Semantic features of English proverbs
CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter one.
Proverbs in English language
1.1
Phraseology as a subsystem of language
1.2
Phraseological units and their types
1.3
Proverbs as a phraseological unit
Chapter two.
Semantic characteristics of proverbs
Classification of
proverbs
Types of proverbs
on meanings motivation
2.3
Proverbs as the way expressing people's
wisdom and spirit and literary works
Conclusion
The list of the used
literature
INTRODUCTION
In
folklore among all the variety and richness of its poetical
significance and form it is difficult to find more interesting and
researchable genre than proverbs and sayings. It was the subject of
deep study of scientists in most different ideological branches. Most
of the scientists agreed that the pro verbs are folklore speech.
Where was not only the person's point of view but also general
people's outlook is expressed. Proverbs and sayings play important
role in language. They give emotionality, expressiveness to the
speech. They have certain pure linguistic features that must always
be taken into account in order to distinguish them from ordinary
sentences. Proverbs are brief statements showing uncondensed form of
the accumulated life experience of the community and serving as
conventional practical symbols for abstract ideas. They are usually
didactic and image bearing. Many of them become very polished and
there is no extra word in proverbs and sayings. Summarizing above
mentioned information the following definition can be given to a
proverb: It is a short, meaningful has the rhythmic organization in
poetic style - that people had created for centuries in their social
and historical life.
The
actuality
of the study
of the proverbs
in Uzbek, English is that the usage of proverbs in speech is very
important. The correct usage of these proverbs is also important,
while translating any other work of art we should pay close attention
to this point, and that is the reason of the study of the theme we
have taken under discussion. So express any idea or plot of the work
in translation as in original demands a person's high skill and deep
knowledge. Translator ought to know the rules of translation,
furthermore the history, slang, life, customs and traditions of the
people whose language he / she translating into.
The
novelty of
this qualification
paper
is that the analysis of the problem of the folk proverbs have been
taken under discussion in related and non related languages. Modem
and>
by
English poets. The aim of the qualification paper is to study the
proverbs and to distinguish the cultural features in every language
that was taken under discussion. This qualification paper mainly
discusses the Uzbek proverbs and their translation into foreign
languages.
The
aim of the qualification paper is:
to give the definition of the phraseological
units;
to>
to show the difference of proverbs and sayings;
The
following task has
been solved in this
qualification paper:
To deal with the history of the proverbs and analyze
them. To show their components or equivalents if they exist in
compared languages, and the ways of their translation.
To point out the difference between proverbs and
sayings.
To research the structural type of English proverbs, to
differ in the groups of types of proverbs according to their
equivalents and synonymic row.
The
practical value
of this paper is that, practical result and all the given examples
can be used in practical lessons, writing compositions in colloquial
and written speech. This qualification paper also can be useful to
other students who are' interested in this field as in this
qualification paper there is given the table of the most often used
proverbs in English.
The
theoretical value
of
the qualification
paper is to investigate the structural types of proverbs and sayings
in English, to give their equivalents in related and related
languages, to analyze and differentiate proverbs and sayings in
investigated languages.
The
structure
of this qualification paper is as follows: introduction, main part,
conclusion, the list of used literature.
Introduction, main part, conclusion
and the list of used literature.
The introduction is the brief plot of
the qualification paper theme, and also it gives us information about
the structure of the qualification paper.
The main part consists of two chapters
Chapter
one
has three paragraphs: phraseology
as a subsystem of language, a
short information about phraseological units, the
proverbs and sayings and their definitions.
Chapter
two includes three paragraphs which deal
with the problems of the study of the history of the origin of
proverbs and sayings, scientists
who worked on proverbs and sayings, the semantic>
Conclusion deals
with the theoretical and practical result of the work.
The list of used
literature directs us to the list of literatures that have been used
in carrying out the work.
The
sources of the qualification paper.
While investigating the diploma work we have widely used the
following literature: 'Фразеология
английского
языка' by
V.A. Koonin, textbooks on lexicology, on stylistics, scientific
literature on • phraseology
and phraseological units, books on origin and translation of proverbs
and sayings in English, A universal proverb definition. Scholars
around the world continue to find their own so-called "working
definitions," of which some of the most recent attempts in the
English language are those by Shirley Arora, Nigel Barley, Otto
Blehr, Margaret Bryant, David Cram, Alan Dundes, Galit Hasan-Rokem,
George Milner, Peter Seitel, Jan
Fredrik Kindstrand "The Greek Concept of Proverbs,"
Bartlett Jere Whiting, "The Nature of the Proverb." 1932,
V.I. Dal “dictionary of vivid Russian
language”, V.L
Dai "the proverbs of Russian nation" ,
Benjamin Franklin 'Poor Richard's Almanac',
The Advanced Learner's Dictionary by A.
Hornby, E. Gatenby, H. Wake-field; The
Universal English Dictionary by H. Wild and
Л General
Service List of English Words with Semantic Frequencies
by M, West, English idioms in: Logan Smith. Words and Idioms. London,
Word-Groups
and Phraseological Units' and a lot other work of scientists. We have
also had information on internet sites.
CHAPTER I. PROVERBS
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
1.1
PHRASEOLOGY AS A SUBSYSTEM OF LANGUAGE
By phraseology I
mean the branch of linguistics dealing with stable word- combinations
characterized by certain transference of meaning.
