The use of idioms in the comics and cartoons

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The use of idioms in the comics and cartoons



Introduction

Phraseological units, also known as set phrases, idiomatic expressions or idioms, give any language its brightness and vitality. They are indispensable to the daily speech of the people and are often found in newspapers, books, television and on the web.

Whenever the reader or listener encounters a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the definitions of the separate words involved, it means it is an idiom. Mastering idioms requires a lot of efforts. Only by studying and hard work one can achieve success in the use of idioms [13].

Idioms are frequently used in informal language serving the functions of icebreakers. That is why idioms make conversations livelier and more colourful; they sound natural and are characteristic of native speakers' daily use. Therefore, while mastering a foreign language, one should not ignore the knowledge of idioms.

Before learning idioms, various levels of idiomatic difficulty should be taken into consideration: the origin of idioms, their grammatical structure and their thematic areas of usage.

There have been a lot of researches into the field of phraseology, most of them dealing with the principles of classification of phraseological units in the field of lexicology by V. Vinogradov, A. Kunin, R. Ginsburg, N. Amosova, G. Antrushina, Ch. Bally, B. Altenberg, G. Knappe, S. Gries, E. Partridge and others [1; 3; 7; 11; 21].; the stylistic peculiarities of phraseologisms were investigated in the works of I. Arnold, A. Morohovsky, V. Kukharenko and others [4; 8; 9].

However, the classification theories and dictionaries of idioms can be of little value to language learners studying a foreign language, because phraseological units reflect history, culture and traditions of a country from which they originate and it is not always possible to find their exact equivalents in another culture. In this paper there has been made an attempt to illustrate the use of idioms in cartoons and comics since the latter are short and powerful tools pertaining not only to the world of art, but also very useful from an educational point of view.

Cartoons and comics appeared in the 20^th century and have experienced a long and painful process of their worldwide recognition. In the 1950s, Dr. Fredric Wertham, the author of «Seduction of the Innocents», made an attempt to introduce legislation to censor comics, because he believed that comics contributed directly to juvenile delinquency. As a result, the comics industry reacted by creating the now infamous Comics Code which soon caused the underground «comix movement». This gave birth to some of the most renowned comic creators in this century [18; 20; 22; 23].

Nowadays comics have been found by many educators as powerful teaching tools in learning a foreign language.

Moreover, there have been a few researches into creolized texts, complex semiotic texts, non-traditional texts, video-verbal texts, linguo-visual texts, iconic texts, cinema-texts in the works of Russian linguists Yu. Sorokin, Ye. Tarasov, Ye. Anisimova, M. Voroshilova, N. Valgina and others [2; 5; 6; 10] also known as typographically complex texts, graphic texts or graphic novels in the works of such foreign linguists as R. Waller, R. Williams, N. Frey, D. Fischer, O. Bryan and others [19; 20]. These works testify to the fact that cartoons and comics are no longer regarded as objects of no linguistic interest.

As far as classroom English is concerned, reading and making comics encourages students to become more skilled at understanding and creating texts. While using comics in the classroom, both teachers and students can examine personal experiences without feeling embarrassed. Moreover, some researchers emphasize the connection between comics and the world of art. Teachers may stimulate students to create their own comics. While exchanging and discussing cartoons and comics in class, students concentrate on visual images; this can serve as an effective way of mastering a foreign language.

In spite of the growing popularity of comics as well as new idioms coined in the English language and booklets which present collections of idioms in pictures like Mark Dubrovin's «Russian and English Phraseologisms in Pictures» or a variety of dictionaries of idioms and colourful phrases, there have not been linguistic researches into the field of phraseology as illustrated in cartoons and comics. The latter factor defines the topicality of our research.

The objective of the paper is to provide a general outlook of certain English idioms as illustrated in cartoons and comics from the etymological and semantic perspectives.

