CC BY
37UDC 811.111:81'373.72 DOI: 10.17223/24109266/12/6
VARIABILITY OF VERBAL-SUBSTANTIVE PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS WITH THE COMPONENT "HAVE" AS A FEATURE OF IDENTITY
T.N. Fedulenkova
Abstract. Variability of a linguistic sign is a most urgent issue in modern linguistic. It has been observed that one of the most productive ways to updating the phraseological fund of the language is development of variavbility in phraseological units (PUs). The point is that the problem is mainly relevant to modern English. That relevance is explained by the fact that the updating of the English language at the expense of lexical-morphological means is limited by the analytical system of this language, which in its turn, is caused by the narrowing of the nomenclature of morphological indices of a word, characteristic of English. Therefore, the paper deals with the research of variability in the English verbal phraseological units containing the component have. The author explores the verbal phraseological units with the component have which have grammatical structure of a two-component combination of words (V + N) and represent one of numerous groups in the field of modern English verbal phraseology. The selection of phraseological units containing the verb have as the object of the research may be explained by the fact that this verb is one of the most frequent verbs of the static semantics in modern English around which a significant amount of fixed collocations and phraseological units has been created. The selection of the language material for the research was made out of the three reliable explanatory phraseological dictionaries: 1) the bilingual "English-Russian phraseological dictionary" by Alexander V. Kunin, 2) the monolingual explanatory dictionary of phrasal verbs by R. Courtney 'Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs', 3) the monolingual explanatory dictionary of idioms by A.P. Cowie, R. Mackin and I.R. McCaig 'Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. Vol. 2: Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms', 4) the monolingual explanatory dictionary of idioms by Richard A. Spears 'McGraw-Hill's American Idioms Dictionary'. The theoretical basis of the research is the phraseological concept initiated by Alexander V. Kunin. During the research the author appeals to a number of methods, the method of the phraseological identification of PUs, the method of the structural, componential and variability analysis of phraseology, the method of the quantitative analysis and the method of the phraseological description inclusive. As a result of the research, a set of main types of variants in the analyzed phraseological units come to light: pure variants, i.e. verbal variants of PUs, mixed variants, i.e. substantive-quantitative variants, adjectival-quantitative variants, and a number of verbal-quantitative variants of phraseological units. He author comes to the conclusion that both simple, and complex variability of component structure of the studied phraseology has no noticeable impact on the meaning of a phraseological unit, keeping up its identity. Keywords: English; phraseology; phraseological units; structure; component; variability.
Introduction
The relevance of studies in the field of phraseological variability is not subject to doubt. Why will variability in language always draw attention of the researcher? It is because the variant is, first of all, a development tool of language, and in particular such language as modern English. Due to the features of its historical development, modern English is very limited in lexical replenishment of its fund by means of increment of morphological flections, as this language actually has approached the change of its system, and from an inflectional language is turning into an agglutinative one, which was noticed and convincingly proved by Professor Vladimir D. Arakin - the outstanding typologist of our time - in the late seventies of XX century [1; 2: 3-38].
As a result of such trend in the language development, in need of the name for a new phenomena or objects phraseological units (PUs) - that are steady combinations of words with a complete or partial transference of meaning [3: 210] - are used.
Being the center of the communicative utterance [4; 5: 119], the verb creates around itself a large cluster of steady collocations and phraseological units. Verbs of primordially German origin become a kernel of such clusters: have, give, keep, stand, lie, come, go, make, swim, etc.
Thus the relevance of a research of phraseology with the component have - which collected around itself about five hundred phraseological units [6] and numerous collocations recorded in modern monolingual idiomatic dictionaries [7-9] - is quite obvious.
Research objective
The work pursues the aim of identification of different variants in the field of phraseological units of modern English which incorporate the structurally and functionally leading component have.
Research object
As the object of this research four hundred and forty five phraseological units (PU) of modern English which incorporate the verbal component have - that is considered to be a structurally and, respectively, functionally leading component of phraseological unit - were chosen. For the structural analysis, the selection of language material was made from the point of view of the method of phraseological identification [10: 48] from the most authoritative phraseological and idiomatic dictionaries, namely:
a) from the bilingual dictionary by Alexander V. Kunin 'The English-Russian phraseological dictionary' which fourth edition was published in Moscow in 1998,
b) from the monolingual dictionary of verbal phrases and collocations by Rosemary Courtenay 'Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs' that was published in Scotland in Longman publishing house in 1984,
c) from the explanatory dictionary of idioms by Anthony Paul Cowie, Ronald Mackin and I.R. McCaig 'Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. Vol. 2: Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms', that was published by Oxford University Press in 2000,
d) from the explanatory dictionary of idioms by Richard A. Spears 'McGraw-Hill's American Idioms Dictionary', that was published by McGraw Hill in New York in 2007.
The author appealed to a number of other modern defining dictionaries of idioms and phrasal verbs as to an additional source of information, and to British National Corpus and to The iWeb Corpus as the most reliable sources of exemplifying contexts.
The attention of researchers to the chosen phraseological units is explained by the fact that the leading component have reveals considerable phraseological and phraseomatic activity in modern English.