Despite differences
of opinion, most authors agree upon some points concerning the
distinctive features of phraseological units, such as:
Integrity (or
transference) of meaning means that none of the idiom components is
separately associated with any referents of objective reality, and
the meaning of the whole unit cannot be deduced from the meanings
of its components;
Stability
(lexical and grammatical) means that no lexical substitution is
possible in an idiom in comparison with free or variable
word-combinations (with an exception of some cases when such
substitutions are made by the author intentionally). The
experiments conducted in the 1990s showed
that, the
meaning of an idiom is not exactly identical to its literal
paraphrase given in the dictionary entry. That is why we may speak
about lexical flexibility of many units if they are used in a
creative manner. Lexical stability is usually accompanied by
grammatical stability which prohibits any grammatical changes;
Separability
means that the structure of an idiom is not something indivisible,
certain modifications are possible within certain boundaries. Here
we meet with the so-called lexical and grammatical variants. To
illustrate this point I shall give some examples: "as hungry
as a wolf (as a hunter)", "as safe as a
house (houses)" in English, «как
(будто,
словно,
точно) в
воду опушенный»,
«оседлать
своего
(любимого)
конька»,
«раскидывать
умом (мозгами)
Раскинуть
(пораскинуть)
умом (мозгами)»
in Russian.
Expressivity and
emotiveness means that idioms are also characterized by stylistic
colouring. In other words, they evoke emotions or add
expressiveness.
On the whole
phraseological units, even if they present a certain pattern, do not
generate new phrases. They are unique.
Interlanguage
comparison, the aim of which is the exposure of phraseological
conformities, forms the basis of a number of theoretical and applied
trends of modern linguistic research, including the theory and
practice of phraseography. But the question of determining the
factors of interlanguage phraseological conformities as the main
concept and the criterion of choosing phraseological equivalents and
analogues as the aspect concepts is still at issue.
The analysis of
special literature during the last decades shows that the majority of
linguists consider the coincidence of semantic structure, grammatical
(or syntactical) organization and componential (lexeme) structure the
main criteria in defining the types of interlanguage phraseological
conformities/disparities with the undoubted primacy of semantic
structure.
Comparing
the three approaches discussed above (semantic, functional, and
contextual) we have ample ground to conclude that have very much in
common as, the
main criteria of phraseological units appear to be essentially the
same, i.e. stability and idiomaticity or lack of motivation. It
should be noted however that these criteria as elaborated in the
three approaches are sufficient mainly to single out extreme cases:
highly idiomatic non-variable and free (or variable) word- groups.
Thus
red tape, mare's
nest, etc. According to the semantic approach belong to phraseology
and are described as fusions as they are completely non-motivated.
According to the functional approach they are also regarded as
phraseological units because of their grammatical (syntactic)
inseparability and because they function, in speech as
word-equivalents. According to the contextual approach red tape,
mare's nest, etc.
make up a group of phraseological units referred to as idioms because
of the impossibility of any change m the 'fixed context' and their
semantic inseparability.
The
status of the bulk of word-groups however cannot be decided with
certainty with the help of these criteria because as a rule we have
to deal not with соmp1ete
idiomaticity and stability but with a certain degree of these
distinguishing features of phraseological units. No objective
criteria of the degree of idiomaticity and stability have as yet been
suggested. Thus, e.g., to win a victory
according to the semantic approach is a phraseological combination
because it is almost completely motivated and allows of certain
variability to win, to gain, a victory.
According to the functional approach it is not a phraseological unit
as the degree of semantic and grammatical inseparability is
insufficient for the word-group to function
as a word-equivalent.
Small hours according to the contextual
approach it is literal meaning. If however we>
There
is still another approach to the problem of phraseology in which an
attempt is made to overcome the shortcoming of the phraseological
theories discussed above. The main features of this new approach
which is now more or less universally accepted by Soviet linguists
are as follows:1
Phraseology
is regarded as a self-contained branch of linguistics and, not
as a part of lexicology.
Phraseology
deals with a phraseological subsystem of language and not with
isolated phraseological units.
3. Phraseology is
concerned with all types of set expressions.
4. Set expressions
are divided into three>
Phraseological and
phraseomatic units are not regarded as word- equivalents but some
of them are treated as word correlates.
Phraseological and
phraseomatic units are set expressions and their phraseological
stability distinguishes them from free phrases and compound words.
Phraseological and
phraseomatic units are made up of words of different degree of
wordness depending on the type of set expressions they are used in.
(cf. e.g. small hours and red tape). Their structural separateness,
an important factor of their stability, distinguishes them from
compound words (cf. E.g. blackbird and black market).
Other aspects of
their stability are: stability of use, lexical stability and semantic
stability.
Stability of use
means that set expressions are reproduced ready-made and not
created in speech. They are not elements of individual style of
speech but language units.
Lexical stability
means that the components of set expressions are either
irreplaceable (e.g. red tape, mare's nest) or party replaceable
within the bounds of phraseological or phraseomatic variance:
lexical (e.g. a skeleton in the cupboard – a skeleton in the
closet).grammatical (e.g. to be in deep water – to be in deep
waters), positional (e.g. head over ears – over head and
ears), quantitative (e.g. to lead smb a dance- to lead smb a pretty
dance), mixed variants (e.g. raise (stir up) a hornets' nest about
one's ears- arouse (stir up) the nest of hornets).
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 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.
An integral part
of this approach is a method of phraseological identification which
helps to single out set expressions in Modern English.
The
diachronic aspect of phraseology has scarcely been investigated. Just
a few points of interest may be briefly reviewed in connection with
the origin of phraseology has scarcely been investigated. Just a few
points of interest may be
briefly
reviewed in connection with the origin of phraseological units and
the ways they appear in language. It is assumed that almost all
phrases can be traced back to free word-groups which in the course of
the historical development of the English language have acquired
semantic and grammatical process of grammaticalization or
lexicalization.
Cases
of grammaticalization may be illustrated by the transformation of
free word-groups composed of the verb have,