The topicality and the objective of the work determine the following tasks:

· to define the place and role of phraseology in linguistics;

· to give a brief overview of various approaches to the classification of English phraseological units;

· to illustrate the use of idioms in cartoons and comics;

· to point out the communicative peculiarities of idioms on the basis of the etymological and semantic principles.

The practical value of our investigation lies in the use of the data in the classroom, facilitating the process of foreign language teaching and learning.



1. Phraseology. Its Constitutive Units

idiom linguistic phraseology

Phraseology is the particular way in which words and phrases are arranged when saying or writing something [17]. In linguistics, phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units (collectively referred to as phrasemes), in which the component parts of the expression take on a specific or different meaning which is otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently [21]. For example, Dutch courage comprises the words Dutch «of or connected with the Netherlands, its people or its language» and courage «the ability to do something dangerous, or to face pain or opposition, without showing fear» [17]. However, the meaning of the expression does not concern bravery pertaining to the Dutch; on the contrary, it means «the false courage or confidence that a person gets from drinking alcohol» [17].

Phraseology is a scholarly approach to language which developed in the twentieth century It started with Charles Bally's introduction of the notion of locutions phraseologiques [11] which entered Russian lexicology and lexicography in the 1930s and 1940s and was rapidly developing in the former Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries.

The basic constitutive units of phraseology are called phrasemes or phraseological units. The term phraseological unit was first introduced by V.V. Vinogradov. In accordance with professor A.V. Kunin's definition, phraseological units are stable word-groups with partially or fully transferred meanings [21], for example, to go Dutch, blue Monday, as slow as a broken-down snail, as fit as a fiddle etc.

Most western scholars use the term idioms to refer to phraseological units as such expressions which present the most colourful and expressive part of the vocabulary of a particular language [3, 225]. Beside the above-mentioned terms, there are others denoting more or less the same linguistic phenomenon: set expressions and phrases, fixed word groups, collocations [3, 228; 7, 74]. Such confusion of terminology results from the fact that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate a phraseological unit from so-called free word-groups.

It is not quite correct to use the term free word-groups, because nothing can be completely free in speech which is governed by strict laws and relationships between words and regulations of grammar.

The basic criterion of differentiation of the term set phrase is stability of the lexical components (semantic unity) and grammatical structure of word-groups (structural invariability). When using the term idiom or phraseological unit, the factor of idiomaticity (Greek: ?дЯщмб - idiфma, «special feature, special phrasing») or lack of motivation should be taken into consideration. Often the term word-equivalent is applied to characterize phraseological units. This term implies that not only semantic but also functional inseparability of certain word-groups and their functions in speech should be treated inseparably, i.e. as single words [7, 74].

Speaking about the semantic unity of phraseological units, it is necessary to mention that it is such quality of a phraseological unit which helps to differentiate it from free word groups as something entirely new and far from meanings of its constituents. Academician V. Vinogradov characterizes idioms as such that result from a specific combination of words [3, 245]. Professor A. Kunin defines phraseological units as stable word groups characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning [3, 250]. It should be pointed out that the border-line between partially transferred and completely transferred meaning is not always clear and easy to define.

The term idiom mostly refers to phraseological units with completely transferred meanings. In this paper the term idiom will be used as such that is concise and precise enough to characterize word groups used figuratively in the language. Due to their completely «hidden» nature, idioms present a vast field of investigation for linguists.

Apart from a stable semantic unity, idioms are also characterized by more or less unchanged grammatical structure, i.e. structural invariability. For example, «Alice's got a black eye» is an idiom which means that «Alice's eye is bruised». If we say «Alice's got black eyes» or «Alice is a black-eyed girl», it means that «Alice's eyes are of a black colour».