Scientific basis of the research
The phraseological concept of Professor Alexander V. Kunin, the founder of the English phraseology as a scientific discipline, molded the scientific basis of a research. At a solution of the problem of variability of phraseological units, we accept, as a starting point, after Alexander V. Kunin, functional ties between the parts of the language unit, that is integrity of a phraseological unit as a system unit. In his dissertation the author allocates the following types of phraseological variants: lexical, morphological, syntactic, positional and quantitative ones. Doing the research, first of all, in the field of lexical variability of stable phrases, we appeal to the definition by A.V. Kunin who tackles lexical variants as 'the kinds of phraseological unit, identical in quality and quantity of meaning, being of partially various lexical structure' [11: 444]. In the process of identification of other types of phraseological variability we take into consideration the quantity and order of the PU components and their morphological paradigms.
Research methods
During the research a number of method of phraseological analysis were applied. For the purpose of extraction of phraseological units out of a lexicological and phraseological continuum of language we make use of the method of phraseological identification initiated by Alexander V. Kunin, the founder of the English phraseology as a science. With the view of determination the quantitative structure of the studied phraseological units, methods of
the componential and quantitative analysis were used. We apply the method of the variational analysis to identify variants and define their qualitative characteristics. For the purpose of illustration of variants of the same phraseological unit we resort to a method of contextual analysis [12: 2]. As a supporting method of the research, the method of dictionary definitions was used.
Analysis of variability of phraseological units of modern English with the component have
Analyzing the selected language material, we pay attention to that fact that verbal-substantive phraseological units may have one or - which is a more often occasion - several variants which are not breaking their identity at that. Non-variable phraseological units of this structural organization (V + N) are represented in modern English by the very few units which are as follows: have kittens - to get extremely upset [13: 223]; have an accident - to lose control of the bowels or the bladder [Ibid.: 217]; have a stroke - to experience sudden unconsciousness or paralysis due to an interruption in the blood supply to the brain [Ibid.: 216]; have a heart - to be compassionate; to be generous and forgiving [Ibid.: 214]; Have a blimp! - Sl. Have a good year (a reference to the Goodyear blimp, which is famous for being at notable events) [Ibid.: 212]; have a cow - to become angry, excited or agitated (North American informal) [14: 77].
Simple variants
To simple variants we refer only verbal variants presented by the only phraseological unit of the analyzed field to have the floor in which only one component of its structure - a verb - is exposed to variability: have / hold/ get / take, that is this phraseological unit functions in modern English in the form of four verbal variants: to have the floor / to hold the floor / to get the floor / to take the floor. All of those variants have identical significative meaning and at the same time each set expression has an original shade dictated by a concrete denotat. Thus, the phraseological unit to have the floor means '[to have] the exclusive right to address the audience' [13: 153], the phraseological unit to hold the floor means 'to speak in a public meeting, etc. for a long time, often stop others from speaking' [15: 120], the phraseological unit to get the floor means 'to receive official permission to address the audience' [16: 125], the phraseological unit to take the floor means 'to speak in a debate or assembly' [17: 133]. Cf. contextual illustrations:
a) ...Brenda's turn beginning line 5 is constructed similarly to her turn in (6), with a Creole stretch in mid-turn. In one major respect it is different, though: her two pauses of 0.6 seconds (lines 11 and 13) are interpreted as sig-
nals that other speakers may now have the floor. Brenda is in competition with another speaker (most of whose words are inaudible) from then right up to the point where she winds up with her Creole... (London Jamaican. Sebba, Mark. Harlow: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1993, pp. 1-137. 1792 s-units // BNC).
b) One of Boswell's invaluable moments occurs here. From time to time in the Life, he describes Johnson's voice as manly, or deep, or sonorous, or loud. Others have chosen to describe not so much the sound, as the use - to harangue, to interrupt, to hold the floor, to declaim. Johnson, as he did at Montrose, also employed much silence, and many who had come to one social occasion or another expecting to hear the grand disquisitioner, found him disappointingly reticent and withdrawn, even if making little antic noises to himself (A walk to the Western Isles. Delaney, F. London: HarperCollins, 1993, 1518 s-units // BNC).
c) ...first of all... I'll say it in order and then you can come up (pause) Jean ...from South Wales, come on Jean! (pause) Then Russell ...from East Wales (pause) then Henry ...for North Wales (pause) then (pause) (unclear) ...from West Wales (pause) and Becky ... from Mid-Wales. (pause) Can you remember your names? Your, yo- ... (laugh) Okay? (pause) Right! (pause) It's going to be ... Jean, you've got the floor for ten minutes! (19 convs rec. by 'Margaret' (PS002) between 13 and 16 Mar 1992 with 9 i's, 2594 utts, and 6 hrs 28 mins 0 secs of recs. // BNC).
d) Timetable for hearing... Objectors to the pylons have the chance to question the National Grid Company when cross-examination begins next week. Because of the Bank Holiday, the hearing resumes at 2pm instead of 10am on Tuesday, when local authorities' barristers take the floor. Their questions are due to go on throughout Wednesday with other objecting organisations and individuals starting their cross-examination on Thursday ([Northern Echo]. World affairs material, 11901 s-units // BNC).
The comparative analysis of the contexts a), b), c) and d) proves that variability of the PU verbal component have / hold / get / take does not break the identity of the phraseological unit with its umbrella meaning of the opportunity to speak before the audience.
