English phraseological units of Latin and French origin: somatic constructions

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ENGLISH PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS OF LATIN AND FRENCH ORIGIN: SOMATIC CONSTRUCTIONS

Bihunov D.O., Bihunova S.A.

Annotation

somatic phraseological latin french

The article deals with the inner form of the somatic constructions in English phraseological units of Latin and French origin.

Any natural language is always a mixture of the native language, and the borrowed ones. The process of borrowing, while being completely natural, still, complicates the structure of any language it influences. The English language is not in any way an exception. Throughout the history it has been influenced by its neighbours, especially - of the Romanic ones. And the same can be said about English phraseological stock. Studying phraseological units, influenced by Latin or French languages, is of great importance as it helps understanding the wealth of a language, which expresses the peculiarities of national culture.

The authors singled out English phraseological units with somatic constructions. The attention was focused on phraseological units with the components "belly", "ear / ears", "eye / eyes", "face", "finger", "foot", "hand", "head", "heart", "nose" and "tongue" as the most numerous ones. Then the attempt of the etymological investigation and the analysis of the inner form of the phraseological units of Latin and French origin with somatic constructions were made.

It was found out that not only metaphorical transfers but also metonymic ones are productive in English phraseological stock. The coincidence of the figurative, thematic and semantic orientation of the native and borrowed phraseological units is determined mainly by the universal nature of perception of the physiological parts of the body, mental activity, gestures, facial expressions et c.

Keywords: native phraseological units, borrowed phraseological units, somatic constructions, Latin origin, French origin.

Анотація

АНГЛІЙСЬКІ ФРАЗЕОЛОГІЗМИ ЛАТИНСЬКОГО ТА ФРАНЦУЗЬКОГО ПОХОДЖЕННЯ: СОМАТИЧНІ КОНСТРУКЦІЇ

Бігунов Д. О., Бігунова С. А.

Статтю присвячено англійським фразеологічним одиницям латинського та французького походження із соматичними конструкціями.

Практично будь-яка природна мова в сучасному світі за своєю суттю завжди є сумішшю рідної мови та запозичених мов. Процес запозичення, хоча і є абсолютно природним, водночас ускладнює структуру тієї мови, на яку він впливає. Англійська мова жодною мірою не є винятком із зазначеного правила. Протягом усієї своєї історії вона зазнавала впливу з боку своїх сусідів, особливо з романських мов. Те саме можна було б сказати й щодо англійського фразеологічного фонду. Дослідження фразеологічних одиниць латинського та французького походження є досить важливим, оскільки допомагає зрозуміти багатство мови, яка виражає особливості національної культури.

Автори здійснили вибірку англійських фразеологічних одиниць із соматичними конструкціями. Особливу увагу приділено фразеологізмам із компонентами "живіт", "вухо", "око", "обличчя", "палець", "нога", "рука", "голова", "серце", "ніс" та "язик" як найбільш уживаним. Наступним етапом дослідження була спроба розглянути етимологічні джерела та аналіз внутрішньої форми фразеологічних одиниць латинського та французького походження із соматичними конструкціями.

Автори роблять висновок про те, що в англійському фразеологічному фонді не лише метафоричні переходи є продуктивними, але й метонімічні. Збіг образної, тематикосемантичної спрямованості власних та запозичених фразеологічних одиниць визначається переважно універсальним характером сприйняття фізіологічних частин тіла, розумової діяльності, жестів, міміки та інших понять.

Ключові слова: власні фразеологічні одиниці, запозичені фразеологічні одиниці, соматичні конструкції, латинське походження, французьке походження.

Introduction

When we talk about any language, we should always keep in mind one simple concept. Any natural language is always a mixture of the native language, and the borrowed ones. The process of borrowing, while being completely natural, still, complicates the structure of any language it influences. It creates numerous new exceptions in grammar, morphology, phonetics, stylistics and all the other domains of the language. Sometimes, it even creates new rules.

The English language is not in any way an exception. Throughout the history it has been as influenced by its neighbours, especially - of the Romanic ancestry. And the same can be said about English phraseological stock. It goes without saying that studying phraseological units, influenced by Latin or French, is of great importance as it helps understanding the wealth of a language, which expresses the peculiarities of national culture. To some extent they are described by Branyon R. A., Brewer E. C., Stone J. R., Vaan de M. [2; 3; 10; 11] and other scientists, but we would like to add our piece of contribution to the topic. Therefore, various dictionaries [1; 3; 4; 5; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11] and reference literature [2; 6; 12] have been thoroughly examined to achieve this goal.

Thus, the subject matter of the given article is the inner form of the somatic constructions in English phraseological units of Latin and French origin.

