Phraseological images in terms of occasional variability of idioms

Abstract

This article deals with the problem connected with variability of phraseological images in terms of idiomatic occasional transformations. Phraseological units with a zoonymic component from the thematic group "domestic animals" are chosen as the object of the research; it is the component that is substituted. Special attention is paid to identifying factors which affect transformational activity of phraseological units and determine specific features in image of a new occasional unit. We study probable occasional substitutions of zoonym components, taking into account a national and cultural role of animalistic components. While analysing, the authors define reasons affecting similarities and differences in the figurative bases of linguistic phraseological units and their transformations. We apply as examples phraseological units in the figurative basis of which both unique animalistic features and their typical traits are reflected; also the idiomatic image basis must capture human everyday life and domestic animals participating in it. Transformations of phraseological units demonstrate several peculiarities in reflecting realities of the surrounding world. New phraseological images in transforms may depict similarities with linguistic ones, providing presentation of the same or similar features in animal images applied as zoonym components. However, more often substitute components belong to animalistic words from different thematic groups, as well as to words from other phraseosemantic fields, namely people, objects, phenomena, states. A significant difference between the language component and the substitute component leads to complex transformations of image bases and to formation of unreal images. The authors come to the conclusion about vital changes in phraseological images, creation of new figurative foundations and movement of images towards unreality, fantasy.