As for the substantive and adjectival variants - described below - they appear only in combination with quantitative changes of the componential structure of phraseological units belonging to the studied field.
Substantive-quantitative variants
Substantive-quantitative variants are presented by the following set of PUs in which the substantive component is exposed to variation (a bite / a snack) and also the quantitative structure of the phraseological unit is varied through its expansion by a variable component with a preposition - of something: have a bite / have a snack / have a bite of something - [to take] of a small amount of food that you eat between meals [18: 1353], cf.:
a) Coffin had a desk full of work. But he could not take his eyes off the photograph in front of him. There was something about it that tugged for attention. 'Could it be... not exactly unofficial, but will you have to bring another officer with you?' 'I can come on my own.' Coffin kept his voice noncommittal. 'I couldn't pass over anything you told me, though.' 'Of course not. Wouldn't want it. Come and have a bite with me. I'm not bad on grilling a steak.' (Coffin underground. Butler, Gwendoline. London: Fontana Press, 1991, pp. 54-215. 4154 s-units // BNC).
b) I'm on a diet but I find I'm so hungry all the time that I'm just miserable and can't concentrate on anything. <... > No one denies that it's difficult to diet, especially at the beginning. You're effectively cheating your body by reducing your calorie intake and your body sends out different responses because it's confused. Many people who have trouble with diets are used to eating lots of snacks during the day. It's better to eat more at meal times. If you must have a snack, keep to fruit or a stick of celery. But do bear in mind, too, that hunger isn't always what it seems. Sometimes it's just force of habit - the <...> syndrome. Or it can be your mood - many people eat when they're feeling tense or depressed (Woman. 2456 s-units // BNC).
c) The two men then left the office to lunch, as arranged, with the attorney-general. On the way out they ran into North coming in.' He said Where are you guys going, have I missed it, or something like that, and we said... we were going out and have a bite of lunch.' At the Old Ebbitt Grill, on K Street east of the White House, the attorney general was waiting (Lives, lies and the Iran-Contra affair. Wroe, Ann. London: I B Tauris & Company Ltd, 1991, pp. ??. 1682 s-units // BNC).
d) In the dark living room, with the heavy velvet curtains and the long burgundy sofa near the picture window, she entertains ladies, tea things on the coffee table. The ladies sit and drone on and on. I wander by, back and forth, out in the hall, wanting them to stop talking. This time my mother is pouring tea. This time she is exclaiming about the cleverness of another woman's child. I interrupt my pacing to check on Wilhemina or to have a quick snack of frozen hot dog in the kitchen, but, always, my soul is bent on watching her. # When the guests have gone, I sit at my mother's feet in the shadow left by the ladies, claiming her. # There are two things in my mother's life that reliably make her happy: Gracie, our labrador, and Maria, our housekeeper. Gracie, she says, waggles with joy whenever she comes in the door, no matter what... (Rowing to Leiden. Taber, Sara Mansfield. # 2002, Vol. 87 Issue 2/3, p396, 10 p. FIC: Southwest Review // COCA).
In the context d) appears also the occasional [19: 234] adjectival variant quick which is still not recorded in phraseological dictionaries as a standard variable form of the phraseological unit under study. The phraseological variant have a quick snack is not registered in BNC. It appears only in COCA.
Nevertheless all the substantive-quantitative variants have a bite/ have a snack/ have a bite of something - as it is seen from the contexts - are considered to retain their nominal phraseological identity.
Adjectival-quantitative variants
Adjectival-quantitative variants are presented by the following set of phraseological units in which the quantitative variability - due to expansion of the componential structure of the phraseological unit by means of the adjectival component good, varying, in its turn with strong - is observed: have a case /have a good (strong) case - to prove that one is right [20: 145], to be right in something, to have the truth on one's side, to have weighty arguments, for example:
a) Most newspapers devoted pages to the subject. But they did not want to offend the public; and, most important, they had billed the march as a civil-rights story. Journalists tended to march with the gays in spirit, believing that they had a case and were an important constituency (as they are) for the Democratic Party. (The Economist. 3317 s-units // BNC).
b) His more difficult task is to persuade the Premier League to honour a Football League agreement to pay the union 10 per cent of television earnings. The PFA have a good case. Although the Premier League's television income will probably be much greater than the old League's has been, the union also will be obliged to meet increased demand, by players from the lower divisions, for re-training, pensions, insurance and other welfare benefits, following the break-up of the Football League. Mr Taylor must ensure a sceptical public understand that it is to obtain these securities for their less fortunate brethren that the highly-paid Premier League players have been asked to express a willingness to strike. ([Daily Telegraph, elect. edn. of 19920406]. Leisure material, pp. ??. 1784 s-units // BNC).
c) Dave Escott bought his flat, leasehold, 5 years ago. He was paying thirty pounds a month ground rent into a management fund, but he's since discovered the money wasn't getting through to his former landlord, Titcombe Developments in Marlborough. Now the freehold's been sold to a Salisbury firm called Sarum Heritage Limited, and the new landlord's told him to pay 1500 pounds by the end of this month or risk losing his home. Legal experts believe the residents have a strong case. Neither Titcombe Developments nor Sarum Heritage was prepared to comment. Legal action is already under way. Meanwhile, more than half way through her pregnancy, Suzanne Jones can't make plans for the future. Dave Escott bought at the height of the boom, and any back rent will only add to his negative equity. ([Central television news scripts]. 3990 s-units // BNC).
