Comprehensive comparative analysis of phraseological units in Chinese and Russian languages (using the examples of military sphere phraseology)



The article «Comprehensive comparative analysis of Phraseological Units in Chinese and Russian languages (using the examples of military sphere phraseology)» is devoted to some aspects of the origin, formation and functioning of the phraseological units of the military sphere which are analyzed in connection with the history and military-historical events of the two peoples.

Key words:Chinese language, phraseological units of the military sphere, phraseological unit, linguistic world-image

Language is a complex multifunctional system that serves all spheres of human activity, it includes different layers [1]. «Military sublanguage» is a special kind of language that corresponds to military sphere (the concept of militaryactivity is also used) as one of the oldest in the history of mankind. Sublanguage is one of the variants of realization of the national language used by a limited group of its bearers in the conditions of formal and informal communication.

Domestic scientists pay considerable attention to the problem of theoretical comprehension of the transition of terminological combinations, including military ones, to the field of phraseology. In their studies, the authors come to the conclusion that industry words do not make the basis of phraseological units, unlike terms or professional jargons [3]. The formation and functioning of military vocabulary is directly connected with the history of the people, its ideas about justice, law, freedom, violence and other philosophical categories. The results of the analysis of the word-stock of modern Chinese and Russian languages show that military vocabulary is a combination of several subsystems: terminological and general, modern and historical.

Russian military terminology, in addition to the terms of Slavic and Old Russian origin, sees borrowings from other languages and international terms, which is also typical of Chinese military terminology. Gradual penetration of military terms into the common vocabulary and literary language leads to the formation of phraseological units such as idiomatic combinations of words, proverbs and sayings on their basis.

Proverbs can be considered phraseological units built on allegorical imagery and perform figurative and aesthetic functions in the speech [2]. Unlike sayings that are almost never formulated with complex sentences and do not have a complete meaning, the proverbs are independent sentences of instructive and edifying character, which pursue certain educational goals, and make speech more imaginative [1].

Some linguists believe that, first of all, it is appropriate to relate to the phraseology of the military sphere those phraseological units associated with military historical events, military-political relations, the development of the theory of using armed forces in the state, the increase in the capabilities of weapons and military equipment. This group also includes phraseological units that have arisen from the speech of servicemen, statements of historical personalities (mainly military and state figures). In Chinese and Russian there are a large number of phraseological units from the military sphere. In everyday life we sometimes cannot even imagine where they were borrowed from [3].

For example, in the Russian language the military sphere can be represented by the following phraseological units: «hit the target», «mobilize all resources», «to be put out of action», «heavy artillery», «on the platoon (on the edge)», «take on the cannon (to call somebody's bluff)», «labor feat», «in the front lines», «take into bayonets (to react with hostility)», «reserve forces», «between the two fires», «to beat head off», «not to get the smell of powder».

The analysis of the phraseological units of the military sphere in the Chinese language, in turn, shows that one of the most used phraseological units of the military sphere is the following: 按 甲 寝 兵 «lay aside the armor and rest your arms», 马后炮 (gun behind the horse) — «after a fight waving his fists» or «lock the stable door when the horse is stolen», 兵不厌诈 «all is fare in war», 秣马厉兵 «to prepare for war «, 兵 挫 地 削 «total defeat» [4].

Such a process as «demilitarization» of military vocabulary is an illustration of how the meaning of professional terminology changes as a result of its use in metaphorical sense. At the same time it's quite simple to unravel the time of origin and the internal motivation of many military phraseological units.

The Russian language owes many phraseological units to hand-to-hand fighting, for example, the proverb «do not hit a man when he is down» or metaphorical word combinations that reflect fights of people: «beat within an inch of one’s life», «throw dust into eyes». These expressions, which are now used most often in figurative meaning, were previously formulated as specific instructions for lovers of fist fights.

A separate source that spawned a layer of phraseological units of military origin in Chinese was the art of fencing, which holds an important place in the evolution of military affairs. Fights were military contests of soldiers in medieval China, whose purpose was to show fighting qualities and fight for authority in society. Fencing was always an indispensable element of military education as a form of teaching methods of how to possess cold steel. It was included in the program of combat training in the army, in the curricula of military educational institutions. Examples of such phraseological units can be 拔出 剑 来 «bare a sword» and 白刃 相见 «cross swords».

However, only a deep etymological analysis can reveal the military nature and motivation of some phraseological expressions. For example, the expression «to break spears» now means «to be hot upon a certain topic, to fervently defend one's position in the discussion». One can agree with those scientists who see it as a link to amusing battles, when they broke spears for the competition and «sports interest». However, in the Slavic culture, «breaking copies» is an older tradition of struggle for life and death. Therefore, «breaking the spear» meant that the warrior was the first to take the fight. It should be noted that such «demobilized» vocabulary is not (a relic of the past), but on the contrary, it finds its application in various situations of everyday communication.

Thus, the phraseological units of the military sphere continue to live an active life in modern Chinese and Russian languages. The ongoing attempts to study the specifics of Chinese and Russian national cultural mentality and the mastery of cultural information embedded in the phraseology of the military sphere undoubtedly contribute to the dialogue of the two ancient cultures. And the results of such scientific researches most clearly reflect the features of the worldview of representatives of Chinese and Russian linguocultures and testify to their originality.

References:

1. Гурулева Т. Л. Сопоставительный анализ коммуникативного поведения этнической языковой личности: параметры и технология описания речевого портрета // Культура и цивилизация. 2016. Том 6. № 6А. С. 326–335.
2. Гурулева Т. Л. Речевой портрет этнической языковой личности (сопоставительная характеристика китайской, русской и английской языковых личностей) // Культура и цивилизация. 2017. № 3. С. 196–205.
3. Полончук Р. А. Сравнительный анализ фразеологизмов военной сферы в китайском и русском языках // Военно-гуманитарный альманах. Серия Лингвистика. Выпуск 1. — 2017. — С. 536–540.
4. http://chinese-russian.ru/publications/?publications=99