The specificity of axiological component in the English somatic phraseological units

Matveeva Natalia PhD in Philology Docent, the department of Germanic Languages, Sterlitamak branch of Bashkir State University 453100, Russia, respublika Bashkortostan, g. Sterlitamak, pr.Lenina, 49, aud. 220 n.v.matveeva@strbsu.ru

Mukhina Nataliya Borisovna PhD in Philology Docent, the department of Germanic Languages, Sterlitamak branch of Bashkir State University 453100, Russia, respublika Bashkortostan, g. Sterlitamak, ul. Pr.lenina, 49, aud. 220 n.b.mukhina@strbsu.ru

The aim of the undertaken research is to identify the specifics of the expression of the axiological component by means of phraseological units with a somatic component.

V.V. Vinogradov defines phraseology (gr. phrasis – expression + logos – teaching) as a science of complex linguistic units with a stable character ^[5]. To date, a number of classifications of phraseological units have been developed according to various criteria. One of the most complete classifications is developed by V.V. Vinogradov, who, based on the allocation of the lexical meaning of a word, identifies 4 types of phraseological units: phraseological merges (idioms that have lost the motivation of meaning); phraseological unities (idioms that have retained a transparent internal form); phraseological combinations, i.e. stable turns, the meaning of which is motivated by the semantics of their constituent components, one of which has a phraseologically related meaning; phraseological expressions are combinations of words with an incomprehensible, but constant composition and meaning ^[6].

Linguistics of the turn of the XX—XXI centuries is characterized by a tendency to consider linguistic units, including phraseological units and proverbs with sayings, within the framework of cultural knowledge, while special attention of researchers is attracted by the ethno-cultural and phraseological potential of components that have been filled with symbolic meaning fixed in the linguistic consciousness during many years of functioning.  Stable expressions with somatic components are of considerable research interest, since they store the accumulated objective experience ^{[7, p.43]}. The formulation of the problem of conceptualization of the somatic image of a person in language implies the need to revise the criteria for the allocation of somatic vocabulary, which, in turn, is associated with clarifying the understanding of the term "somatism".According to a broad interpretation, somatisms, somatic (from the Greek soma (somatos)– body) are means of designating phenomena related to the sphere of corporeality. In a narrower sense, somatism is any significant feature, position or movement of a person's face and entire body, that is, a term covering all forms of one of the nonverbal languages – somatic language, including gestures, facial expressions, facial expressions and various symptoms of mental states ^[4].The steady interest of modern linguistics in the human factor in language is manifested, in particular, in the appeal to the study of somatic units that reflect in their semantics everything that relates to the sphere of corporeality ^{[2, p. 221]}.Somatic phraseology is formed by phraseological units, one of the components of which is the name of a part of the human or animal body. According to A. Blum, somatic phraseological units represent a huge group in modern English ^[3]. The names of body parts are among the most frequently involved words in the formation of phraseological units ^{[11, p. 113]}.

The organs of the human body can be classified in different ways and divided into groups according to different characteristics: for example, there are organs that receive information from the outside - these are eyes, ears, nose. The stomach, shoulders and legs do not participate in this. The language is the body responsible for the transmission of information, so the language is referred to when talking about its receipt from the speaker.

Evaluation is an intellectual and mental act of human consciousness activity. Z.K. Temirgazina, who studies evaluativeness, notes that evaluation, in addition to linguistic forms of expression, also has nonverbal ways of expression: facial expressions, gestures, sounds (clacking, smacking, etc.) It should be noted that being transformed into a semantic category and becoming a fact of language, evaluation has the opposite effect influence on a person's thinking, because, as you know, language, dissecting, structuring the surrounding reality, forms a conceptual picture of the world for him ^[13].

The variety of classifications of evaluative knowledge is determined by the possibility of choosing a feature that can be used as classified criteria. For further work, we choose the division into positive and negative ratings.