The contexts supporting the phraseological set have a case/ have a good (strong) case reveal the identical meaning of the adjectival-quantitative
variants under study that might be summarized as 'to have the truth on one's side', or 'to be sure of one's own correctness', which testifies to the PU identity as a language sign.
Verbal-quantitative variants (1)
Verbal-quantitative variants (1), in which, along with verbal variability of have/ get/ take, the quantitative expansion of PU componential structure at something emphasizes orientation of attempt on commission of any action: have/ get/ take a crack (at something/ at doing something) - to try to do something although you are not certain that you will succeed [21: 83], to try something, to try the hand, to risk, to venture (to make something), cf.:
a) Prince Edward has been chancing his arm at a new sport: Ten Pin Bowling. The Prince was visiting handicapped children being looked after by members of his father's award scheme. They invited him to have a go. <... > Deputy Head Voice over So who cares about royal dignity anyway... even if you do fail completely at your first attempt. Prince Edward was in Swindon to see Handicapped youngsters playing tenpin bowling and he had a crack himself. The second time was much better. He knocked over eight. But still not as good as some of the handicapped children he'd come to see. Perhaps they'd had a little more time. With a little more coaching he might get the knack. ([Central television news scripts]. 4044 s-units // BNC).
b) Labour's minority government of1974 lost 29 votes in June and July that year; yet did not hold the election until the following October.' It would need a change of culture compared with the last 13 years,' said one senior civil servant.' You'd have to signal in advance which issues you regarded as a matter of confidence - for instance, the Tories might have a crack at coal privatisation but might not want to go to the country on it if they failed.' The worst scenario of all is one in which no party feels confident of forming a government, leaving the Queen with no alternative but to grant a second dissolution ([Daily Telegraph, elect. edn. of 19920405]. World affairs material, pp. ??. 2235 s-units // BNC).
c) Ben Affleck is still going to star in and produce 'The Batman' but he is going to need to find a "partner in a director, " as he put it, to helm the project. Assuming Matt Reeves doesn't want to do another Planet of the Apes movie for Fox, his schedule is free and clear in terms of directing. So, if Warner Bros. can talk him into it, he could likely be the guy. It is most definitely an outside shot, but The LEGO Batman movie director Chris McKay recently expressed interest in directing a DCEU movie and even said that he was going to meet with Warner Bros. about it. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that he could maybe get a crack at a live-action Batman movie, with early indication being that he did a fine job with the Lego version. (https://movieweb.com/the-batman-director-shortlist-matt-reeves/ // The iWeb Corpus).
d) It's still one of the most memorable Marvel flicks to date, and now with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hitting cinemas in a matter of weeks, gaming's best storytellers get a crack at spinning their own tale with this misfit team of space heroes (https://www.stuff.tv/game-reviews/guardians-galaxy-telltale-series/review // The iWeb Corpus).
e) If he has one regret it is that government never saw fit to offer him another major job as challenging as his chairmanship of British Steel when he gave it up in 1976. He confides that he would have liked to have taken a crack at another big public objective. He was requested by Prime Minister James Callaghan to head a commission that looked into the future of the engineering profession in Britain, which kept him occupied for two and a half years. The resulting report, Engineering our Future brought about a minor revolution in the profession. But Finniston still harbours the belief that the wealth of experience he acquired during his ten years at British Steel could have been put to better service for the nation (Advice from the top. Oates, David and Ezra, Derek. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles Pubs plc, 1989, pp. ??. 2106 s-units // BNC).
As one can gather from the contexts, the triple variability of the PU verbal component have/ get/ take together with the PU quantitative increments at something and at doing something does not deprive the phraseological unit under analysis of its identity as an autonomous language sign, keeping up its nominative value.
Verbal-quantitative variants (2)
Verbal-quantitative variants (2), in which, alongside with verbal variability of have / get, quantitative expansion of the PU component structure into one's head details the location of idea concentration: have ideas/ get ideas / get the idea (into one's head) - to have false or dangerous ideas, hopes, etc., especially when they lack proof, get ideas into one's head - have expectations that are not likely to be realized; expect more than one is likely to get, compare:
a) A.R. Did you find it easy to take direction from someone whom you didn't know? J.F. Yes. Because that's where I realised that the drama school training helped a lot. When you're training you have ideas shoved at you continually and are expected to change quickly - which is a very good thing. A.R. Did your experience at drama school come as a great surprise to you? J.F. Well, it did really. I hadn't a clue what was expected. I hadn't done' drama' at school, thank God, so I was completely open coming straight from school. There were a lot ofpeople older than me with more experience of life (So you want to be an actor? Rendle, Adrian. London: A & C Black (Pubs) Ltd, 1991, pp. 5-107. 2404 s-units // BNC).
b) I think you're lucky to live there,' she said, admiring the palace.' It's such a wonderful position, and it must look quite spectacular from the canal.
