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CZU 811.111`373.74:811.161.1`373.74
PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS WITH PHYTONYMIC COMPONENTS IN THE
ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN LANGUAGES
Oxana CEH, Mas e o A s, Lec u e ,
Alecu Russo Bal i S a e Uni e si y
oxana.ceh@usa b.md
Abs ac : The a icle p esen s he e ymological, seman ic and cul u ological s udy o he
mos equen ly employed English and Russian ph aseological and pa emiological uni s wi h a
phy onymic componen , iden i ying he mos common phy onyms, ei he ypical o bo h o hese
languages o cha ac e is ic o only one o hem, in his way speci ying simila as well as dis inc i e
cul u al conno a ions o he analyzed uni s. Se e al classi ica ion c i e ia, suppo ed by he co -
esponding ph aseological examples om he English and Russian languages, a e applied in he
a icle, hus highligh ing he complexi y and he uniqueness o he na ions’ linguis ic pe cep ion
o he su ounding wo ld.
Keywo ds: phy onyms, ph aseological uni s, pa emias, linguis ic compa ison, phy onymic
componen s.
Ph aseological uni s a e habi ually de ined as non-mo i a ed wo d-g oups ha canno be
eely made up in speech bu a e ep oduced as a eady-made sys em. This de ini ion p oceeds
om he assump ion ha he essen ial ea u es o ph aseological uni s a e conside ed o be
he s abili y o he lexical componen s. I is equen ly assumed ha unlike componen s o
ee wo d-g oups, which may a y due o he needs o communica ion, wo ds o ph aseo-
logical uni s a e ep oduced as single unchangeable colloca ions (Кунин, 2005). In addi ion,
in insically possessing ce ain cul u al conno a ion, di e se ph aseological uni s ep esen no
only he na ional and linguis ic pe cep ion o he wo ld by a speci ic linguacul u al commu-
ni y, bu simul aneously c ea e he wo ld’s ph aseological pic u e, which mos i idly e lec s
he wo ld iew o he speake s o a gi en language and, consequen ly, cul u e (Хайруллина,
2008). Thus, linguocul u ally, ph aseological uni s a e iewed as s able keepe s o cul u al
di e si y and indica o s o sel -pe cep ion o he na ion’s indi iduali y.
Phy onyms (G eek phy onim "plan ", onyma "name, i le"), deno ing he names o plan s
and hei pa s, a e de ined as uni s o olk bo anical nomencla u e being opposed o scien i ic
106
designa ions o plan s. Signi ying na u al species and e lec ing ac ually exis ing ea u es,
phy onyms a e close o an h oponyms and oponyms, which as well indica e exis en
phenomena (people and objec s), ye di e ing om hem by designa ing an en i e class o
plan s sha ing ce ain cha ac e is ics. In his ega d, bo any, i.e. he scien i ic s udy o plan s,
migh se e as a e i able sou ce o ace he e ymology o a phy onym, as i p o ides
mul i ace ed and de ailed desc ip ions o he plan p ope ies (Седых, 2015).
Logically, being employed ei he as he objec s o economic ac i i y o se ing as
models o ce ain beha io al and appea ance pa e ns, di e se plan s ha e become an in eg al
and indispensable pa o he na u al en i onmen o any na ion. Hence, a conside able
p opo ion o phy onymic componen s in ph aseological uni s e lec he his o ical, cul u al
and e en linguis ic in e ac ion and usion be ween man and lo a.
While pinpoin ing and analyzing he phy onymic componen s, p e alen in he ph aselo-
gical uni s o bo h he English and Russian languages, he e has been iden i ied he possibili y
o ca ego izing hem acco ding o o e all seman ics o he ph aseological uni /ph ase:
1. Appea ance. This ca ego y includes he lexical uni s whose o e all meaning is
condi ioned by he ex e nal simila i y wi h hei phy onymic componen .