The main tasks of the research are: to single out English phraseological units with somatic constructions; to make the etymological investigation of the borrowed phraseological units of Latin and French origin with somatic constructions; to analyze the inner form of the somatic constructions in English phraseological units of Latin and French origin.

Presenting the main research material

Somatic constructions, i.e. phraseological units which in their structure have a word denoting a part of human body (eye, head, tongue et c.), are considered to be one of the most frequently set types of phraseological units in English. One of their most significant features is the existence of multiple analogues in different languages, analogues which are very close in their figurative meanings. It is this peculiarity that astonishingly differs body phraseological units from other thematic groups of phraseological units and which, to some extent, offers them a status of terms.

The congruence of their figurative meaning in different languages is not explained only by their direct borrowing. It is known that names of the body parts represent the most archaic and, at the same time, the most constant lexical layer, which is tightly connected both to the general functional and sensual aspects of human being existence and to individual peculiarities of different language groups.

Phraseological units with the component ''bellя'

In the phraseological stock of the English language only a few phraseological units with the component "belly" have been found. Among borrowed ones the following should be mentioned:

The belly has no ears (Lat. Venter non habet aures) or hungry bellies have no ears (Lat. Venter famelicus auriculus caret; Fr. Ventre affamй n'a point d'oreilles, La Fontaine) - when a person is hungry, he / she won't listen to any ideas or advice as they can only think about their empty stomach.

Among native phraseological units the most wide-spread are: fire in the (one's) belly (nat., R. L. Stevenson) - a lot of decisiveness and eagerness for doing something. The origin of this idiom is not known but there are some versions. For example, a version with heartburn and a version with strong alcohol seem rather interesting. A person who is suffering from heartburn or a person who is drinking spirits fell something similar to the fire in their bellies. And, if speaking about an ambitious person, they say that he or she has something “burning” inside that makes this person achieve his/her goal, so a metaphoric transfer is quite possible in this case;

to go belly up (belly-up) (nat., inf.) - 1) to break down; 2) to become bankrupt. It's an allusion to a dead animal or a fish that being in the water float with their bellies upwards;

one's eyes are bigger than one's belly (nat.) - a wish to get or achieve something exceeds somebody's possibilities. It can be assumed that this phrase got its figurative meaning from an ordinary domestic situation when someone had taken more food than they could eat.

Phraseological units with the component "ear / ears"

Apart from phraseological unit The belly has no ears (Lat. Venter non habet aures) which is mentioned above, only one phrase with the component “ear / ears” has been found:

The walls have ears (Lat. Parietes habent aures; Fr. Les murs ont des Oreilles) - advice to the person to speak not so loud if he / she doesn't want to be heard by other people. According to Cicero, Dionysius (the ruler of Syracuse) had a large ear-shaped room under his palace. With the help of this Dionysius' Ear, he could hear all the conversations in his palace. Cf. Fields have eyes, and the woods have ears.

Phraseological units with the component "eye / eyes"

Eyes are the most important sense organ of a person because with the help of eyes (the organ of vision), a person sees. In the phraseological image of borrowed and native phraseological units, the metonymic transfer "eyes - eyesight” is presented:

jump / leap to the eyes (Fr. Sauter aux yeux) - something becomes evident during watching or reading;

keep one's / both eye /eyes open (nat.) - to watch carefully; to observe;

see with half an eye (nat.) - to understand from the first glance;

believe / trust your eyes not your ears (Lat. Oculis magis quam auribus credimus / Oculis magis habenda fides quam auribus) - people should believe something only if they have seen it themselves and they shouldn't pay attention to any words as there are no proofs that these words are true.

Moreover, the same metonymic transfer can be found in proverbs, for example:

Keep your mouth shut and eyes open (Lat. Claude os, aperi oculos) - if a person is silent, i.e. keeps their mouth shut, they won't give away any information but will hear more. And if a person keeps the eyes open it means that he or she will be more attentive than usual and in this case will notice more.

Four eyes see more than two (Lat. Plus vident oculi quam oculus) - two people will definitely notice more than one person.

At the same time the associative complex of the component " eye / eyes" is associated with the knowledge that a person closes eyes during his or her sleep:

sleep with one's eye open (Fr. Dormer les yeux ouverts) - sleep light.

Besides, the ancestors were fully convinced that eyes also played other important roles in people's lives, for example, eyes helped to understand the person:

the eyes are the mirror / window of the soul (Fr. Les yeux sont le miroir de l'вme) - looking into somebody's eyes it is possible to find out his or her true character, emotions and feelings. Cicero is said to have used the phrase Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi which means The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter. This phrase gave birth to the proverbs Vultus est index animi with its English phraseological calque The face is the index of the mind and Oculus animi index which got its phraseological calque The eye is the index of the mind.