It should be highlighted that proverbs and sayings are also regarded as such that have idiomatic meaning. However, unlike idioms, which function in a language as units of purely nominative function, proverbs perform the communicative function [3, 250-251]. Moreover, many idioms have originated from proverbs. For instance, we may say, «I couldn't put up with such injustice any longer. It was the last straw», where the last straw is the idiom which originates from the Arabic proverb «It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back». The same is true of quotations, which are also regarded as phraseological units due to their figurative meaning. Many of such examples can be found in the Bible or in famous literary works. For instance, in the Book of Psalms 17:8 it says «Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings», but nowadays the idiom «the apple of one's eye» is used more often than the whole biblical quotation. While saying «You should live as Jack and Jill» we mean that a married couple should follow the proverb «A good Jack makes a good Jill», i.e. if a husband or wife wants his/her spouse to be respectful and loving, he/she should behave in the same way.

The above-mentioned examples testify to the fact that phraseology is a complex integrity of the sum total of phraseological units which are composed of separate words but present a semantic whole in which the words are used in their partly or fully reinterpreted meanings [9, 128]. That is why various set expressions, clichйs, quotations, sayings and proverbs can be all referred to phraseology. Phraseological units differ in accordance with their stylistic colouring, structural, semantic and territorial features and occupy a special place among the other stylistic devices of a language. Therefore, phraseological units of a particular language are its «hidden treasures» in which are veiled the nation's mentality, customs and traditions, prejudices and beliefs, superstitions and humour. The richness of phraseology can surprise the most avid reader and it is the task of the latter to reveal the mystery.

2. Phraseologisms. Classification Principles

The above mentioned interpretation of phraseology is too broad and excludes significant structural differences among phraseological units of various types according to which idioms are classified. On the other hand, stylistics is based on varieties of linguistic units and their functions in a language. That is why despite structural differences, phraseological units in stylistics have the same functions as separate words in speech because they perform the functions of nomination and communication.

However, it does not mean that there are no significant differences between words and idioms in the functional aspect. The first difference lies in the fact that the word consists of morphemes with a strong connection among them while there is no strong interdependence among the components of a phraseological unit. One and the same component can be part of various idioms (e.g. go Dutch, Dutch courage, Dutch rush etc.). Also one and the same idiom may vary in meaning in different styles and contexts.

Hence, there are multiple principles of classification of idioms based on their manifold nature. Introducing the definition of «phraseology» in 1905 as a new branch of stylistics, Charles Bally also makes an attempt to define four groups of word-combinations on the basis of the semantic principle: free phrases (les groupements libres) which are not stable; usual phrases (les groupements usuels) which are word-combinations consisting of more or less free connection of their components; phraseological combinations (les series phrasиologiques) - are word-groups, in which the two concepts blend together; 4) phraseological unities (les unitиs phrasиologiques) - in which the words lose their meaning as separate speech units and express one concept [11].

Professor V. Vinogradov offers his own classification also based on the semantic principle. He defines three classes of phraseological units: phraseological combinations that consist of one component which used in its direct meaning while the other one is used figuratively, e.g. to be good at something, to do it for someone's sake, bosom friend etc.; unities - such word-groups that are characterized by a completely changed meaning, but the meaning of which can be deduced from the meanings of its constituent parts, e.g. to lose one's heart to somebody, to fall in love with somebody, to look a gift horse in the mouth etc; fusions - word-groups with a completely changed meaning which are so demotivated that their meaning cannot be understood from the meaning of its components, e.g. the cat got your tongue, to have a bee in one's bonnet, on cloud nine etc [3; 15].

N. Amosova's approach is based on the context principle. She defines phraseological units as word groups of fixed context characterized by a specific unchanging sequence of certain components. According to such principle phraseological units are subdivided into phrasemes and idioms. In fact, phrasemes correspond to V. Vinogradov's definion of unities and idioms - to those of fusions, i.e. word groups with a completely changed meaning [1, 57].

Professor A. Smirnitsky differentiates two main types of word groups which he classifies as proper phraseological units with non-figurative meaning and idioms as unities with transferred meanings. They can be one-summit, two-summit and multisummit depending on the number of meaningful constituents [3, 249].

