The meaning of phraseology is the "Procrustean bed". The winged expression "Procrustean bed"

What is the true wealth of language? As N. Karamzin wrote, it does not consist in a large number of sounds or in a multitude of words, but in the ability to convey subtle moral concepts and feelings. One of the means of expressing these can be considered phraseological units - stable combinations of words, so-called verbal formulas that clearly, capacitively and accurately determine the attitude, feelings and emotions of the speaker.

The meaning of phraseology "Procrustean bed"

In any language, there are stable expressions, ready-made combinations of words that not only adorn speech, but help the speaker express his attitude to what is happening. In linguistics they are called phraseological units. One of their features is ambiguity. Simultaneously with the direct meaning, they have a figurative, opposite to the literal reading. From this point of view, the importance of phraseology "Procrustean bed" is of interest. Literally - the mention of a giant robber from ancient Greek mythology and his peculiar instrument of torture, figuratively - forcibly fitting something under tight frames.

"Vitamins" of speech

Phraseology is a section of linguistics (language science), which deals with phraseological units or phraseological units. Why did it take a special direction in linguistics to study this linguistic phenomenon? First, the question remains which stable phrases can be considered phraseological units: proverbs, sayings, idioms, winged expressions, etc. And secondly, in addition to studying the methods of their formation, phraseology also deals with the sources of the origin of certain figurative expressions. From the point of view of occurrence, the phraseological phrases of the Russian language are divided into primordially Russian and borrowed.

Aboriginal Russian and borrowed

Sources of primordially Russian are the culture of the ancient Slavs, way of life, customs, beliefs, oral folk art, as well as works by Russian authors: "under Tsar Gorokh" - long ago, very long ago; "To beat the buckets" - to sit back; "Without a king in his head" - a person committing stupid acts. But today it will be a little bit not about them, because the expression "Procrustean bed" that interests us refers to borrowed phraseological units. As science says, the latter came to us from biblical evangelical texts ("forbidden fruit" - forbidden temptation), from Roman and Greek mythology (the "Gordian knot" is an intricate, strange combination of circumstances), as well as from Western European languages and literature (" Princess on a pea "- a spoiled man).

Antique phraseological units

What has Ancient Greece left to us? The Greeks "gave" us science, theater, created most of the literary genres, they were the source of the humanistic value system ... Here is a small part of what lies at the basis of the whole world culture. But now it's not about this, or rather, about this - about the achievements of the ancient world, but in another field - linguistics. A significant group of borrowed figurative expressions are phraseological units from ancient Greek mythology: "Augean stables" - a very dirty room; "To sink into oblivion" - to disappear without a trace, to be lost, to be forgotten; "Saddle Pegasus" - to seek inspiration, write poetry, become a poet, etc. As can be seen from the examples, in order to correctly use this kind of word combination and, for example, to have an idea of what "Procrustean bed" means, one must know the history of their origin, or at least To be familiar with ancient Greek mythology and literature.

Procrustean bed: importance and origin

To explain the phraseology "Procrustean bed" will help the legend about the Greek hero Theseus, the son of Ephra and the master of Athens, Agey. When he grew up and grew up, his mother and grandfather sent him to Athens in search of his father. Theseus did not heed the request of his family to go on the sea, but chose a more difficult path - on foot through Isthm. The road was difficult, and he encountered many obstacles, among which there was also a clash with the robber Damast, nicknamed Procrustes, which means "puller". About the villain went bad glory. He invited all the travelers to his house, where they were tormented by torturing him: he forced everyone to lie down on his famous bed, and if it was great for the "martyr", then he stretched it until his legs touched the edge. And if the bed was not enough, then he cut off the unfortunate feet. Theseus defeated the giant, and laid him on this bed. It was short for him, and the brave youth killed him in the same way as he had once dealt with poor travelers. After a century, the name of the robber Procrustes and his instrument for torture - the "bed" lose their direct meaning, and in the aggregate acquire a different meaning, which consists of the feelings and emotions experienced during the reading of the myth. Thus, in the Russian language, the meaning of phraseology "Procrustean bed" is the yardstick for something or something that is forcibly adapted, driven.

Other languages

The borrowed phraseological units are, as a rule, international turnover. For example, the expression "Achilles 'heel" - a vulnerable place - has its analogues in English - Achilles' heel, in French - talon d'Achille, in Greek - αχίλλειος πτέρνα, in German - Achillesferse and so on. In this case, he completely retains both his meaning and his images. Now consider the "Procrustean bed", examples of its use in other languages: in Greek - προκρούστεια κλίνη, in English - Procrustean bed, in German - Prokrustesbett and so on. The studied ancient winged expression in all languages preserves the image of the villain Procruste, on the basis of which the figurative expression arose, which means that the meaning of phraseology "Procrustean bed" - a false and meaningless measure, and the lexico-grammatical system, that is, the migration of expression from one language to another did not lead to various kinds of changes.

Phraseologism or a winged expression

As already mentioned above, among linguists there are still disagreements, whether proverbs and winged expressions refer to phraseological units or not. Some believe that yes, and include proverbs, sayings and winged expressions in the group "phraseological expressions." Other linguists deny this fact, and believe that these linguistic phenomena can not be the subject of a study of phraseology. The question, of course, is complex and controversial. For example, the expression "Procrustean bed" can be attributed both to phraseological units, and to winged expressions.

As a phraseology in the narrow sense of the word, it has the following characteristics:

• Idiomatism, that is indivisibility, indivisibility of utterance on separate components (the words "procrustean" and "bed" can not be used separately, otherwise they lose their single meaning and become a free combination);
• Reinterpretation - the original meaning of the phrase, the direct meaning is transformed into allegorical (the phrase "Procrustean bed" originally referred to the name of the robber and his notorious tool for torture, and only then acquired a secondary meaning - a formal yardstick);
• Stability - the components of the turnover "Procrustean bed" can not be replaced by others;
• Correlation with one or another part of speech - in speech phraseology "Procrustean bed" appears as a noun;
• Evaluation and emotionality.

An ancient winged expression

The authorship of the term "winged expression", "winged words" refers to Homer, who first used it in the "Iliad": from the speaker's mouth words break quickly and fly to the listener's ear. In modern linguistics, this term is understood as stable and widely known quotations from classical works, from cinematography, from musical works, advertising, as well as statements of famous people. Many winged expressions originate from the Bible or Greek myths, as, for example, the expression "Procrustean bed". The world of "winged words" is dynamic - some quotes with time lose relevance, popularity and completely disappear, others appear and become common.