Moreover, an eye could obtain some magic power. Evil creatures' gaze could jinx, disarm, kill and what not. The inner form of phraseological unit the head of Medusa (Lat. caput Medusae; Fr. la tкte de Mйduse) - news, event, etc. that petrifies the receiver - associates with the myth about Medusa, one of the Gorgon sisters. She was punished by Athena and was turned into a terrifying monster with snakes instead of hair and a stare which petrified any person who looked into her eyes. Besides, because of this myth some more metaphors appear: Medusa (Lat. Medusae; Fr. Mйduse) / Gorgon (Lat. Gorgus) - a disgusting, hideous, frightening woman and to gorgonize - to turn into stone with a fearful gaze. Despite the fact that the component “eye / eyes” is not presented in the inner form of the indicated phraseological unit, its meaning contains the idea of watching that is why this phrase is placed in this thematic group.

Phraseological units with the component "face"

Until recently the inner world of an individual was of great interest to the psychiatrists, philosophers, poets, but, at the same time, of little interest to linguists. However, lately the situation has been changing and interest in the words, which denote emotions, is continuously growing both theoretically and lexicographically.

Native and borrowed phraseological units serve as examples of metonymy “face

- an expression of feelings or emotions”: contempt, joy, sadness, anger, etc.

The face is the index of the heart / mind / soul (Lat. Vultus est index animi) - all person's emotions can be understood by their facial expressions;

(to have / to make / to pull / to wear) a long face (nat.) - a serious, sad or unhappy look

to make face against (to) (Fr. faire face а)

- to deal with something, to confront;

to put on a brave / bold face (nat.) - to try to remain brave, happy, calm etc. when face a misfortune or a dangerous situation.

Phraseological units with the component "finger"

In English phraseological stock there are native and borrowed phraseological units with the component "finger" that present the complex of associations "a finger - a necessary and very familiar part of the body":

can / could count on one's / the fingers (of one hand) (nat.) - to be able to count something with ease because the amount is very small;

snap one's fingers at smb./ smth. (Lat. Concrepo digitis, Cicero) - to demonstrate the absence of respect for someone or something, esp. by making a sharp sound with one's fingers;

to have a finger in every pie / many pies. (Lat. Esse rei particeps; Fr. Mettro la main а la pвte) - to deal with a lot of things, to interfere in everything. This idiom probably appeared as a result of noticing people's behaviour in the kitchen. As it was full of tasty dishes, the people couldn't fight temptation and had to taste them. But of course they did not want to be noticed by cooks, so they used their fingers to stick them into dishes quietly and then to lick them tasting the food.

(finished) to the fingernail (Lat. Ad unguem or Lapis ad unguem coaequantus) - done ideally or perfectly. The origin of the idiom comes back to the ancient times, when sculptors having finished their work, checked it with their fingertips to find any surface roughness.

To put one's finger / hand between the bark, and the tree (Fr. Entre l'arbre et l'йcorce il ne faut pas mettre le doigt) - to interfere into affairs which the person should have stayed out and because of this spoil them. This phraseological unit is another example of human's knowledge about surrounding world. People, obviously, noticed that some things, e.g. the bark of the tree and its wood, should be inseparable otherwise these things would be damaged, i.e. the tree would die.

His fingers are all thumbs (Fr. Ce sont les deux doigts de la main.) - is used to describe someone who has done something awkwardly with their hands. Presumably, it appeared as a hint that the person had done something so clumsily that it was easy to imagine that he or she had thumbs instead of all fingers.

(at one's) fingers' ends / fingertips AE (Lat. Scire tanquam ungues digitosque suos) - to know something perfectly well (used both for knowledge and ability to cope with a task). The origin of this phrase was, probably, caused by knowledge that nothing could be known better than somebody's own fingers.

Phraseological units with the component "foot"

Component 'foot was only found in a few native and borrowed phraseological units:

show the cloven foot / hoof (nat.) - to expose evil intentions, an awful character etc. in spite of the attempts to hide them. Its roots may lie in the beliefs that Satan has cloven feet;

from head to heel (Lat. A capite ad calcem); from head to foot / from top to toe (Lat. Ab unguibus usque ad verticem); from feet to head (Lat. A pedibus usque ad caput) - somebody's whole body; completely;

to carry / to sweep somebody off his feet (nat.) - to make such a great impression on someone that he or she falls in love with that person. This metaphor means that having seen somebody, he or she is almost knocked down by unexpected emotions which were caused by that person.

