hornby A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. – London: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Longman Dictionary of English Idioms. Prepared by Laurence Urdang Associates Ltd. – Harlow, London: Longman Group Ltd, 1996.

Seidl J., McMordie W. English Idioms and How to Use Them. – London: Oxford University Press, 1983.