Thus, “a s awbe y ma k” is a pe manen da k ed ma k on a pe son's skin, which has
exis ed since bi h, a " eddish bi hma k, mole". E iden ly, his ph aseological uni has
appea ed due o he colo shade, simila o he well-known be y. Ano he ep esen a i e o
he lo a, which is o en used in phy onymic idioms, is a ca o . Tha is, ed-hai ed people
a e equen ly e e ed o as “ca o op” ( he Russian equi alen “рыжий как огонь”)
because o he b igh colo o hei hai . The idiom "ca o op" o igina ed in he ea ly 19 h
cen u y and was used o desc ibe a pe son wi h ed o o ange hai , compa ing he hai colo
o he op o lea es o a ca o . In mode n usage, "ca o op" is usually used as a colloquial
o slang e m o e e o a pe son wi h ed o o ange hai (Ay o, 2020). One mo e English
phy onymic idiom ha cha ac e izes appea ance is “ esh as a daisy” ( he Russian equi alen
“свежий как огурчик”). The Camb idge Idioms Dic iona y p o ides he ollowing
explana ion o his idiom: someone who is (as) esh as a daisy is li ely and a ac i e, in a
clean and esh way. This e alua i e poe ic desc ip ion o a pe son’s ex e io aligns wi h he
phy onymic simile “as esh as a ose”: cha ac e ized by a posi i e e alua i e conno a ion,
bo h ph aseological colloca ions concep ualize a pe son's appea ance and excellen heal h
(Speake, 2015). The nex uni , “like wo peas in a pod”, is de ined by he Camb idge Idioms
Dic iona y as “ o be e y simila , look, beha e o hink exac ly he same”, highligh ing he
ex e nal simila i y o iden i y o he wo objec s. E iden ly, he hings ha a e like wo peas
in a pod a e so simila o each o he ha you can ha dly ell hem apa . The Russian
equi alen , “как две капли воды”, ca ies he addi ional conno a ion o a close and s ong
ela ionship be ween he wo people o hings (Даль, 2012).
2. Cha ac e ai s. This g oup includes ph aseological uni s eme ged as a esul o
e hinking he p ope ies o plan s and endowing hem wi h an h opomo phic cha ac e ai s.
Fo ins ance, he uni “a man o s aw” ( he Russian equi alen “соломенный тюфяк”)
was o med as a esul o e hinking he lexeme "s aw", which means "un eliabili y", " agi-
li y". The Ox o d Lea ne ’s Dic iona y de ines he wo d “s aw” as he long, d ied s ems o
plan s ha a e easy o b eak. Hence, namely his p ope y o s aw se ed as he basis o he
o ma ion o he idiom, as “a man o s aw” is someone who has a weak cha ac e and is easily
c i icized o a acked because hey a e pe cei ed as highly ulne able. The ph ase can also be
used o desc ibe a pe son who is no aken se iously o espec ed by o he s because o he
e iden lack o will o de e mina ion (Ay o, 2020). One mo e idiom o he g oup, including
he name o a lowe as a componen , is a “sh inking iole ”, which means a modes , imid,
107
shy pe son. In English-speaking cul u e, as well as in he Russian-speaking one, a iole is a
symbol o modes y and pu i y o hough s. The seman ically analogical uni , “a shy mimosa”
( he Russian equi alen “стыдливая мимоза”), po ai s a ha mless, quie pe son who does
no know how o s and up o hemsel es. O e all, hese uni s imply ela i ely neu al e a-
lua i e conno a ion wi h he phy onym used o concep ualize a cha ac e ai (Кунин, 2005).
3. Communi y/analogy o ac ions. This g oup includes ph aseological uni s based on a
me apho ical econside a ion o he ac ions in ol ing pa icula plan s.
The e o e, he e ymology o he idiom “ o make wo bi es o a che y” (li e ally “ o bi e
o a che y wice” – o pu excessi e e o in o a e y easy ask) is associa ed wi h he no ion
o a che y as a ela i ely minu e be y. Thus, he phy onym is employed o deno e meaning-
lessness and inapp op ia eness. The seemingly simila idiom “a second bi e a /o he che y”,
means he possibili y o ying some hing again, especially a e ailu e, and is used when a pe son
is gi en a chance o do some hing again in o de o achie e a desi ed esul (Ay o, 2020).
Ano he ph aseological uni , “nip in he bud” ( he Russian equi alen s “подавить в зароды-
ше”, “пресечь в корне") implies “ o des oy in he bud, o kill a he oo ”. The Ox o d Dic-
iona y o Idioms gi es he ollowing de ini ion o he uni : “ o check a he ou se ; p e en a he
s a ; block o des oy in he beginning” The o igin o he idiom is connec ed o he meaning o
he phy onym “bud” – a sp ou o plumule and comes om he idea o p uning o cu ing o
a bud o shoo o a plan o ee be o e i blooms, p e en ing i om g owing and bea ing ui .