Phraseological units with the component "hand"

The hand is of particular importance for a person and plays a very significant role in all labour operations. In English phraseological stock borrowed

phraseological units with a metaphormetonymic transfer "hand - a mode of actiori' are fixed:

with a short hand (Lat. Brevi manu) - immediately, at once;

with a heavy hand (nat.) - with too much force, too strictly;

(to have) an open hand (Lat. Plena manu) - generously;

from hand to hand (Lat. Per manus) - to give something directly to someone;

with a sparing hand (nat.) - very careful and economical;

(to live) from hand to mouth (Fr. vivre au jour le jour) - to live very poorly;

Many hands make light work (Lat. Multae manus onus levius faciunt) - a lot of helpers can cope with work easier and quicker.

Some expressions with a metaphormetonymic transfer "hand - struggle" are noticed:

with armed hand (Lat. Per manьs; Fr. а main armйe) - with the help of arms;

to fight hand to hand (Lat. Ad manum (in manьs) venire / Proelium in manibus facere) - struggle in which people fight so closely to each other that they use their hands and knives.

A few phraseological units with a metaphor-metonymic transfer “hand - power" are found:

to have long hands, presumably, is a variant of the proverb Kings have long hands (Lat. An nescis longas regibus esse manus, Ovid) - to be powerful people;

One hand washes another / the other (Lat. manus manum lavat, Seneca) - two people help each other to reach one goal;

to have / to hold in the palm of one's hand (Lat. In alicujus manьs (manum) venire (inddкre)) - to have something or somebody under one's complete control or influence.

Phraseological units with the component "head"

The phraseological stock of the English language contains native and borrowed phraseological units with the key component “head", in the image structure of which the metonymy "head - mind (mental abilities) " is presented:

to get / to take it into one's head (Fr. Se mettre ach dans la tкte) - to make someone or oneself understand something. To some extend this expression is similar to the proverb "Put it into your pipe and smoke it" (nat., spoken) - the person has to accept something done or said in any case;

to give / to let somebody his head (nat.) - to let someone make his own decisions. Presumably it is based on riding a horse when a person lets it go as fast as it wants without controlling.

to have one's head in the clouds / to be up in the clouds ( Lat. Caput inter nubile (condit), Virgil) - to think impractically, to be absent-minded or to be a daydreamer. Its roots may lie in the attitude to a person with strange or fantastic ideas. In ancient times people believed that clouds were impossible to reach and, when someone started telling something not quite ordinary,they were advised to take their head out of the clouds (i.e., something which was too far from their usual life) and to get to the ground. Sometimes this phrase is used about a person who has too high an opinion of themself.

Lack of wisdom is represented in Beard grows, head doesn't grow wiser (Lat. Barba crescit caput nescit, Erasmus).

When a person cannot decide what variant of two to choose, the idiom neither head nor tail (Lat. nec caput nec pedes, Cicero) is used. It comes from a habit of some people while being in confusion to toss the coin into the air choosing earlier one of its sides - heads or tails.

to break Priscan's head (Lat. diminuere Priscianis caput) - to violate grammar rules (Priscian was a famous Latin grammarian).

Two heads in one hat / under the same hat (Fr. deux tкtes sous le mкme bonnet) - two people have the same opinion or way of thinking. The origin is unclear.

The complex structure of the image also includes a metonymy "head - person" (a person is named after a part of the body): to fling /to throw oneself at somebody's head (Fr. Se jeter а la tкte de quelqu'un) - to make great efforts to interest a possible admirer.

To be over head and ears / to be head over ears [in live, in debt, etc.] (Fr. Avoir des dettes pardessus la tкte) - completely, fully. The synonymous idioms are from head to heel ( Lat. a capite ad calcem) and from feet to head (Lat. A pedibus usque ad caput). These phraseological phrases could originate as an allusion to a person in water.

To put one's head in the lion's / wolf's mouth (Lat. liberatus sum de ore leonis/ lupus) - to place oneself in a great danger, sometimes without any necessity;

Phraseological units with the component "heart" Phraseological units with the component "heart" activate in the mind the idea of a heart as a receptacle of feelings and emotions:

to make one's heart bleed (nat., Chauser) - to feel great pity for somebody; in our time it can be used ironically, emphasizing that from the speaker's point of view the person doesn't deserve any sympathy;

a heart of oak (Lat. et perdet robur cordis illius) - a very brave and courage person;

with open heart (Fr. а cњur ouvert) - frankly, sincere;

open-hearted (Fr. Avec le cњur sur la main) - a frank, sincere person;

faint-hearted (nat., Shakespeare "Henry VI') - a person with a lack of courage;

at the bottom of one's / the heart / the chest (Lat. ab imo pectore, Julius Caesar) - with great feeling, candidly. To some extent it is similar to Shakespeare's phrase from “Hamlet”: in my heart of hearts - very deep inside;

with a light heart / light-hearted (Fr. а cњur ouvert) - carefree, glad, happy.