I wish I could see the front properly. Is it very grand inside?'' Very. Grand enough to satisfy even you,' he said, mocking her eager, sparkling eyes.' Don't get ideas. The apartment is exquisite, but small.' He grinned at a secret joke.' It took a lot of work to turn it into exactly what I wanted.' He opened a small side-door and walked into a small side-hall (Mask of deception. Wood, Sara. Richmond, Surrey: Mills & Boon, 1993, pp. ??. 5063 s-units // BNC).
c) I'm all right. Here. Except for a broken neck, I'm fine... Get in bed. Well, then, sit down, at least. Sit down? Don't you suppose I would if I could? Go away! I... I... No, I won't. I won't. Oh, Jeff, you 're a hero. My hero. Imagine you riding the Cup Race for me. For you? You're insane. I did it because your boyfriend put me on the spot. Don't get the idea in your head... Oh, but you did! You got on again and again! That wasn't because of Lance. That was because 30,000 people were watching me. What else could I do when that animal kept coming back, crouching over me, dangling his reins and blowing hot steam in my face? Now beat it! No, I won't. I'm never going to get a single inch away from you again because you love me. Certainly, I love you... Oh (The Bride Wore Boots. <...> Year: 1946 / Genre: Comedy, Romance // The Movie Corpus).
The comparison of the contexts testifies to the fact that the identity of the phraseological unit as a language sign retains irrespective of the verbalquantitative variability of its componential structure.
Verbal-quantitative variants (3)
Verbal-quantitative variants (3), in which, along with the PU verbal variability of have / hold, quantitative expansion of PU component structure in one's hands concretizes the part with the advantage of a position, situation, etc.: have the cards /hold (all) the cards (in one's hands), cf.:
a) Bodie said, 'You haven't got a lot of option.' Stabbing a finger towards the note, which Bodie still held, Stone made a last desperate plea for a more individual assistance. 'That note. That's got to be some kind of a nutter. Ripping the cat. Smashing the dog's head in - I can't! I can't leave them like this!' With a touch of genuine sympathy in his voice, Ray Doyle walked over to him and said, 'Jack. You don't have the cards. We've got to take you in - now.' He reached for Stone's arm, but the man jerked away, panic growing, his pallid features quite flushed, now, with the sense of growing desperation that made him behave so urgently.' If I could find a few grand.' Looking from one to the other of them.' (The professionals: volume 15. Bulmer, Kenneth. Wallington, Surrey: Severn House, 1983, pp. 1-122. 3656 s-units // BNC).
b) Roger held the cards, you know; he had an established reputation and people have an enormous respect for established reputations, even if
they suspect that the holder of them isn't really much good (Snow C. P. Death under Sail. New York: Amazon, 1981. Available at https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/c-p-snow/death-under-sail.htm).
c) Well, I'll tell you, Jephson, it's a tough case and no mistake. It looks to me as though Mason has all the cards. If we can get this chap off, we can get anybody off (Th. Dreiser. An American Tragedy. Available at https://ebooks. adelaide .edu. au/d/ dreiser/theodore/american/).
d) Because now we have demands - just like them.' Chantal frowned, as uncomprehending as the Iranian. D'Arcy lit his cigar and aimed a lone stream of blue smoke at the ceiling. 'You see, from now on our demands are that your wife and child remain unharmed and are eventually released unharmed. That is our demand. Curiously enough - and tragic as it is - your negotiating position, Nader, is actually better than before the kidnap. Then they did hold all the cards. Nadirpur gradually began to grasp what the Englishman meant.'But that is hardly consolation!' (Sons of heaven. Strong, Terence. Sevenoaks, Kent: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1990, pp. 73-154. 3309 s-units // BNC).
e) They seem to have bullied him and made him er, make concessions, and the question that Freud and Bullett constantly ask is, why did Wilson make these concessions, especially since his position was already defined before he came to Europe, you know he already laid down the fourteen points, and sold it to the American people. And then he came to Europe and, and really, let it all go. And their answer of course is, look, here was erm, there's no political or historical reason, because Wilson had all the cards in his hand. (London School of Economics: lecture (Edu/inf). Rec. on 8 Nov 1991 with 2 partics, 98 utts // BNC).
f) Well, what else is there for me to do? You hold all the cards in your hands. (Dreiser Th. The Stoic. Available at https://royallib.com/book/ drayzer_teodor/stoik.html. Accessed 28.12.2018).
As far as the supporting contexts show, the PU verbal-quantitative variants in this case maintain the nominative identity of the phraseological units irrespective of the variability of its verbal component have/ hold and along with its quantitative variability which consists in enlargement of the number of PU components, such as all - in the contexts c), d), e) and f) - and in one's hands - in the contexts e) and f).
Verbal-quantitative variants (4)
Verbal-quantitative variants (4), in which, along with variability of the PU verbal component have / get, the quantitative variability is also observed, which is carried out by means of introduction of the adjectival component big into the structure of the phraseological unit, thus performing the function of an intensification of rejection of the other participant in communication: have the bird / get the (big) bird. Cf.:
a) Eddie had once been the top of the bill. And then one evening, he had got the bird... (Sinclair J. (Ed.-in-Chief) Collins Co builds Idioms Dictionary. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. 528 p. Available at: https://dic.academic.ru/book.nsf/63810979/Collins%20Cobuild%20Idioms% 20Dictionary).
b) He offered to give a talk on his travels in India, but he got the bird! (Gulland D.M., Hinds-Howell D.G. The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994. 305 p. Available at: https://www.twirpx.com/file/1119020/).
c) BNFL 's showpiece Sellafield Visitors Centre continues to attract record numbers with over 77,000 people having already passed through its doors so far this year. As well as the centre's fascinating nuclear power exhibition, a packed programme of special events has been arranged for visitors - which is how brave assistant information officer Diane Williams ended up getting the bird! Your BNFL News was on the spot to cover the latest exciting events, so to find out more turn to the centre pages.... (BNFL News. 468 s-units.).
d) # Get/Give the bird - receive or show derision. From theatrical slang; originally 'get the big bird', i. e. the goose, which hisses as people do when they make traditional sound of disapproval at a bad public performance. (Expressions & Sayings (G), http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/ gswithen-bank/sayingsg.htm // GloWbE).
