Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions

Natalia Gvishiani

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions

Natalia Gvishiani

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 8, Issue 5)

Received: 28 February 2020 Accepted: 3 September 2020 Published: 16 September 2020

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Abstract

The present study focuses on the distinction between the ‘idiom’ and the ‘open choice’ principle in constructing speech with reference to phrasal and semi-phrasal verbs in contemporary English. The semi-compositional reading of some phrasal verbs points to their syntactic, not phraseological nature, and distinguishes them from ready-made idiomatic units. If semi-phrasal verbs get into dictionaries, they are usually listed in the adverb’s entry. Compositional phrasal verbs are found to implement semantic patterns with adverbial particles adding pragmatic refinements to the verb’s meaning. Being used in variable contexts, semi-phrasal verbs get the ‘support’ from adverbial particles showing the ‘vector’ of the action expressed by the verb. The analysis of pragmatic characteristics of phrasal verbs suggests that one of the factors that affect the selection process for the speaker in choosing between a phrasal verb and a monolexemic verb of Romance origin is the functional-stylistic feature of formality / informality. In a preliminary way, variation of choice was considered with reference to translation versions of a literary text. There are indications that monolexemic verbs occur more frequently in the translation version published in the USA. As for lexicographic descriptions and ELT instruction, it is concluded that the adverbial element should be brought more into the limelight as shaping the semantic pattern of the phrasal construction and its functioning in speech.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 8, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
Page(s)	185-191
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Idiomatic / Non-idiomatic Phraseology, Compositional / Semi-compositional Phrasal Verbs, Pragmatic Refinements of Meaning, Semantic / Conceptual Patterns, Variable / Invariable Contexts

References

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[4]	G. Philip, Colouring Meaning. Collocation and Connotation in Figurative Language. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011, p. 17.
[5]	Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDCE). Third edition, Longman, UK, 1995.
[6]	G. Philip, Colouring Meaning. Collocation and Connotation // Figurative Language. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011, p. 15.
[7]	O. Mudraya, S. Piao, P. Rayson, S. Sharoff, B. Babich, and L. Löfberg, “Automatic extraction of translation equivalents of phrasal and light verbs in English and Russian” in Phraseology: an Interdisciplinary Perspective. Edited by S. Granger and F. Meunier. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009, p. 293.
[8]	G. Philip, Colouring Meaning. Collocation and Connotation in Figurative Language. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011, p. 85.
[9]	The International Corpus of English – Great Britain (ICE-GB) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/projects/ice-gb/
[10]	J. Sinclair, Corpus Concordance Collocation. Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 67.
[11]	G. Nunberg, I. Sag, T. Wasow, Idioms // Language, 70 (3), 1994, pp. 491-538.
[12]	P. Ronan, G. Schneider, Determining light verbs constructions in contemporary British and Irish English // International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 2015, 20 (3), pp. 326-354.
[13]	D. Spasov, English Phrasal Verbs. Sofia, 1966, p. 12.
[14]	A. I. Smirnitskij, English Lexicology. Moscow, 1956, p. 212.
[15]	N. N. Amosova, Osnovy anglijskoj fraseologii. Moscow: URSS, 2010: p. 131.
[16]	L. Talmy, Path to Realization: A typology of event conflation // Procedings of the 17th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. Berkeley, Calif. Berkeley Linguistics Society, 1991, p. 480.
[17]	L. Tesnière, Elements of Structural Syntax. Paris: Klincksieck, 1959, p. 73.
[18]	O. Rozumnaja, A comparative analysis of semantics and functioning of phrasal verbs in the British and American varieties of the English language (based on the data of the British National Corpus and The Corpus of Contemporary American English). Graduation paper, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 2019, pp. 87-104.
[19]	E. Golubkova, O. Medvedeva, A Typology of Phrasal Verbs Distinctions in British and American English (a corpus-based analysis). // Vestnik Moskovskogo Gosudarstvennogo Lingvistitseskogo Universiteta, Moscow, 2012, p. 60.
[20]	R. Spring, Teaching Phrasal Verbs More Efficiently: Using Corpus Studies and Cognitive Linguistics to Create a Particle List. // Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2018, 9 (5), pp. 121-135.
[21]	Tran Phan Ngoc Tu, Tran Quoc Thao, The Use of Phrasal Verbs in English Language Research Proposals by Vietnamese M. A. Students. // VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, Vol. 35, No 4, 2019, pp. 114-129.
[22]	M. Alangari, S. Jaworska, J. Laws, Who’s Afraid of Phrasal Verbs? The Use of Phrasal Verbs in Expert Academic Writing in the Discipline of Linguistics, // Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol. 43, 2020, pp. 2-13.