However, Professor A. Kunin opposes A. Smirnitsky's classification on the grounds that any phraseological unit is of idiomatic nature. Moreover, he does not support the theory according to which phrasal verbs are treated as phraseologisms as such that lack convincing arguments. The renowned linguist offers the following classification of phraseological units based on the structural principle: nominative, nominative-communicative, interjectional, and communicative [3, 250].

Nominative phraseological units are such that denote objects, nature phenomena, actions, states and qualities. They can be substantive, e.g. a snake in the grass, the sky's the limit (something that you say which means there is no limit to what something or someone can achieve) etc; adjectival, e.g. as quiet as the grave (unusually quiet), solemn as a judge (very serious in approach) etc.; adverbial - out and about (engaging in normal activity after an illness), as quick as a flash (very fast) etc.; prepositional - with an eye to (with reference to), by a nose (of a victory: by a very narrow margin).

Nominative-communicative units are verbal word groups, e.g. have a cow (to be very worried, upset, or angry about something), see stars (to experience bright, flashing sensations, as from a blow to the head) etc.

Interjectional phraseological units express the speaker's emotions, feelings, or attitude to things: God damn it! Goodness gracious! Holy cow! (exclamations of surprise).

Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings, e.g. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. That's another pair of shoes! etc.

In contemporary western researches linguists mostly support two main approaches to classification of phraseological units: thematic (based on their original content according to their sources of origin) or etimological [3, 242]. Following this principle, phraseological units are divided into native and borrowed.

The first group is connected with British realia, traditions, history, e.g. to carry coals to Newcastle (when something is supplied to a place where it is already plentiful). To native phraseological units also belong familiar quotations originating from English literature, e.g. the murder will out («Macbeth» by W. Shakespeare), etc. Here also belong native phraseological units borrowed from professional terminology or jargons: hold all the aces (have all the advantages), on the cards (possible or likely to happen); hold a gun to someone's head (force someone to do something by using threats), in deep water (in trouble or danger).

Borrowed phraseological units come from several sources: from the Bible, e.g. to separate the wheat from the chaff (distinguish valuable people or things from worthless ones); from ancient mythology and literature: a Trojan horse (someone who hides their true purpose or intentions); from different languages - return to our muttons (French: revenons а nos moutons) etc.

Phraseological units can be also classified according to the character of the tropes on which they are based: metaphors, hyperboles, metonymies, similes [15].

In corpus linguistics, which is the study of language as expressed in samples (corpora) of «real world» text, the notion colligation is nowadays usually used as a particular kind of phraseologism, in which one or more words are combined within a grammatical pattern - such a set of words that occurs relatively frequently together having a clear meaning associated with it [12, 182].

In relation to the norm of the literary language, two types of idioms are distinguished: usual idioms and occasional idioms. The first group is characterized by stable structure and semantics; such phraseologisms are registered in dictionaries. Occasional idioms undergo structural and semantic changes, are created and modified by the author, i.e. they have specific expressive colouring [16]. On the one hand, they may be treated as deviation from linguistic norms of the literary language; on the other hand, once treated as «phraseological neologisms», they may quickly transfer from fiction to daily use and enrich the list of dictionary entries.

In our work, we will characterize idioms in cartoons and comics on the basis of the latter classification, because owing to it we can trace the changes in the meaning of the idiom taking into account both principles: etymological (thematic) and semantic.

3. Idioms in Cartoons and Comics. Transfer of the Etymological Principle to the Semantic One

Nowadays, more and more phraseological units penetrate into various spheres of communication from science and technology to culture, education, and literature due to general computerization and development of technology. Nobody can imagine modern life without idioms irrespective of one's occupation because phraseological units result from the mode of life.