Besides, in Longman Dictionary of English Idioms one more variant of the phraseological unit under study is found, which appears to be its lexical-grammatical variant having the structure of the Passive Voice, cf.:
e) ...the singer was so bad she was given the bird (Long H. (Ed.) Longman Dictionary of English Idioms. Harlow, London: Longman Group UK Limited, 1996. 389 p. Available at: http://linuxdoc.ru/howto/longman-dictionary-of-english-idioms/).
The fact of functioning the phraseological unit in the form of the Passive Voice expands the range of types of dependence of the PU components from constant-variable to transformational dependence of components, keeping up at the same time identity of the phraseological unit as a whole.
Verbal-quantitative variants (5)
Verbal-quantitative variants (5), in which, along with the PU variability of the verbal component have / get, quantitative variability is also observed, which is carried out by means of introduction of the prepositional phrase a fit of into the structure of the phraseological unit, performing the function of gradation of an emotional condition of the person: have / get the blues, have (fit of) blues - to become sad or depressed, compare:
a) Whatever the weather Cheltenham always looks good. The local nurseryman was finishing off as most started their day. Ten thousand flowers
and a hundred trees have grown overnight. The wintry weather rather spoiled the opening day's fashion parade. Too cold for frills and fancy dresses, more a time for furs. As race time approached, people poured in. The cars queued but the helicopters beat the jams. On budget day and in pouring rain, nobody had the blues, not even the bookies, as the favourites fell. The chance for a local winner came in the second race, the Arkle Challenge Trophy (Central News (03): TV news. 9 partics, 1103 utts // BNC).
b) ...first time the laughter was extinguished from the little face so like Jack's, and in its place was resignation and courage, and a wisdom far beyond his years.' I love that photo,' Jack said softly.' I've got an enlargement of it in the bedroom. It was the last photo I took of him. He died early the following morning.' On the facing page, out of sequence, was an earlier photo of Johnnie laughing, his head thrown back, radiating life and energy.' Whenever I get the blues, I look at this,' Jack murmured, his finger tracing the contours of his son's face.' It reminds me that although his death was tragic, his life was full of fun and laughter. We had so many good times. No one can ever take that away from us.' He sat quietly for a while, staring into space, and then abruptly shut the album and stood up (The spice of life. Anderson, Caroline. Richmond, Surrey: Mills & Boon, 1993, pp. ??. 4473 s-units // BNC).
c) 'But you've plenty of milk.' 'Yes. But they're giving me pills... to dry it up.' 'But what about his immunity? It's important to get it from the mother.' 'I'm sorry, Brian. I just can't. I can't face breast-feeding.' She did not go into details: that she found herself so physically revolted by the process that she had begun to retch, nor despite being warned that all new mothers had a fit of the blues after giving birth, she had been crying most of that day. She could sense the rising tension in the room, almost as oppressive as the scent of all the flowers. She could see Alison's roses and felt them to be a rebuke. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her husband staring down at the cot. Then he mumbled, 'Well, if that's the way you want it.' Defiantly she answered, 'I'm not a cow, Brian... (Guilty parties. Street, Pamela. London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1990, pp. ??. 2549 s-units // BNC).
d) Of course she was drinking on the sly, her and her precious friend... He was really feeling strange, curiously detached, but he struggled to hold on. His thoughts seemed to wander out of control... They were watching him. Concentrate on something! He looked at his wife's portrait which hung on the wall opposite where he sat. Gifford Tate had painted it a few weeks before she died. A fair painting; free in style but at the same time a good likeness. Gifford had gone overboard a bit in the blues though... For some reason this thought made Edwin chuckle to himself. Francis's owl-like countenance obtruded again. Francis was too fat, his face was podgy and he had a paunch. Soft! Too much food, too little exercise. Greedy from childhood... Hard to credit that he had once fathered a daughter - and a beautiful girl she had turned out to be - like her granny... Funny thing, heredity;.
(Wycliffe and the Windsor Blue. Burley, W J. London: Corgi Books, 1989, pp. 7-152. 3389 s-units // BNC).
On having compared the supporting contexts, one can see that the PU verbal-quantitative variants do not destroy the phraseological unit as a language sign; just the opposite is seen: the variability of the PU verbal component have / get being interfaced with quantitative variability - expanded as in had a fit of the blues and reduced as in a bit in the blues - serve to maintain the identity of the nominative function of the phraseological unit under study.