Mi o ing he uniqueness o he na ional linguis ic pe cep ion o he su ounding wo ld,
a ce ain numbe o phy onymic componen s a e ypically employed ei he only in English o
Russian ph aseological uni s. Hence, he phy onyms used exclusi ely in he English ph aseo-
logy include: he aco n (e.g. “like s ealing aco ns om a blind pig”, i.e. a e y easy ac ion o
pe o m), he goosebe y (e.g. “as g een as a goosebe y”, i.e. young, inexpe ienced), he
walnu (e.g. “a dog and a walnu ee, he mo e you bea hem he be e hey will be”), he
banana (e.g. “ o d i e someone bananas”, i.e. o make someone e y i i a ed, ang y o an-
noyed) (Speake, 2015).
The phy onyms, cha ac e is ic uniquely o Russian ph aseological uni s, comp ise he
adish (редька, e.g. “надоел как горькая редька”), he ed pine mush oom (груздь, e.g.
“назвался груздем, так полезай в кузов”), he hops (хмель, e.g. “хмель шумит, ум мол-
чит”), he henbane (белена, e.g. “белены объесться”), he ho se adish (хрен, e.g. “хрен
редьки не слаще”), he u nip (репа, e.g. “проще пареной репы”), e c. P esumably, he
high equency o he use o he names o he abo e-men ioned plan s can be a ibu ed o
ei he hei p e alence in he e i o y inhabi ed by hese peoples o hei mass cul i a ion and
usage along wi h he speci ic men al conno a ion acqui ed o e ime. (Даль, 2012).
Concu en ly, ph aseological uni s wi h phy onymic componen s migh be subjec o
sys ema iza ion acco ding o he elemen s/o gans o plan s and/o hei ege a ion o ms in o
he h ee subg oups, i.e. 1) ees, 2) blossoms and ce eals, 3) ui s, be ies, ege ables (Ми-
шина, 2021).
1. A signi ican numbe o English and Russian pa emias wi h he gene ic phy onym
“ ee/дерево” cen e on he compa ison/con as , desc ibing a pe son's cha ac e , hei
ex e nal ea u es as well as in e nal cha ac e is ics:
“A bad ee does no yield good apples”/“У осины не родятся апельсины”;
“As he ee alls, so shall i lie”, “A ee alls he way i leans”/“Куда дерево клонилось,
туда и повалилось”;
“The apple does no all a om he ee”/“Каково дерево, таков и клин, каков батька,
таков и сын”;
“The alles ee is oo ed in he g ound”/“Дерево держится корнями, а человек – друзьями”.
108
I is no ewo hy ha ph aseological uni s/pa oemias wi h he “ ee” componen a e mo e
inhe en o he English language in compa ison wi h ha o Russian. The iden i ied nume ical
supe io i y o he phy onyms o his subg oup in English migh be asc ibed o he sac ed and
p agma ic a i ude o ees and o es s in G ea B i ain due o he limi ed na u e o hese
esou ces. (Speake, 2015).
No ably, among he a ie y o ee/sh ub species, he “oak” is he mos equen ly used
one in bo h English and Russian languages, symbolizing s eng h, endu ance and o i ude
and being his o ically e e ed by bo h peoples. The English ph ase “s ong/s u dy as an
oak” co ela es wi h he numbe o he Russian ones: “могучий дуб”, “крепкий как дуб”,
“как столетний дуб” (Даль, 2012). Ye , i in he English wo ld iew “g ea oaks om li le
aco ns g ow”, he Russian concep ion o he wo ld sugges s ha “не срубишь дуба, не отдув
губы”, “старый дуб не скоро сломится” (Кунин, 2005). Likewise, while he English
wo ship o he oak is embedded in he idiom “ o ha e a hea o oak”, i.e. o be a e y
emo ionally o men ally s ong pe son, he Russian olk wisdom occasionally a ibu es o his
migh y ee a qui e de isi e conno a ion, e.g. “дуб дубом”, “дубовая голова” which e en
bo de s on comple e dis espec in “с дуба рухнуть” o “дуба дать/врезать дуба”.