New types of texts have lately appeared in literature. These texts are known under various names, such as creolized texts, complex semiotic texts, non-traditional texts, video-verbal texts, linguo-visual texts, iconic texts, cinema-texts in the works of Russian linguists Yu. Sorokin, Ye. Tarasov, Ye. Anisimova, M. Voroshilova, N. Valgina and others [10; 2; 5; 6]. In foreign linguistic research schools they are known as typographically complex texts, graphic texts or graphic novels in the works by R. Waller, R. Williams, N. Frey and others [19; 20]

The term creolized texts was introduced by Yu. Sorokin and Ye. Tarasov Е. Under such texts the scientists mean such structures that comprise non-homogeneous components, i.e. verbal (linguistic) and non-verbal (paralinguistic) [10].

Ye. Anisimova classifies creolized texts according to the degree of unity of verbal and non-verbal components: homogeneous verbal texts - paralinguistically active texts - partially creolized texts - fully creolized texts [2].

The examples of creolized texts are advertisements, bills, posters, comics and cartoons. The latter two are the least investigated linguistic phenomena from the point of view of phraseology.

A comic (from the Greek кщмйкьт, kфmikos «of or pertaining to comedy» from к?мпт, kфmos «revel, komos», via the Latin cфmicus), often known collectively as comics, is a «hybrid medium in which illustrations are strongly blended with other types of communicative representations, usually written words (see comics vocabulary), in order to convey information or narrative, thus seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal (or otherwise communicative) elements in interaction» [22].

Comics are fine examples of social context in various fields. The nature of phraseological units used in comics varies greatly from phrasal verbs to proverbs, sayings and quotations of different origin, structure and etymology.

Comics as a real mass medium appeared in the United States in the early 20th century with the newspaper comic strip in the form of images, balloons, boxes etc. The combination of words and pictures proved popular and quickly spread throughout the world. Later on comic strips were published as cheap collections named booklets. Nowadays, comics are widely spread and can be found in newspapers, magazines, comic books, graphic novels and on the web [18; 22].

A cartoon (from the Italian «cartone» and Dutch word «karton», meaning strong, heavy paper or pasteboard) is «a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a study or modello for a painting, stained glass or tapestry». It is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. The original specific definition has changed over time. Nowadays the word cartoon refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, humor, or to the artistic style of such works. Due to the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated movies, «cartoon» came to refer to animation. Hence, the word «cartoon» is currently used to refer to both animated cartoons and gag cartoons [23].

To some extent, comics consist of a series of pictures, some of them of humorous, satirical or ironic nature, i.e. such that refer to cartoons.

Some comics contain only pictures or pantomime strips, while others present samples of creolized texts, i.e. a combination of verbal and non-verbal components. In this work, we are going to analyze such cartoons and comics which illustrate the use of idioms in pictures expressed verbally. Idioms make cartoons and comics more varied and interesting since the reader has to think carefully, because one and the same image may create various associations as well as one and the same idiom may conjure up different graphic presentations. That is why cartoons and comics which illustrate the use of idioms are a powerful tool in the hands of the artist as well as the reader. In our opinion, the former and the latter should get familiarized with the origin of the idiom to be able to illustrate and understand it in a proper way [20].

Idioms are used in our daily life and in most cases while using them, we do not think of their origin. On the other hand, knowing the source of a certain phraseological unit can not only facilitate its understanding, but also help to use it in a more precise way. Therefore, while analyzing phraseological units from a linguistic perspective, one should know that they may come from various fields of human life, i.e. sciences, literature, customs and traditions, superstitions and legends, historic events and famous personalities, natural phenomena, religion, and other languages.

Many word combinations did not use to be treated as particular figures of speech and functioned as any other stylistically neutral words in a language, i.e. as free word groups. In the course of history, human evolution and language development some word groups either established firmly their positions in a language due to their stable structure and figurative use as usual idioms or modified their initial meaning transferring to the class of occasional idioms. Let us consider a few bright examples of the above-mentioned types of idioms in cartoons and comics.