with a heavy heart (Fr. Avoir le cњur lourd) - to be very sad;

(to have) a heart of gold (Fr. un cњur ouvert d'or) - to be very kind and generous;

to open one's heart to somebody (Fr. ouvrir son cњur а qn) - to talk frankly about feelings, problems, etc.

heart (speaks) to heart (Lat. Cor ad cor loquitur, Augustine) - when two people talk frankly about their feelings;

to do somebody's heart good (nat.) - to please someone, to make someone happier;

to eat one's heart out (nat.) - to feel great sorrow or to be very jealous;

to wear one's heart on / upon a sleeve (nat., Shakespeare ''Othello") - to show frankly and openly one's own feelings.

The examples demonstrate that the heart can "have" both positive and negative feelings and emotions. The cognitive structures of borrowed and native phraseological units are almost the same.

Phraseological units with the component "nose"

Several phraseological units with the component "nose" are presented in English phraseological stock. The most widely used are:

to bite / snap one's nose / head off (nat.) - to answer very angrily, almost

rudely and without any reason;

to cut off one's nose to spite one's face (Lat. male ulciscitur dedecus sibi illatum, qui amputat nasum sum; Fr. Se couper le nez pour faire dйpit а son visage) - trying to punish someone, a person harms himself / herself;

of wiped nose (Lat. emunctae naris, Horace) - of matured judgment. The origin is uncertain but it is possible that ancient Romans noticed that the sense of smell was getting worse when they had colds and running noses. Buying food, they could easily be cheated being given some stale or smelly products. But when the nose was wiped or blown, everything changed and at that moment that person had an advantage of those dishonest sellers and it would be difficult to fool him or her again. In such a way, thanks to his wiped nose the buyer could make a right decision. Cf. The buyer has need of hundred eyes, the seller of but one.

to lead smb. by the nose/ to be led by the nose (Lat. naribus trahere; Fr. mener qn par le bout du nez) - to control somebody (or be controlled by someone) completely. This is a metaphorical transfer from the cattle that had to go there where the owner led it because of ropes in the rings through their noses.

Not to see an inch beyond one's nose (Fr. Ne pas voir plus loin que le bout de son nez) - to think only about oneself and one's own nearest events without paying attention to other people's affairs or something what will happen in future.

Phraseological units with the component "tongue"

People pronounce sounds and words using their active and passive organs of speech among which the tongue plays a rather important role. That is why it is often identified with the speech. The metonymic transfer "tongue - speech" is reproduced both in native and borrowed phraseological units:

a slip of the tongue (Lat. Lapsus linguae) - when someone said something that he or she wasn't intending to, a mistake which is made because of tiredness, anxiety, etc.;

to have a thing on the tip of somebody's tongue (Lat. in labris natat) - when a person is sure that he / she knows something (e.g., a name, an address, etc.) but cannot recollect;

to have the tongue well hung (Fr. Avoir la langue bien pendue) - never be at a loss of words, to be always ready to answer or say something;

to wag the tongue (nat.) - is said about a person who likes to chat or gossip;

to hold one's tongue (Lat. favete linguis, Horace, Ovid; Lat. Clavus in lingua, Aeschylus) - keep silent. It is quite possible that this idiom led to the proverb - A still tongue makes a wise head.

to speak with / to have one's tongue in one's cheek (nat.) - to speak insincere or to joke;

(to have) an ox on the tongue (Lat. bos in lingua, Aeschylus) - to have a reason for silence, usually because of hush money. This idiom alluded to the oldest Greek coins of certain value with an ox stamped on them.

Conclusions

In English phraseological stock not only metaphorical transfers are productive but also metonymic ones, e.g. "eyes - eyesight”, "head - mind (mental abilities)”, 'tongue - speech", etc. The coincidence of the figurative, thematic and semantic orientation of the native and borrowed phraseological units is determined mainly by the universal nature of the perception of the physiological parts of the body, mental activity, gestures, facial expressions and so on. In the group of somatic phraseological units, the universality of metonymic transfers is noted. At the level of inner form, the semantically key component belongs to the basic level of categories. Only somatic lexical units, which are known to a wide range of people, are involved in the formation of phraseological units. Everything that is hidden, not known to an average person, or has a highly specialized character (e.g., ball-and-socket joint, large bowel, etc.) is not used in creating of phraseological units.

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