2. Among he phy onymic componen s o he second subg oup – blossoms and ce eals
– he elemen “ ose” ends o be he p e alen one in he English and Russian languages. Being
he mos popula and ecognizable lo al symbol, he ose adi ionally pe soni ies a lou ishing
you h and unapp oachable beau y, he me apho ical ans e mo i a ed by a posi i e e alua i e
conno a ion o he phy onymic componen , condi ioned by he objec i e ea u es, ha is, he
beau y and pleasan smell o he plan . The English idioma ic exp ession “b ing/pu he oses
back o/in one’s cheeks”, i.e. o make a pe son igo ous and heal hy again co esponds o he
Russian one “на щеках расцветают розы”. Simul aneously, he phy onym eminds ha
e en seemingly pe ec and he mos desi able hings imply hidden challenges and obs acles:
“Li e is no a bed o oses”/“Жизнь – это не ложе из роз”;
“E e y ose has i s ho n”/“Не бывает розы без шипов”, “Чем красивее роза, тем длиннее
у нее шипы”. (Кунин, 2005).
One mo e phy onymic componen , “whea ”, dominan in Russian pa oemias as a sac ed
symbol o ha d labou as well as ma e ial p ospe i y, e.g. “В поле пшеница годом родится,
а добрый человек всегда пригодится”, “Удобришь землицу – снимешь пшеницу”,
“Когда пшеничка тучная, тогда и уборка нескучная”, is a he sca ce in he English
language, e.g. “The e is no whea wi hou cha ” / “Нет пшеницы без высевки”, despi e he
ac ha in G ea B i ain whea has been one o he main a able c ops. (Даль, 2012).
3. The phy onymic elemen “apple” has p o en o be he mos ecu en one among he
highly nume ous “ ui , be ies, ege ables” subg oup. Being associa ed in bo h English and
Russian languages wi h he di e se symbols, images and ideas, e.g. space and he Uni e se;
beau y, heal h and you h; mys e y and weal h; enjoymen and pleasu e, i has been p ima ily
iewed as he ui o he ee o li e:
“An apple a day keeps he doc o away”/“Кто яблоко в день съедает, у того врач не бывает”;
“The apple ne e alls a om he ee”/“Яблоко от яблони недалеко падает”;
“The e is o en he wo m in he apple”, “Handsome apples a e some imes sou ”/“Не всякое
яблоко сладкое”, “Здоровое яблоко с ветки не падает”;
“A s one om he hand o a iend is an apple”/“Камень из руки любимого - яблоком
кажется”.
The “nu ” is ano he high equency phy onymic componen o his ca ego y, whose basic
conno a ions, i.e. ha dness, s eng h and oughness, coincide in he English (“a ha d/ ough
nu o c ack”) and Russian languages (“крепкий орешек”). Howe e , he associa i e
109
meaning in oked by he English pa emia “he ha would ea he ke nel mus c ack he
nu ”, used o u ge a pe son o apply ce ain e o o ob ain he desi able, s ikingly dissona es
wi h he seman ic in e p e a ion o he Russian idioma ic exp essions, e.g. simplici y and
unsophis ica ion (“щелкать как орехи”), sa casm and con emp (“давать на орехи”),
imminen and impending punishmen (“на орехи достанется/ будет/попадет”), me ciless
c i icism o comple e de ea (“разделывать под орех”) (Даль, 2012).
Hence, phy onymic componen s o di e se ph aseological uni s o m ce ain images o
a ious plan s in he minds o en i e na ions, e oking speci ic associa ions and allowing he
o e all meaning o he en i e uni o be con eyed mo e i idly.
The e o e, he seman ic s udy o ph aseological uni s wi h a phy onymic componen in
he English and Russian languages has iden i ied ha :
– hey possess a comple ely unique na u e and s and ou o he conno a i e in eg i y om
he gene al ph aseological sys em o he s udied languages,
– he high equency o he names o ce ain plan s and ui s is explained by hei
widesp ead use on he e i o y inhabi ed by hese peoples,
– phy onymic componen s can in ce ain cases c ea e simila image y in Russian and
English, some imes e en o ming ull o pa ial equi alen s.
Ne e heless, mos equen ly, ph aseological uni s wi h phy onyms e lec , in a comple-
ely unique and mul i ace ed way, he di e ing aspec s o he men ali y o bo h peoples, hei
speci ic beha io al pa adigms, cha ac e ai s, daily habi s, olk cus oms and adi ional li e
pa e ns.
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