Classification of phraseological units by a.V. Koonin

A detailed functional and semantic classification primarily meant to meet the demands of lexicography is developed by Prof. A.V. Koonin in his monograph "Курс фразеологии современного английского языка" and in the "Introduction" to "Англо-русский фразеологический словарь". М, 1984.

Phraseological units are divided by A.V. Koonin into 3 groups:

l) Phraseological units proper or idioms, which are completely or partially non-motivated (idiomatic) (to kick the bucket, red tape, to kill two birds with one stone, more dead than alive; proverbs: birds of a feather flock together, sayings: all one's geese are swans);

2) idiophraseomatic units have both literal and figurative meanings. Literal meanings are usually found in terminology or professionalisms (chain reaction: 1) physical term — цепная реакция; a word combination with a metaphoric meaning — ряд последовательных событий;

3) phraseomatic units have either literal meanings or phraseomatically bound" meanings (e.g. cliches-: again and again, to win a victory, safe and sound; at the best, at the most, to pay attention (the verb "to pay" has a phraseomatically bound meaning (обращать).

Phraseological units of all the groups are characterized by stability (lexical and semantic).

The origin of phraseological units

It is assumed that almost all phraseological units can be traced back to free word-groups which the course of the historical development of the English language have acquired semantic and grammatical inseparability.

The following reasons may account for the loss of motivation of free word-groups:

1. When one of the components of a word-group becomes archaic or obsolete, the whole word-group may become completely or partially non- motivated. For example, lack of motivation in the word-groups "kith and kin" (friends and relations"), "to and fro" may be accounted for by the fact that the words "kith" and "fro" dropped out of the language altogether.

b) When some of the meanings of a polysemantic word disappear and can be found only in certain collocations. The noun "mind" once had the meaning "intention", which survives in the phraseological unit "to change one's mind".

c) When a free word-group used in professional speech penetrates into general literary usage, it is often felt as non-motivated. E.g., "to pull-(the) strings" was originally used as a free word-group in its direct meaning by actors in puppet shows. In Modem English it has lost all connection with puppet shows and, therefore, cannot be described as metaphorically motivated.

d) When a word-group making up part of a proverb or saying begins to be used as a self-contained unit, it may gradually become non-motivated if its connection with the corresponding proverb or saying is not clearly perceived. "A new broom", e.g., 'originates as a component of the saying "new brooms sweep clean". "New broom" as a phraseological unit may be viewed as non-motivated because the meaning of the whole is not deducible from the meanings of the components.

e) When part of a quotation from literary sources, mythology or the Bible begins to be used as a self-contained unit, it may also lose all connection with the original context and, as a result of this, become non-motivated. The phraseological unit "the green-eyed monster" (jealousy) can be easily found as a part of the quotation from Shakespeare's: "It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on". (Othello; II). "Achilles' heel" — "the weak spot in a man's circumstances or character" can be traced back to mythology.