The evaluative predicate has two main meanings – "good" and "bad". At first glance, it seems that the sign "good" or "bad" is always present in the composition of the evaluative word as its semantic component. A feature of evaluation in natural language is the asymmetry between the positive and negative zones "good/ bad". Although in logical evaluation theories the positive/negative parts of the evaluation scale necessarily assume each other, in natural language the symmetry "+/–" is only a special case. First of all, the ratio of the main general evaluation pair "good/bad" is not symmetrical. Thus, a rating of "good" can mean both compliance with the norm and exceeding it, while a rating of "bad" always means deviation from the norm ^{[14, p. 33]}.

Assessments of the "+" zone are more often focused on the subject's attitude to the event, and the "–" zone prefers an indication of the properties and actions of the object, even if fictional. Accordingly, the methods of negative evaluation are more diverse in the semantic plan proper ^{[10, p. 78]}.

To determine the attribution of somatic phraseological units to a group with a positive or negative assessment in its composition in terms of determining the pragmatic "I" of the essence of a person, we consider it possible to propose a solution to the following tasks:

1. Identify phraseological units with a somatic component in explanatory English-English dictionaries. The phraseological dictionaries of D.I. Kveselevich, A.V. Kunin, V.V. Sytel, Macmillan Publishers English Dictionary, R.A. Spears are the basis for this study.

2. Group phraseological units according to the leading somatic component.

3. Classify each group according to the well-known teaching of V.V. Vinogradov, based on the allocation of the lexical meaning of the word, into "phraseological unities, combinations, coalitions and expressions" ^[6]. Phraseological splices, i.e. stable combinations, the meaning of which is derived from the whole expression as a whole (someone's hand in marriage, stick one's neck out). In phraseological units, the generalized-integral meaning is partly related to the semantics of components that are used in a figurative meaning (close your ears to something, put your neck on the line). Phraseological expressions are combinations of words with a constant composition and meaning (to be head over ears in love with someone, a clear/cool head). Phraseological combinations, i.e. stable turns, the meaning of which is motivated by the semantics of the constituent components (to make a poor mouth, give an ear).

4. Classify somatic phraseological units according to the criterion of expressing positive and negative evaluation in the conditions of objectification of the "I" of a person on the basis of a connotative feature as part of their lexical meaning.

Positive and negative assessments in phraseology are manifested through the "I" of a person. According to Yu.D. Apresyan's classification, various hypostases of a person are distinguished, namely: I am physical (physical capabilities and human states), I am intellectual (intellectual abilities and states), I am emotional (positive and negative emotional actions), I am social (business and professional qualities, social status, publicity), I am a speech-thinking (speech communication) ^{[1, pp.35-37]}.

The intellectual self, according to the classification of Yu.D. Apresyan, is contained in somatic phraseological units expressing: 1. intellectual abilities and states; 2. lack of intelligence, stupidity ^{[1, p. 39]}. The intellectual self is expressed in phraseological units, expressions, splices, combinations with somatic components: neck, head, shoulder, hand, eye, fist, tooth, ear, heart. Below are examples of the analysis of phraseological units.

The study found the following phraseological expressions (group 1): a clear/cool head, go at it/fight tooth and nail, see eye to eye (with someone), under someone's eye, have eyes in the back of yours, in someone's eyes, open your eyes to something, (straight) from the heart.

The phraseological expression a clear/cool head – the ability to think quickly and calmly in a difficult situation ^{[8, p. 174]} conveys a positive assessment by means of the lexical meaning of the adjective quick – at a fast speed contained in its composition ^{[15, p. 1156]}.

Phraseological splices (group 2): make a (good) fist of something, pull the wool over someone's eyes, close/dear/near to someone's heart, a man/woman after your own heart, not have the heart to do something, splice make a (good) fist of something.

 The phraseological fusion of make a (good) fist of something with the meaning to be successful in your attempt to do something ^{[16, p. 235]} expresses a positive assessment. The main connotative meaning is the adjective successful – achieving the result that you want ^{[15, p. 1434]}.

Phraseological combinations (group 3): keep your hand in, run/cast your eye(s) over something.

The phraseological combination keep your hand in expresses a positive assessment. This somatic phraseology means to practice something so that you are still able to do it well ^{[12, p. 82]}, the adverb well – in a skilful or effective way conveys a positive assessment ^{[15, p. 1626]}.