For instance, the phraseologism «with a grain of salt» is a borrowing from Latin, corresponding to «cum grano salis». In ancient times salt was not only a necessary ingredient of a healthy diet essential for life, but also was believed to serve as an antidote to poison. That is why «to take something with a grain of salt» now means to accept an offering from someone with a healthy dose of skepticism which is an example of a usual phraseologism which originated from a free word group used in its direct sense in ancient times. The same idiom used in the three cartoons above illustrates various interpretations and provides examples of occasional phraseological units creating puns in connection with health, politics or leisure time as it has been illustrated in the cartoons above [24].

Another interesting example of an idiom use in cartoons and the transformation of its original meaning can be found in the simile «mad as a hatter». This non-verbal cartoon illustrates the famous Mad Hatter, the lunatic host of a tea party in Lewis Carroll's «Alice In Wonderland». As a matter of fact, Lewis Carroll was not the first to use the expression figuratively.

In his novel of 1850 «Pendennis», William Thackeray uses the phrase to imply anger, as opposed to madness: We were talking about it at mess, yesterday, and chaffing Derby Oaks - until he was as mad as a hatter.

Thomas Hughes in «Tom Brown's Schooldays» uses the phrase to imply madness, or eccentricity of one of the characters: …a very good fellow, but as mad as a hatter.

In fact, dementia was a common illness among 19th century hat makers. To treat felt, hatters once used mercury which is a highly poisonous substance. So, a great number of hatters ended up in mental institutions with serious neurological damage [25].



We can see the illustrations of the idiom «mad as a hatter» in its modern sense in the cartoons above. It is necessary to highlight that the first and second cartoons illustrate the idiom in question without its direct verbal representation. Instead, the idiom «mad hatter» can be understood implicitly from the visual image of the two hatters accompanied by the rabbits (another notorious character from Lewis Carroll's «Alice In Wonderland»); the comments below the cartoons facilitate the exact meaning. Considering the third cartoon, its original meaning has been taken into account, i.e. it illustrates the mad hatter being captured by the doctors accompanying him to the lunatic asylum.

The famous idiom «it is raining cats and dogs» can also find numerous interpretations ranging from usual to occasional.



 

For instance, the first comic strip which says «the French translation hurts less!» has been created by an American who lives in France in the region of Provence (which is known for 300 sunny days a year). The artist drew the picture on one of the rainy days when «three months' worth of rain is being poured over my head all in one go» to illustrate unusually unpleasant and depressing weather for this region. Having seen his flowers completely smashed under a heavy rain in the garden, the creator complains, «I find that the American phrase, «It's raining cats and dogs,» is relatively weak in truly describing what I see outside my window». The French expression «Il pleut des cordes» («It's raining ropes») seems to hurt the speaker less [26].

As a matter of fact, the artist finds the English idiom much more accurate. It is important to highlight that there is a similar phrase to the French one originating from the North of England: «It is raining stair-rods». It is obvious that the French idiom as well as the English one have more to do with the visual image of the downpour and do not reflect its origin.

The cartoons are funny examples of the idiom in question in its daily use. The first two images above represent the graphic realization of a visual image of a heavy rain in the shape of cats and dogs, while the third one is a satirical representation of the pedants' conversation, while the fourth one reflects how the child's ignorance of the idiom makes him understand it literally and expresses his wish to have a puppy.

However, without knowing the origin of this phraseological unit, one cannot understand its implicit meaning. In fact, the first appearance of the currently used version can be found in Jonathan Swift's «A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation» in 1738: «I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs». There have been many versions considering the interpretation of the idiom in question. The fact that Swift had metaphorically described the downpour carrying dead cats and dogs in the streets («…Dead Cats and Turnip-Tops come tumbling down the Flood») in his satirical poem «A Description of a City Shower» (first published in 1710) is strong evidence of badly designed gutter systems as well as poor sanitation in 17^th century England [27].

The cartoon and comic strip above illustrate sun shower. Sun shower stands for a meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining. This expression is frequently used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Britain [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower]. However, the term «sun shower» is rarely found in dictionaries. Moreover, it is not even considered to be an expression of idiomatic meaning since in the English language it consists of two components the meanings of which are used directly.

