The classification system of phraseological units suggested

The classification system of phraseological units suggested by Professor A.V. Koonin

NarTSYzova Karina
10.1-014

Phraseology is a separate branch of Linguistics which deals with a phraseological subsystem of language, with all types of set-expressions. The basic unit of phraseology is a phraseological unit. According to A. V. Koonin «a phraseological unit is a stable word-group characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning».

Alexander Vladimirovich Kunin

Alexander Vladimirovich Kunin (1909-1996) was a Soviet scientist, a prominent specialist in the phraseology of the English language, professor, Doctor of Philology.He is the author of many scientific articles on phraseology, phraseological stylistics, translation and lexicography, as well as a number of textbooks on various aspects of lexicology, stylistics and phraseology.

Class 1. Nominative phraseological units

are represented by word-groups, including the ones with one meaningful word, e.g. a bull in a china shop ‘a person who is careless, or who moves or acts in a rough or awkward way’,and coordinative phrases of the type wear and tear ‘the damage to objects, furniture, property, etc. that is the result of normal use’. All units of this kind class denote objects, states, qualities and the like. The first class also includes word-groups with a predicative structure, such as as the crow flies ‘in a straight line’, and, also, partially predicative phrases of the type see how the land lies ‘to try to discover what the situation really is before you make a decision’, ships that pass in the night ‘chance acquaintances’.

Phraseological units of this class fall into the following subclasses:

substantive: crocodile tears – ‘if someone sheds crocodile tears, they seem sad, sorry, or upset, but they do not really feel this way’; Pandora’s box – ‘a process that, if started, will cause many problems that cannot be solved’;
adjectival: as mad as a hatter ‘completely crazy’, as cool as a cucumber ‘calm and not nervous, upset, or excited’; as good as gold – ‘(informal) behaving in a way that other people approve of’;
adverbial: by & by ‘(old-fashioned) before long; soon’, to and fro ‘backwards and forwards’;
verbal: to go to pot ‘(informal) to be spoiled because people are not working hard or taking care of things’.

Class 2. Nominative-communicative phraseological units

include verbal word-groups which are transformed into a sentence when the verb is used in the Passive Voice, e.g. to break the ice ‘to make people feel more friendly and willing to talk to each other’ – the ice is broken.

Class 3. Interjectional phraseological units

include interjectional word-groups and some interjections with predicative structure. These phraseological units which express feelings and intentions. They are neither nominative nor communicative but stable lingual units by nature, e.g. by George! – ‘really, indeed’, a fine (nice, pretty) kettle of fish – ‘used to say that a situation is very different from one that you have just mentioned’.

Class 4. Communicative phraseological units

are represented by proverbs and sayings. Phraseological units of this class are sentences in form, e.g. Queen Ann in dead! – ‘to say well-known truths’, What will Mrs. Grundy say! – ‘what will people say?’

There are phraseological units, expressing statement, that have the form of a complete sentence. A.V. Koonin calls them communicative.

Proverbs

A proverb is a short familiar sentence expressing popular wisdom, a truth or a moral lesson in a concise and imaginative way. Proverbs are considered to be set expressions, because their lexical components are also constant, their meaning is mostly figurative, and they are introduced into speech ready-made: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A friend in need is a friend indeed. A stitch in time saves nine. The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The end justifies the means. Don't cry over spilt milk. Necessity is the mother of invention. Easy come, easy go. All is not gold that glitters.

Sayings

A saying is any common, colloquial expression, or a remark often made, that is not didactic or moralizing, e.g. It goes without saying. Like father, like son. That’s another pair of shoes. Woe betide you!

Familiar quotations are different from proverbs in their origin as they come from literature but by and by they become part and parcel of the language: The wish is father to the thought (J. Ceasar). To err is human (A. Pope).
Lots of quotations come from W. Shakespeare:
To be or not to be: that is the question.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
The rest is silence.
The time is out of joint.
Frailty, thy name is woman.
It out-herods Herod.
I know a trick worth two of that.
A man more sinned against than sinning.

Reference list