PHONETIC VARIATION OF IDIOMS

Abstract

Тhe paper deals with the complex phenomenon known as phonetic variation of idioms. Idiom variation is manifested in the fact that there exist fi gurative units so close from the standpoint of constituents, structure, and fi gurative meaning that they (under certain circumstances) may be regarded as variants of one unit. The term ‘phonetic variation’ denotes alteration of the phonetic aspects of idiom constituents. Phonetic variants are subdivided into enunciative and accentual ones. The former involve changes in enunciation of constituents, while the latter only alter their word stress. Enunciative variants may contain the same constituents or substitute them with the ones that sound similarly. Phonetic variants may undergo lexical and morphemic variation, as well. Phone tic variants do not involve homophony, although rhythm and rhyme within idioms may preserve homographs, cf. the Russian idiom gol kak sokol ‘living in abject poverty’, where the nominal constituent sokol (with the stress on the ultimate syllable) is most likely to be a homograph of sokol ‘hawk, falcon’ rather than a variant of it; as a homograph, it means ‘battering ram’, i.e. the entire idiom literally means ‘as bare as a battering ram’. Lexico-phonetic variants resulting from mishearing (cf. the term ‘eggcorns’) or euphemisms are often marked stylistically. Traditionally, it is the lexico-phonetic variants that have been regarded as the ‘true’ phonetic variants but it is obvious that phonetic variation is not limited by them. Phonetic variation includes diachronic and synchronic variants (with the juxtaposition of standard language, substandard, and dialects), as well as discursive ones (cf. altered accentuation in poetry). Accentological variants are based on symmetry and order found both in proverbs and idioms.