Verbal-quantitative variants (6)
Verbal-quantitative variants (6), in which, along with the PU variability of the verbal component have / carry, quantitative expansion of the PU component structure - at the expense of the variable component introduced by the preposition - with somebody / with something - points out to the vector of influence of the subject or object to the nominated action: have / carry weight (with somebody, something) - to be important, influential, convincing, effective, etc. Cf.:
a) . that within the sentence we can establish rules and constraints concerning what is and is not allowed, whereas beyond the sentence, such rules seem either to disintegrate or turn into rules of a different kind - social rules or psychological rules, which are not within the area of linguistic study at all. So linguists too tend to come up with grammatically correct, but somewhat peculiar examples: 'Sincerity may frighten the boy' (Chomsky 1965) and so on. All these arguments, from people involved in different ways in the study of language, have weight, and should not be ridiculed or dismissed out of hand, as has become rather fashionable in some language teaching circles. There are types of language use which demand the ability to formulate grammatical, correctly bounded sentences, and being able to exploit the formal sentence grammar is one of the most important elements in being able to communicate in a language (Discourse. Cook, G. Oxford: OUP, 1992, pp. 3-110. 2212 s-units // BNC).
b) ... and historic buildings so well 'protected' against decay and destruction of all kinds (although in many cases one might well ask whether there is not some confusion and contradiction between protection and son). Yet never has artistic creation itself whether painting, the cinema or literature (to my mind, architecture and perhaps photography are exceptions) been so impoverished, so derisory, so played out. But has that not always been the cry, you may say everything already written, heard or said; art dead, creative spirits extinct? This argument has weight, but is easily overturned. I challenge you to tell me who are the Picassos, the Matisses, the Faulkners, the Nabo-kovs, the Stravinskys, the Richard Strausses, the Pasolinis, the Kahns and the
Scarpas of our generation? Could it not be that today's mania for 'disseminating' and 'promoting' culture expressions which should be banned has actually caused the prevailing sterility? And is not this sterility particularly evident in France, a country formerly renowned for its creativity and which, since Mal-raux's... (The Art Newspaper. 2909 s-units // BNC).
The basic form of the phraseological unit under analysis is regularly attached in the context to the abstract noun 'argument' either in the singular or in the plural form. Here - the context a) and the context b) - we observe only the case of morphological variability of the PU verbal component have, which is considered to be of zero-level influence on the phraseological meaning of the analyzed set word combination. By the way, the iWeb Corpus exemplifies five instances of immediate combinability of argument has weight.
c) Mr. Maclennan. That has nothing to do with the matter under debate. I do not propose to get involved in what is clearly a diversionary tack. That is a Conservative tactic: when faced with a difficult question, they invariably try to divert attention by mentioning another issue. In the Bill, the Home Secretary has sought to divert the public's attention from the powerful recommendations in the Woolf report. He has failed to give a timetable for the implementation of those proposals, to set out a schedule which would carry weight and to tackle the problems at base. Instead, he has produced a little Bill which has no friends and which the House will not find <...>.That is why no one is going to vote against it tonight. <... >. As I explained to the normally silent Parliamentary Private Secretary, it is not appropriate to vote against a Bill of this sort at this stage ([Hansard extracts 1991-1992]. 20394 s-units // BNC).
d) The age of criminal responsibility is eight in Scotland, against ten in England. <...> Nigel Bruce's letter (Points of View, 16 February) has the heading, 'Religious education encrusted in myths and fantasies'. This sweeping and quite unsubstantiated assertion is but one man's opinion and has no more weight than another's, for example, my own which is completely contrary. However, neither Mr Bruce's opinion nor mine are relevant to the matter under discussion. In the last analysis the opinions on such matters which carry weight are those of the parents of the pupils concerned. The UN Declaration of Human Rights states: 'Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.' The European Charter is even more specific. I would remind Mr Bruce that in Scottish schools today the general bias is humanistic and it is the Christian parents who are being denied their rights ([Scotsman]. Leisure material, pp. ??. 6963 s-units // BNC).
As it is seen from the context c) and the context d), the PU verbal variant - carry weight - of the basic form of the phraseological unit under analysis - have weight - reveals its combinability with abstract and concrete nouns as well, among them the most frequent are the following ones: ability, opin-
ion, views, judgement, words, books, schedule (according to the contexts found in the iWeb Corpus). And the variability of the PU verbal component does not have any impact on the meaning of the original phraseological unit as it reflects the idea of importance, influence, conviction and effectiveness. Thus, the identity of the phraseological unit stands.
e) ... to discuss this application. I should be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this letter. <...> Your consultation paper on the role of Parish and Town Councils has been passed round Nether Wyresdale Parish Council for comments. I must apologise for the delay in responding. The only comment made was that a small parish such as Nether Wyresdale (less than 500 electors) could not contemplate taking on any additional direct responsibilities. It was also felt that the views of Parish Councillors should carry more weight with the Borough Council on local matters in particular planning applications. It is sometimes felt that the Borough Council, although they seek the views of local representatives, ignore these when coming to decisions on planning matters which will have a profound effect on local residents ([Misc unpublished - parish council letters]. u.p., n.d., pp. ??. 2033 s-units // BNC).
f) ... as it is easy to get a feeling of 'just me against all of them'. Good interviewers will try and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed but being outnumbered inevitably creates a certain tension. # Identify the most influential interviewer # In theory it is the chairperson, who sits in the middle, who is the most crucial member of the interview panel, but in practice one of the others may have the real power to make decisions or the personality to override the others. You should try and work out if any one person seems to carry more weight with the others and address your answers to that person whenever possible. Do not be fooled into thinking it is the noisiest or jokiest member of the panel. It is far more likely to be the person to whom the others seem to defer whenever there is any query or discussion. Panel interviews, if they are well run and well organized, can be particularly searching. For the candidate the same basic rules of selling yourself apply as for one-to-one interviews (How to interview and be interviewed. Brandreth, Gyles and Brown, Michele. London: Sheldon Press, 1992, pp. 9-123. 2073 s-units // BNC).