Phraseological units (group 4): put your neck on the line, get/build/work up a head of steam, keep your head above water, stand/turn something on its head, have a good head on your shoulders, hit the nail on the head, get your head round something, snap (bite) a person's head (nose) off, need your head examined, on hand, get/lay your hands on something, wash one's hands of, have nothing/cotton wool between the ears, it leaps to the eye(s), have an eye for/to the main chance, to be all eyes, close/shut your eyes to something, an eye for an eye , have a heart of gold, have a kind/good/big heart, someone's heart is in the right place, with all your heart (and soul).

Consider the phraseological unity of keep your head above water with the meaning to manage to live or keep a business working even though you are not earning much money ^{[8, p. 190]}. The positive meaning lies in the verb to manage – to succeed in doing something, especially something that needs a lot of effort or skill ^{[15, p. 868]}.

The phraseological unity stand/turn something on its head is used to express a positive assessment. This somatic phraseology has the meaning to make someone think in a completely new way about something ^{[8, p. 346]}.            

Table 1. Expression of positive and negative ratings in the I-intellectual (on the example of V.V. Vinogradov's classification)

As a result of the allocation of the intellectual Self, it became possible to separate somaticisms with a positive rating - 73% and a negative rating – 27%. Thus, the volume of phraseological units when expressing a positive assessment is 48%, expressions – 30%, splices – 7%, combinations – 15%. The volume of phraseological units when expressing a negative assessment is 90%, expressions – 10%. 

I-speech is expressed in phraseological units, expressions, coalitions, combinations with somatic components: neck, mouth, ear(s), heart.

The phraseological expression talk to someone's ear with the meaning to talk to and bore someone [Kunin 1999: 180] conveys a negative assessment. At the same time, the negative connotative aspect finds its expression in the meaning of the verb to bore – to make someone feel impatient or dissatisfied, especially by talking to them about things that are not very interesting ^{[15, p. 151]}.        

The phraseological fusion of stick one's neck out expresses a negative assessment. This somatism is interpreted to adopt an attitude that invites trouble or unfavorable comment; to invite trouble unnecessarily ^{[9, p. 250]}, trouble – to make someone worry ^{[15, p. 382]}.

Phraseological units: open your mouth, put one's foot in one's mouth, big mouth bang/knock/hit, (someone's) heads together, all ears, have someone's ear, close your ears to something, in someone's heart (of hearts).

The phraseological combination give an ear to someone is used to convey a positive assessment. This somatic phraseology is interpreted to listen to someone ^[9]. A positive assessment is contained in the meaning of the verb to listen – to pay attention to what someone tells you and do what they suggest ^{[15, p. 834]}.

The phraseological unity put one's foot in one's mouth is used to express a negative assessment conveyed by the meaning to say something stupid or hurtful ^{[12, p. 95]}, while the key connotative meaning contains the word stupid – used for talking about something you think is silly or annoying ^{[15, p. 1428]}. big mouth – used as a criticism of someone when they say things they should not ^{[12, p. 30]} contains a negative assessment.

Table 2. Expression of "positive" and "negative" ratings in I-speech

(on the example of V.V. Vinogradov's classification)

In the I-speech–thinking, we distinguish somatisms with a positive assessment, the volume of which is 46%, the number of phraseological units with a negative assessment is 54%. The volume of phraseological combinations when expressing a positive assessment is 20%, splices -80%. The volume of phraseological splices when expressing a negative assessment is 66%, expressions – 17%, unities – 17%. 

Fig.4. The volume of English somatisms with positive and negative evaluation in the I-speech thinking	Fig.5. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a positive assessment in the I-speech-thinking (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)	Fig.6. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a negative assessment in the I-speech-thinking (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)

The emotional self is expressed in phraseological units, expressions, splices, combinations with somatic components: h ear, eye(s), nail(s), leg(s), eyelid(s), ear(s), thumb(s), hand(s), head, shoulder(s), finger(s), mouth

Phraseological expressions: put/stick two fingers up at someone, be head over ears in love with someone, not to know if one is standing on one's head or one's heels, touched in the head, take (have, keep) oneself in hand, take someone in hand, lift (raise) a hand against someone, without batting an eyelid, not to bat an eyelid, pull someone's leg, to make fun, have a heart, do someone's heart good, be in good heart, have one's heart in one's mouth, have one's heart in the boots or his heart sank (sank into his boots).

