Variability of Russian phraseological units with personal names

Abstract

The paper deals with variability of phraseological units (idioms, restricted collocations, sayings, etc.) with anthroponym constituents, discerning types and characteristics of variability. Distinction is made between the concepts of variability, variation, transformation, and modification. Evidence is provided for the ideas on the crucial role of the anthroponym constituent in the semantics and structure of phraseological units. Analysing a wide array of phraseological units in Russian and a number of other languages (Serbian and Croatian, Macedonian, English, and Irish), the paper covers the following types of variability of the anthroponym constituent: formal variation (personal name or its forms), lexical variation (personal name to personal name, personal name to appellative, zero lexical variation), and syntactic variability. The first type is represented by variations in phonetics, morphology, word formation, and structure. Lexical variation tends to appear as substitution of similar names, which may involve gender inversion. Culturally laden names tend not to vary, and units with such constituents should be regarded autonomous and unique. Syntactical variation is connected to the changes of word order and the number of personal names as constituents, which tend to affect both the structure and the figurative meanings of the phraseological units, modifying and deforming them. Such units are somewhat similar to phraseo-schemata in Dmitry Shmelev’s terms. The analysis of anthroponym constituents and the way they affect the figurative meaning of the phraseological units may show if they are distinct and autonomous entities or variants of one unit. The paper demonstrates that anthroponyms bear significance for describing phraseological variability. The types of variation revealed may be used for cross-linguistic classifications of variability in units with personal names as constituents.