Seminar 6, LAT-23.

Part 1. Read some theoretical material below.

PHRASEOLOGY AND COLLOCATION

Phraseological units

Phraseological units are comparatively stable and semantically inseparable. The essential features of
phraseological units are stability of the lexical components and lack of motivation.

The interpretation of the phraseology in English.

 a way of expressing oneself

 a way in which words and phrases are used especially by particular individuals and by a
group of individuals.

Features:

 they are ready-made units

 they are characterised by stability of grammatical structure and lexical components
 they are idiomatic, transferred. They are colorful, expressive, stylistically marked.

The debatable problems:

1. The problem of the adequate term and its definition (The definition is felt to be inadequate,
as the concept ready-made units seems to be rather vague. In fact, this term can be applied to
a variety of heterogeneous linguistic phenomena ranging from word-groups to sentences
(e.g. proverbs, sayings, collocation, lexical phrases) and also quotations from poems, novels
or scientific treatises all of which can be described as ready-made units).
2. The problem of the lang. material, which is reflected to phraseology (narrow and wide
approaches in phraseology: some scholars used term word equivalents instead of phrasal
units. This is narrow understanding. Now many scholars expand a wide approach to
phraseology and they include in the phraseological sentence idioms, proverbs, sayings,
clause idioms).
3. The problem of the classification of the lang. material (Phraseological fusions (зрощення)
are completely non-motivated word-groups, such as red tape — ‘bureaucratic
methods’; heavy father — ’serious or solemn part in a theatrical play’; kick the bucket —
‘die’; and the like. The meaning of the components has no connections whatsoever, at least
synchronically, with the meaning of the whole group.

Phraseological unities are partially non-motivated, as their meaning can usually be perceived
through the metaphoric meaning of the whole phraseological unit. For e.g.: to skate of thin ice –
ризикувати; to sit on the fence – вичікувати; a big bug – важлива шишка.

Phraseological collocations are motivated but they are made up of words possessing specific
lexical valency (валентність) which accounts for a certain degree of stability in such word-groups.
In phraseological collocations, variability of member-words is strictly limited. We can say take a
liking (fancy) – сподобатися, but not take hatred (disgust).) Classification of Coonin:

1. One-summit units - at large, by the way.

2. Phraseological units with the structure of coordinate or subordinate word group - to burn
one’s fingers / by hook and by crook.
3. Phraseological units, structures with an impeded clause, that is a lexeme + clause - sheep that
passing the night.

4. Clause idioms - when pigs fly.

5. Nominative-communicative phraseological units - break the ice – the ice is broken

6. Sentence idioms - A fat lot of good that will do me!

7. Interjections (восклицание) - It’s a pretty kettle of fish!

Collocation – habitual association between particular words. They are not transferred. (heavy
traffic, weeping willow).

Lexical phrases – D. Cristal divides them into polywords (by the way, so) and institutionalized
expressions (how do you do).

Proverb - short traditional saying of a didactic nature (a stick in time saves nine).

Sayings - concise observation that expresses wisdom. (time flies)

Phraseological units in English.

Phraseology – this study is fairly recent. Terminology is not yet fixed. Opinions differ, how this
part of speech can be defined and classified.

Phraseological unit – a stable group of words, characterized by completely or partially transferred

meaning.

Phraseological units, or idioms, are described in numerous English dictionaries (The Oxford
dictionary of idioms, the Collin’s, the Longman dictionary of Idioms). The idiomatic units are
colorful, because of linguistic curiosity.

Researching to idioms has shown that they have important roles in writing and spoken English.
They can appear in informal speech and formal style.

Phraseological units referred to language universals (affixation, compounding), because every

language has phrases, word groups that are ready-made, stable and idiomatic. It means that they are
not created in speech, but are introduced as fixed or set expressions. Their meaning cannot be
deduced from the literal meaning of the constituent parts (“a snake in the grass” – hidden danger).

Features that characterize the Phraseological units:

1. they are ready-made

2. stable in structure
3. idiomatic or transferred meaning
4. colorful expressive
5. stylistically marked.

Ways of understanding:

1. narrow
2. wide (presupposes that numerous proverbs, sayings are included into phraseology).
Problems of studying phraseological units:

1. the problem of the adequate term and its definition,

2. the problem of the language material, which is referred to domain of phraseology,
3. the problem of the classification of the language material.

Idiom – an expression unique to a language, especially where the sense is not predictable from the
meaning of its elements.

Fixed/ set expression – stability of lexical components and grammar structure.

Collocation (by D. Crystal) – a habitual association between particular words, such as “to and fro”,
“white coffee, “green with envy”. They cannot be predicted by the knowledge of the word.

Cliché (by Crystal) – a stereotyped expression, a commonplace phrase: “fair sex”, “much over
muchness”, “from time in memories”.

Classification of phraseological units:

 фразеологічні зрощення (phraseological fusions); - “to kick the bucket, red tape”.
 Фразеологічні одиниці (Phraseological units) – “an old bird”, “Achilles' heel”;
 Фразеологічні сполучення (Phraseological collocations) – “white coffee”, to take smb. for
granted, to take advantage of.

Coonin’s classification of phraseological units:

 partially transferred (коли хоча б 1 слово – з прямим значенням) – Hobson's choice, to

drink like a lord, to eat like a horse,
 completely transferred – усі слова з переносним значенням – to burn one’s finger, east or
west home is best.