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Natalia Gvishiani. (2020). Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(5), 185-191. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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Natalia Gvishiani. Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2020, 8(5), 185-191. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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AMA Style

Natalia Gvishiani. Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. Int J Lang Linguist. 2020;8(5):185-191. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11,
  author = {Natalia Gvishiani},
  title = {Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {5},
  pages = {185-191},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20200805.11},
  abstract = {The present study focuses on the distinction between the ‘idiom’ and the ‘open choice’ principle in constructing speech with reference to phrasal and semi-phrasal verbs in contemporary English. The semi-compositional reading of some phrasal verbs points to their syntactic, not phraseological nature, and distinguishes them from ready-made idiomatic units. If semi-phrasal verbs get into dictionaries, they are usually listed in the adverb’s entry. Compositional phrasal verbs are found to implement semantic patterns with adverbial particles adding pragmatic refinements to the verb’s meaning. Being used in variable contexts, semi-phrasal verbs get the ‘support’ from adverbial particles showing the ‘vector’ of the action expressed by the verb. The analysis of pragmatic characteristics of phrasal verbs suggests that one of the factors that affect the selection process for the speaker in choosing between a phrasal verb and a monolexemic verb of Romance origin is the functional-stylistic feature of formality / informality. In a preliminary way, variation of choice was considered with reference to translation versions of a literary text. There are indications that monolexemic verbs occur more frequently in the translation version published in the USA. As for lexicographic descriptions and ELT instruction, it is concluded that the adverbial element should be brought more into the limelight as shaping the semantic pattern of the phrasal construction and its functioning in speech.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions
AU  - Natalia Gvishiani
Y1  - 2020/09/16
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 185
EP  - 191
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
AB  - The present study focuses on the distinction between the ‘idiom’ and the ‘open choice’ principle in constructing speech with reference to phrasal and semi-phrasal verbs in contemporary English. The semi-compositional reading of some phrasal verbs points to their syntactic, not phraseological nature, and distinguishes them from ready-made idiomatic units. If semi-phrasal verbs get into dictionaries, they are usually listed in the adverb’s entry. Compositional phrasal verbs are found to implement semantic patterns with adverbial particles adding pragmatic refinements to the verb’s meaning. Being used in variable contexts, semi-phrasal verbs get the ‘support’ from adverbial particles showing the ‘vector’ of the action expressed by the verb. The analysis of pragmatic characteristics of phrasal verbs suggests that one of the factors that affect the selection process for the speaker in choosing between a phrasal verb and a monolexemic verb of Romance origin is the functional-stylistic feature of formality / informality. In a preliminary way, variation of choice was considered with reference to translation versions of a literary text. There are indications that monolexemic verbs occur more frequently in the translation version published in the USA. As for lexicographic descriptions and ELT instruction, it is concluded that the adverbial element should be brought more into the limelight as shaping the semantic pattern of the phrasal construction and its functioning in speech.
VL  - 8
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Natalia Gvishiani

Department of English Linguistics, Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

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APA Style

Natalia Gvishiani. (2020). Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(5), 185-191. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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ACS Style

Natalia Gvishiani. Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2020, 8(5), 185-191. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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AMA Style

Natalia Gvishiani. Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions. Int J Lang Linguist. 2020;8(5):185-191. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11,
  author = {Natalia Gvishiani},
  title = {Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {5},
  pages = {185-191},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20200805.11},
  abstract = {The present study focuses on the distinction between the ‘idiom’ and the ‘open choice’ principle in constructing speech with reference to phrasal and semi-phrasal verbs in contemporary English. The semi-compositional reading of some phrasal verbs points to their syntactic, not phraseological nature, and distinguishes them from ready-made idiomatic units. If semi-phrasal verbs get into dictionaries, they are usually listed in the adverb’s entry. Compositional phrasal verbs are found to implement semantic patterns with adverbial particles adding pragmatic refinements to the verb’s meaning. Being used in variable contexts, semi-phrasal verbs get the ‘support’ from adverbial particles showing the ‘vector’ of the action expressed by the verb. The analysis of pragmatic characteristics of phrasal verbs suggests that one of the factors that affect the selection process for the speaker in choosing between a phrasal verb and a monolexemic verb of Romance origin is the functional-stylistic feature of formality / informality. In a preliminary way, variation of choice was considered with reference to translation versions of a literary text. There are indications that monolexemic verbs occur more frequently in the translation version published in the USA. As for lexicographic descriptions and ELT instruction, it is concluded that the adverbial element should be brought more into the limelight as shaping the semantic pattern of the phrasal construction and its functioning in speech.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Phrasal Verbs Revisited: A Probe into Semantics and Functioning of English Phrasal Constructions
AU  - Natalia Gvishiani
Y1  - 2020/09/16
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 185
EP  - 191
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200805.11
AB  - The present study focuses on the distinction between the ‘idiom’ and the ‘open choice’ principle in constructing speech with reference to phrasal and semi-phrasal verbs in contemporary English. The semi-compositional reading of some phrasal verbs points to their syntactic, not phraseological nature, and distinguishes them from ready-made idiomatic units. If semi-phrasal verbs get into dictionaries, they are usually listed in the adverb’s entry. Compositional phrasal verbs are found to implement semantic patterns with adverbial particles adding pragmatic refinements to the verb’s meaning. Being used in variable contexts, semi-phrasal verbs get the ‘support’ from adverbial particles showing the ‘vector’ of the action expressed by the verb. The analysis of pragmatic characteristics of phrasal verbs suggests that one of the factors that affect the selection process for the speaker in choosing between a phrasal verb and a monolexemic verb of Romance origin is the functional-stylistic feature of formality / informality. In a preliminary way, variation of choice was considered with reference to translation versions of a literary text. There are indications that monolexemic verbs occur more frequently in the translation version published in the USA. As for lexicographic descriptions and ELT instruction, it is concluded that the adverbial element should be brought more into the limelight as shaping the semantic pattern of the phrasal construction and its functioning in speech.
VL  - 8
IS  - 5
ER  -

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