The phraseological expression put/stick two fingers up at someone – 1. to express anger at someone in a very rude way; 2. to do something rude as a way of showing you do not care what someone thinks ^{[9, p. 182]} conveys a negative assessment, which is contained in the connotative aspect of the meaning of the words anger and rude, which mean respectively to make someone feel angry and not polite ^{[15, p. 46]}.           

Phraseological splices: a shoulder to cry on, put something out of your head, someone's hand in marriage, have your heart set on (doing) something or set your heart on something, bless his/her heart something.

The phraseological fusion of a shoulder to cry on expresses a positive assessment. The proposed somatism means someone who listens to you with sympathy when you talk about your problems ^{[12, p. 10]}. The main connotative meaning is the word sympathy – a natural feeling of kindness and understanding that you have for someone who is experiencing something very unpleasant ^{[15, p. 1456]}.

Phraseological combinations: fingers or keep your fingers crossed, burn your fingers or get your fingers burnt, bite one's nail, look/watch over someone's shoulder, laugh/shout/scream your head off, talk someone's (one's) head off, trouble one's head about someone or something, to twiddle one's thumbs, cry one's eyes out, sob/cry your heart out.

The phraseological combination bite one's nail is used to express a negative assessment. This somatism means – to be nervous or anxious ^{[9, p. 89]}. The main negative connotative meaning is stored in the adjectives nervous and anxious, meaning nervous – feeling excited and worried, or slightly afraid; anxious – worried because you think something bad might happen ^{[15, p. 950]}. The phraseological combination bite one's nail is used to express a negative assessment. This somatism means – to be nervous or anxious ^{[9, p. 89]}. The main negative connotative meaning is stored in the adjectives nervous and anxious, meaning nervous – feeling excited and worried, or slightly afraid; anxious – worried because you think something bad might happen ^{[15, p. 950]}.   

Phraseological units:  down in the mouth, keep your head down, be head over heels in love, keep ones head, come/bring something to a head, be off your head, toloseone'shead, get the glad hand, hand in glove (with), have rocks in one’s hand, hat in hand, grin/smile from ear to ear,   bringahornets' nestaboutone'sears, the apple of someone's eye, only have eyes for someone, have your eye on something, look someone in the eye/eyes,  the way to someone's heart, warm/gladden someone's heart, touch someone's heart, take heart (from something), someone's heart swells with happiness/pride, someone's heart goes out to someone, win/capture/steal someone's heart, warm the cockles of someone’s heart, from the bottom of my heart, lose your heart (to someone), someone's heart sinks, someone's heart leaps/jumps/quickens, someone's heart pounds/beats/thumps, take something to heart, break someone's heart, someone's heart aches, with a heavy heart, (with) your heart in your mouth, it breaks someone's heart, eat one’s heart out

  The phraseological unity of down in the mouth with the meaning of unhappy ^{[12, p. 50]} expresses a negative assessment.                 

  Table 3. Expression of positive and negative ratings in the I-emotional

(on the example of V.V. Vinogradov's classification)

The volume of somaticisms that characterizes the emotional Self with a positive assessment is 58%, negative - 42%. The volume of phraseological units that express a positive assessment is 48%, phraseological expressions – 26%, splices -13%, combinations – 13%. The volume of phraseological splices expressing a negative assessment is 14%, expressions – 18%, unity – 68%. 

Fig.13. The volume of English somatisms with positive and negative evaluation in the I-emotional	Fig.14. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a negative assessment in the I-emotional (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)	Fig.15. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a negative assessment in the I-emotional (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)

The I-social is expressed in phraseological units, expressions, splices, combinations with somatic components: eye (s), nail(s), tooth

(teeth), back, ear(s), thumb(s), hand(s), head, shoulder(s), finger(s), mouth, neck, arm(s).