Types:

1. one-summit units: at large; be the way; by heart.

2. subordinate and coordinate word groups:
a. substantives – “an old bird”, “hot dog”;
b. adjective – as good as gold, as cool as cucumber.
c. adverbial – at last, as quick as a flesh.
3. structures with an embedded clause (a lexeme + a clause). – ships that pass in the night; to
see how the land lies.
4. clause idioms (структура підрядного речення) – when pigs fly;
5. nominative-communicative: to break the ice, to pass the Rubicon.
6. sentence idioms: birds of a feather flock together; if you run after 2 hares you will catch
neither.
7. Interjectional sentence – by George, here, oh God.

Idioms vs phrasal verbs/phrasemes/phrases

Idioms are expressions, which have the meaning different from the meaning of its words-
components. In other words, we can’t determine the meaning of the idiom from the sum of
meanings of its components. For example: break a leg! (good luck!), under the rose (secretly), a
piece of cake (very simple), once in a blue moon (very seldom)
Phrasal verb is a combination of words that is used like a verb and consists of a verb and an adverb
or preposition. The meaning is determined by the preposition. For example: break in/into (enter a
place unlawfully), break in on (interrupt a conversation), break off/up (end a relationship or stop
fight), break out (appear violently OR use something extravagant for celebration), break out of
(escape)

Phrases/phrasemes are always binary: one component has a phraseologically bound meaning, and
the other serves as the determining context. In the examples of a black eye, a black market, the
black sheep (of a family), a black box, a black day, and a black mark, the words eye, market, sheep,
box, day, and mark actualize the specific meanings of the word black.

Collocation

Consider the very different perspectives on language in the following two quotes:

“A very basic fact of language is that speakers are constantly confronted with expressions that
they have never encountered in their previous linguistic experience, and that they can
nevertheless produce and understand with no effort.” (Noam Chomsky, 2002. On nature and
language. In A. Belletti and L. Rizzi (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p2.)

[learning a language is] “... learning to say what the other fellow expects us to say under the
given circumstances… Once someone speaks to you, you are in a relatively determined context
and you are not free to say what you please.” (J. R. Firth 1935/1957 Papers in Linguistics, 1934-
1951. London: Oxford University Press, p28.)

Firth referred to ‘idiomatic’ or ‘conventional’ patterns of language in terms of ‘Collocation’.

Here is how he originally put it:

‘[a] word is characterised by the company it keeps… collocations of a given word are statements
of the habitual or customary places of the word (J. R. Firth 1935/1957 Papers in Linguistics,
London: Oxford University Press, p181)

Generally speaking, it is possible to distinguish between semantic collocation (which involves a

meaningful association of words, including pairs such as doctor + hospital, nuclear + atom, etc.)
and structural collocation (which involved a co-selection of words within a particular structure,
phrase or clause, as in ask a question, to curry favour etc.). ‘Semantic collocation’ can be seen in
its important role in building chains of referential links within a text, as in examples such as
climate + environment, recycle + paper cup, volcano + erupt, etc. Within the category of ‘structural
collocations’, it is also possible to make a further distinction ‘free’ and ‘bound’ or collocations.
Free collocations are more productive than bound collocations, and it is usually possible to list
several possible variant collocates for any one construction (such as ask + a favour, a question, the
way, make + sense, peace, way, set + free, sail, store, etc.). Bound collocations are those sequences
which co-occur so predictably that they have become a fixed or ‘lexicalised’ as a single highly
predictable unit (such as nowadays, so to speak, curry favour etc.). In bound collocations, the
meanings of the different words often complement each other, with one word being the main point
of reference or ‘base’ (thus in auburn hair, rancid butter, torrential rain: hair, butter and rain are the
‘bases’.) A number of bound collocations are also made up of closed-class ‘grammatical’ words
(of course, so be it, more or less, ups and downs, etc.).
 2. Practical Part. Answer the following questions :
1. What are phraseological units ?
2. Give the diffinition and examples of idioms.
3. What are collocations and their types?

3. Complete the following tasks :

a) Identify the Phraseological Units (PU) in the following examples (if just part of the
PU is involved, underline the relevant words).

b) Identify the type of PU (idiom, proverb, bound collocation, free collocation, etc.)

c) State whether the PU is variable or invariable (i.e. does it allow variations of words or
structure?)

d) State whether the PU is transparent or opaque (i.e. can its habitual meaning or use be predicted
from its component words?).

e) State whether the PU is marked or unmarked (i.e. is it associated with a particular

communicative function or context, e.g. How do you do, Yours sincerely... etc.)

f) Translate the example into Ukrainian. Does the translation use an equivalent PU or
some other construction?

Type of PU Lexicogrammar Semantics Pragmatics

(variable / (transparent / (marked /
invariable?) opaque?) unmarked?)

1. Come on, spill the beans!

2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

3. Bless you!

4. When will the decision be made?

5. I’m afraid you are barking up the

wrong tree
6. You have got to be pulling my leg.

7. The manager doesn’t have a leg to

stand on
8. Pat thinks that the decision is sheer
lunacy
9. No steps were taken to ban advertising
at the Olympics
10. I am sad to announce that Dom has
kicked the bucket