The analysis of the PU quantitative variability which causes the component expansion of the initial phraseological unit and results in the sequence of carry more weight with somebody, and which is illustrated here with the context e) and with the context f), makes it evident that the distribution limit of the PU also undergo a kind of expansion, including now not only abstract and non-animated concrete nouns but also nouns denoting people and their gatherings, groups, organizations, etc. As far as the idea of importance, influence, conviction and effectiveness retains, the identity of the phraseological unit is thought to be maintained.
g) Howev develop er, it is encouraging that the University's Guild of Graduates has been giving serious consideration to the future ment of higher education in the Principality, including advanced further education. A working party of the Guild produced a draft report in December 1981, based on research undertaken by Dr Roland Wynne, Deputy Director of the Open University in Wales, and entitled Higher Education in Wales into the 1990s. The report, which therefore predates WAB, will be presented to the University for its consideration and will carry considerable weight because its membership, which comprises a majority of university members together with representatives from public sector higher education, consists of men of influence (Further education today: a critical review. Roberts, I F and Cantor, Leonard M. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul plc, 1986, pp. 88-184. 1231 s-units // BNC).
h) In fact, the chapter on the universities concerns itself with uses of English well beyond the boundaries of the English school: English... is needed in every Faculty. It is the one subject which for an Englishman has the claim of universality. Without it he can not attain to full powers either of learning or of teaching in any. We should like it to be officially proclaimed by each university that in all its examinations the quality of the English written or spoken by candidates, especially its lucidity and its fitness to the subject, will carry great weight with examiners. But this is far from all. In fact the Report immediately makes clear the Committee's view that English involves far more than lucidity and fitness to a specific purpose, in that it is also potentially a powerful force for national cultural enrichment, and even international cultural ascendency: English is not merely an indispensable handmaid without whose assistance neither philosopher, nor chemist, nor classical scholar can do his work properly. It is one of the greatest subjects to which a university can call its students (English & Englishness. Doyle, Brian. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul plc, 1989, pp. 17-132. 1336 s-units // BNC).
i) Even if the two counties agree, this should be a matter for a call-in. Therefore, I am pleased to support this plea. The Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Tim Yeo) I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith), who is always an eloquent champion of his constituents' interests. He is also a noted expert on financial matters, and tonight he has given the House a clear explanation of complex proposals. I have no doubt that his opinion will carry great weight. We have also heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Sir A. Glyn), who has unparalleled knowledge of the history of the area and the occasions when floods have affected it ([Hansard extracts 1991-1992]. 14778 s-units // BNC).
The analysis of the contexts makes it clear that in the case under consideration the PU adjectival components either in positive or negative form -
g) considerable, h) great, i) great and d) no more, e) more, f) more - do not play the part of the PU quantitative variants. Actually, they are occasional insertions, which serve for specification of phraseological meanings, and for the gradation of influence of somebody or something on the subject or on the object in the process of communication.
On having compared the supporting contexts, one can draw the conclusion that the PU verbal variants have/ carry, on the one hand, and quantitative expansions of the PU component structure, on the other hand, do not at all destruct the analyzed phraseological unit. On the contrary, variability - performing the function of cream skimming the quintessence of the author's centrifugal force and of the reader's centripetal force - serves to keep up the identity of the phraseological unit as a language sign in its first and foremost denotative function.
Conclusions
The carried-out analysis of two-component verbal phraseology with the verb have functioning in modern English allows to draw the following conclusions:
1. As a result of the research simple and complex variants of phraseological units of the studied field come to light.
2. Simple variants come down to variability of a verbal component of phraseological units.
3. Complex variants of the studied phraseological units are presented by substantive-quantitative, adjectival-quantitative and verbal-quantitative variants.
4. Quantitative variability of the phraseological units under study performs the following functions:
a) points out to the orientation of the attempt to commit some action,
b) details the location of the idea concentration,
c) concretizes the side / the part having the advantage of a position or a situation,
d) intensifies the fact of rejection of the communicant,
e) carries out gradation of an emotional condition of the person,
f) emphasizes the vector of action influence.
5. In general, both simple, and complex variability of component structure of the studied phraseology has no noticeable impact on the meaning of a phraseological unit, keeping up its identity as a language sign.
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Information about the author:
Fedulenkova T.N. - Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Foreign Languages of Professional Communication, Vladimir State University (Vladimir, Russia), Member of the Russian Professorial Board (Certificate No. 64), Member of the Scientific Council on philological sciences of RPB, Correspondent member of RANH (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: fedu-lenkova@list.ru
Received 27 October 2018