Phraseological expressions: have a finger in every pie, all/rest on someone's shoulders, be/get in over your head, in over one's head, hands up, turn your hand to something, hands will roll, have someone/something on your hands, twist someone's arm, turn one’s back on someone or something, the tail wagging the dog, my lips are sealed, show your teeth.

The phraseological expression have a finger in every pie is used to convey a negative assessment. This phraseology is interpreted to be involved in a lot of different things ^{[8, p. 300]}, to be involved – affected by or included in an activity, event, or situation ^{[15, p. 758]}.

The phraseological expression be/get in over your head, meaning to be or become involved in a situation in which you do not have the necessary skills, knowledge, or money to succeed ^{[12, p. 80]} contains a negative assessment due to the use of an expression with a negative connotation to be involved – affected by or included in an activity, event, or situation ^{[15, p. 758]}.

Phraseological splices: save someone's neck, one in the eye for someone.

The phraseological fusion of one in the eye for someone – something that spoils someone's plans ^{[15, p.1285]} conveys a negative assessment by using the verb to spoil – to affect something in a way that makes it worse, less attractive, or less enjoyable ^{[15, p. 1555]}.

Phraseological combinations make a poor mouth, hand over fist, have one's hand in the till, get someone out of a jam, button/zip your lip, pay lip service to something, under someone's thumb, wear/have your heart on your sleeve.

The phraseological combination have one's hand in the till with the meaning to be stealing from a company or an organization ^{[12, p. 103]} contains a negative assessment in the meaning of the verb to steal – to take something that belongs to someone else without permission ^{[15, p. 1402]}.

Phraseological units: give someone a head start, do someone's head in, like banging/hitting your head against a brick wall, heads will roll, have time on your hands, give somebody a free hand, put one’s hand to the plow, live from hand to mouth, get one’s hands dirty (soil one’s hand, be on someone's tail,  play something by ear, see something with half an eye, with your eyes shut/closed, with your eyes (wide) open, in the eye of the storm.

The phraseological unity live from hand to mouth – to live in poor circumstances ^{[9, p. 176]} conveys a negative assessment contained in the lexical meaning of the adjective poor – having little money and few possessions ^{[15, p. 1093]}.

Table 4. Expression of positive and negative ratings in the I-social

(on the example of V.V. Vinogradov's classification)

The volume of positive assessment in the I-social is 44% of somaticisms, negative – 56%. Among them, we distinguish phraseological units, the volume of which is 27%, expressions – 45%, splices – 23%, combinations – 5%. When expressing a positive assessment, the volume of phraseological units is 35%, combinations – 6%, splices – 24%, expressions – 35%. 

Fig.7. The volume of English somatisms with positive and negative evaluation in the I-social	Fig.8. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a positive assessment in the I-social (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)	Fig.9. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a negative assessment in the I-social (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)

The physical self is expressed in phraseological units, expressions, splices, combinations with somatic components: heart, eye (s), lip(s), tooth(teeth), leg(s), ear(s), thumb(s), hand(s), head, shoulder(s), mouth, neck, heel.

Phraseological expressions: by a neck, at hand, (it's) as easy as kiss your hand (my thumb), in hand, have a lot of work on one's hands, have a lot of work on one's hands, have only one pair of hand, have one's hands full, take to one's heel, with your tail between your legs, reach someone's ears, in front of someone's (very) eyes or before someone's eyes, (off) by heart.

The phraseological expression by a neck expresses a positive assessment. Real somatism means a competition that is won by a neck is won by a very small distance ^{[16, p. 10]}, to win – to defeat everyone else by being the best or by finishing first in a competition^{[15, p. 1643]}. The phraseological expression at hand conveys a positive assessment. This somatism is interpreted quite close to you and easy to reach ^{[16, p. 45]}, the adjective easy – not to difficult to do, or not needing much work gives a positive meaning to the expression ^{[15, p. 439]}.

Phraseological combinations:snap/click your fingers, be all fingers and thumbs, up to your neck in something, raise your thumb or put your thumb up, grit one's teeth.