However, as illustrated in the cartoon above, the word group «sun shower» takes on an idiomatic meaning facilitated by the use of another idiom «for a rainy day» (for a future time of need, especially financial), thus creating a pun. By using the phrase «It's more like for a sun shower», the speaker is ironically hinting at the minute amount of money she has managed to save.

In the second comic strip the use of the phrase «sun shower» gives birth to an idiomatic phrase «The thunderhead is in «stealth» mode» which mirrors the boy's imagination.

Additionally, the phenomenon has a variety of folkloric names in cultures around the world most of which are related to trickster animals, the evil spirits, the human states of unhappiness, mourning, shedding tears etc. or in connection with other natural phenomena - all of them used idiomatically.

For instance, in various African cultures they say «leopards are getting married», «monkey's wedding» or «jackal's wedding» which, if literally translated, sounds as follows: «Jackal is marrying Wolf's wife when it rains and the sun shines faintly.» The latter is also used in Iran and Pakistan. In Hindi, sun shower is referred to as «the foxes' wedding»; in Bengali - «a devil's wedding»; in Brazil sun shower corresponds to a few expressions, such as «rain and sun» or «sun and rain», «snail's wedding», «widow's marriage», or «fox's wedding». In Korea, «a male tiger gets married to a fox», similarly in Japan, it is known as «the kitsune's wedding», and means «a fox's wedding ceremony is being held». In Eritrea and Kenya, the traditional belief is that «the hyena is giving birth» or «hyenas are getting married». In El Salvador, the traditional belief is that «the deer is giving birth». In Bulgaria, there is a saying about «the bear marrying». In South India, the Tamil speaking people say that «the fox and the crow/raven are getting married». In parts of the United Kingdom, it is referred to as «a monkey's birthday». In Indonesian, the phenomenon is the sign of someone rich and well known; this person has died in the place where the sun shower happened, so the sky is showing its condolences.

The example of idiomatic use of the sun shower phenomenon in relation to the evil spirits is found in Hawaii, where it is known as «ghost rain». In the south of the USA, sun shower is said to show that «the devil is beating his wife» because he is angry that God created a beautiful day. The rain is said to be his «wife's tears». A regional variant from Tennessee is «the devil is kissing his wife». In French, the phrase is «the devil is beating his wife and marrying his daughter». In the Netherlands they say that there is a «funfair going on in hell» [28].

In Lithuanian and Estonian, the phenomenon is referred to as «orphan's tears», where the sun is «the grandmother drying those tears», both idioms emphasizing people's sufferings.

In Russian, the idiom is rather used in a positive sense - «mushroom rain» («грибной дождь») as such weather conditions are considered favourable to mushroom hunting. In Ukrainian we refer to «blind rain» («сліпий дощ») since it is difficult to look at the sky when the sun is shining brightly and it is raining simultaneously - it makes us screw up our eyes because we are nearly getting blind.

The comic strip is the evidence of the scene of crime: the police officer has just captured the gangster. The witty author of the comic strip above has managed to embody in his picture the use of the idiom «odds and ends» (which originally means worthless things) and in this case is not the name of a curio shop (a shop which sells small, unusual and fairly rare items) but an organization serving as a cover for illegal activities. The word «bust» is also used idiomatically since it combines its direct meaning (a worthless thing that can be bought at a curio shop) and, in this particular comic, its figurative meanings (a police raid and an arrest) [17].

These comic strips show a humorous attempt to illustrate the idiom «cast a wide net» which means «cover an extensive area or use a wide range of sources» [29]. Father gives his son a few pieces of advice which are all sports terms (borrowed from tennis, basketball and golf/cricket respectively). When the wife is trying to criticize her husband for being inattentive to their son's problems, the husband says that men are better advisers than women, because their advice is universally true and can be helpful no matter what the problem is.

