The specificity of the metaphorical image in stable combinations of the period of Muscovite Russia (on the basis of the «Dictionary of the Russian language of the 11th-17th centuries»)

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the problem of the study of the specifics of the semantic structure of phraseological units of the Muscovite Russia period (IX–XVII). The aim of the this work is through the analysis of phraseology fund of the Middle Agesto clarify the ways of establishing, developing and further formation the Russian phraseology fund as a whole. On the basis of the analysis of the idiom’s internal form, the units constructed on metaphorical transfer are selected for the study by idiom. The classification of the language material made it possible to identify several types of metaphorical transfer, which are actively involved in the formation of the medieval Russian phraseology. For each type of methonymic transfer examples of language units from different spheres of operation are given. The analysis of the language material took into account the specifics of the medieval book culture, in particular the sphere of the use of phraseological units (religious, legal and military spheres). In this article the following methods and techniques of studying and descriptions of idioms had been used: descriptive method with some elements of component analysis; the technique of complete sampling of the facts; classification; the technique of statistics. As a result, the study highlighted the most productive types of metaphorical image underlying the formation of idioms. The study makes possible to clarify the ways in which the phraseological fund of the Middle Ages was formed, and evaluates this period as one of the important stages, which determined the subsequent development of the phraseology system of the Russian language in its present state.