The phraseological combination snap/click your fingers conveys a positive assessment, meaning to make a sound by rubbing one of your fingers quickly against your thumb, usually in order to attract someone's attention^{[8, p. 400]}. At the same time, the positive connotative aspect of the meaning is reflected in the meaning of the word to attract – to make someone interested in something so that they do it or come to see or hear it ^{[15, p. 76]}. The phraseological fusion of be all fingers and thumbs with the meaning to be unable to do a small difficult job because you cannot control your fingers well enough ^{[8, p. 78]} contains a negative assessment, expressed in the composition to be un able – used for saying that it isn't possible for someone^{[15, p. 78]}.1555].

Phraseological combinations:give someone the finger, look over your shoulder, winhandsdown, take/get your hands off, keep your hands off, (tobe) onitslastlegs,  turn tail, to run away from a dangerous situation, read/watch my lips.

The phraseological combination take/get your hands off – to stop touching someone or something to hand ^{[9, p. 261]} conveys a positive assessment contained in the lexical meaning of the verb to stop – to prevent someone from doing something or prevent something from happening ^{[15, p. 1412]}. The phraseological combination keep your hands off is used to express a positive assessment. This somatic phraseology means not to touch someone or something ^{[12, p. 83]} A positive assessment is contained in the combination not to touch – not to put your hand or part of your body on someone or something ^{[15, p. 1520]}.

Phraseological units: make someone's mouth water, have your head (screwed) on right, be out of your head, try one's hand (at), get your teeth into something, keep one's weather eye open, can't take your eyes off, someone will break a few hearts.

 The phraseological unity of have your head (screwed) on right expresses a positive assessment. This somatism is interpreted to be able to make sensible decisions ^{[9, p. 125]}. The main positive meaning lies in the expression be able to do something – used for saying that it is possible for someone to do something ^{[15, p. 2]}.

The phraseological unity of be out of your head with the meaning to be unable to think clearly, especially because of having taken drugs^{[16, p. 80]}, gives a negative meaning to the phraseology to be unable to do something – used for saying.

Table 5. Expression of positive and negative ratings in I-physical

(on the example of V.V. Vinogradov's classification)

The volume of somatisms with a positive assessment in the I-physical is 58% and with a negative assessment – 42%. In the I-physical, when expressing a positive assessment, the volume of phraseological expressions is 42%, merges – 26%, combinations – 11%, unities – 21%. In the I-physical, when expressing a negative assessment, the volume of phraseological expressions is 29%, merges – 21%, combinations – 29%, unities – 21%. 

Fig.10. The volume of English somatisms with positive and negative evaluation in the I-physical	Fig.11. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a positive assessment in the I-physical (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)	Fig.12. The volume of English somatic phraseological units with a negative assessment in the I-physical (based on the classification of V.V. Vinogradov)

  In the course of the work done, it turned out that a negative assessment prevails over a positive assessment in phraseological units with a somatic component in their composition. At the same time, different parts of the body have different evaluative attraction: a positive assessment prevails or is not inferior to a negative one in phrases in which the somatic component designates the most important organ of the body (arm, leg, head, eye, ear) and has the greatest phrasal productivity; on the contrary, a negative assessment increases in units with the component that appears to the linguistic consciousness as "less important" (nose, neck, elbow, finger, etc.) and therefore has less phrasal productivity. The most indicative in this respect is the phraseosemantic structure of somatism "nose", in which there is practically no positive connotation. Interestingly, in the first places in phraseological activity are words denoting the hand, eyes, head. It is unlikely that this circumstance can be explained by intra-linguistic reasons. The named components correspond most directly to the sensory (eye) and logical (head)the steps of knowledge, as well as the measure of its truthfulness, practice (hand).These components of phraseological units belong in their independent use to the high-frequency zone of the lexical composition, to its most ancient, primordial and socially significant part. As a rule, these are polysemous words, the individual figurative meanings of which are more or less noticeable in the phraseological meanings of individual phraseological units. However, their main, primary, direct meanings undoubtedly play a decisive role. The most frequently used somatism in the language is hand. Next in frequency are head, eye, foot, nose, finger, heart. The remaining somatic phraseological units (leg, arm, ear, tooth, shoulder, neck, tongue) are related to less commonly used somatic units in the language.