In all the above-mentioned examples there has been made an attempt to show the use of idioms in cartoons and comics, the former being a powerful tool to not only enhance the graphic presentation of a picture, but also create various associations depending on the artist's and the reader's knowledge of the etymology of a certain idiom as well as their personal experience and particular emotions in relation to a certain idiom. Taking into account the manifold nature and structure of idioms, we can draw the conclusion that idioms present a never-ending source of creativity both in the field of art as well as in the realm of literature, especially while used in cartoons and comics. The latter are fine examples of creolized texts which are modern text forms reflecting the influence of computerization, science and technology as well as varied modes of typographic organization of modern texts.

Conclusions

Phraseological units, also known as set phrases, idiomatic expressions or idioms, give any language its brightness and vitality. They are indispensable to the daily speech of the people and are often found in newspapers, books, television and on the web.

Whenever the reader or listener encounters a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the definitions of the separate words involved, it means it is an idiom.

Phraseology is a scholarly approach to language which developed in the twentieth century. In linguistics, phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units (collectively referred to as phrasemes), in which the component parts of the expression take on a specific or different meaning which is otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently.

There are multiple principles of classification of idioms based on their manifold nature.

Charles Bally defines four groups of word-combinations on the basis of the semantic principle: free phrases which are not stable; usual phrases - word-combinations consisting of more or less free connection of their components; phraseological combinations - are word-groups, in which the two concepts blend together; phraseological unities in which the words lose their meaning as separate speech units and express one concept.

Professor V. Vinogradov offers his own classification also based on the semantic principle. He defines three classes of phraseological units: phraseological combinations that consist of one component which used in its direct meaning while the other one is used figuratively; unities - word-groups characterized by a completely changed meaning, but the meaning of which can be deduced from the meanings of its constituent parts; fusions - word-groups with a completely changed meaning which cannot be understood from the meaning of its components.

N. Amosova's approach is based on the context principle according to which phraseological units are subdivided into phrasemes and idioms.

Professor A. Smirnitsky differentiates two main types of word groups which he classifies as proper phraseological units with non-figurative meaning and idioms as unities with transferred meanings. They can be one-summit, two-summit and multisummit depending on the number of meaningful constituents.

Professor A. Kunin offers the following classification of phraseological units based on the structural principle: nominative (substantive, adjectival, adverbial and prepositional), nominative-communicative (verbal word groups), interjectional, and communicative (proverbs and sayings).

In contemporary western researches linguists define two main approaches to classification of phraseological units: thematic (based on their original content according to their sources of origin) or etimological. Following this principle, phraseological units are divided into native and borrowed.

Phraseological units can be also classified according to the character of the tropes on which they are based: metaphors, hyperboles, metonymies, similes.

In corpus linguistics, which is the study of language as expressed in samples of «real world» text, the notion colligation is nowadays usually used as a particular kind of phraseologism, in which one or more words are combined within a grammatical pattern.

In relation to the norm of the literary language, two types of idioms are distinguished: usual idioms (characterized by stable structure and semantics and registered in dictionaries) and occasional idioms (which undergo structural and semantic changes, are created and modified by the author and they have specific expressive colouring).

New types of texts have appeared in literature known as creolized texts, complex semiotic texts, non-traditional texts, video-verbal texts, linguo-visual texts, iconic texts, cinema-texts or typographically complex texts, graphic texts. They consist of verbal and non-verbal components, the latter being often represented by cartoons and comics.

While used in cartoons and comics, idioms are a powerful tool which not only improve the graphic presentation of a picture, but also create various associations depending on the artist's and the reader's knowledge of the etymology of a certain idiom as well as their personal experience and particular emotions in relation to a certain idiom.

Taking into account the manifold nature and structure of idioms, the conclusion might be drawn that idioms present a never-ending source of creativity both in the field of art as well as in the realm of literature, especially while used in cartoons and comics. The latter are fine examples of creolized texts which are modern text forms reflecting the influence of computerization, science and technology as well as varied modes of typographic organization of modern texts.



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