В данной статье рассматривается смысловой концепт понятия «здоровье» в английском языке, то, какие грани лексического и культурологического значения этой лексемы раскрываются в идиомах. В работе перечислены атрибутивные свойства концепта; понятия и признаки, связанные с лексемой «здоровье». Выявлено, что английские идиомы с этой лексемой, построенные на метафорическом переносе, отражают идеи сверхценности здоровья, ответственности человека за свое здоровье, недоверие к врачам и смешанное отношение к медицине.
Ключевые слова: метафора, троп, лексема, идиома, устойчивое выражение, концепт.
This article examines the semantic concept of the notion «health» in English, whichfacets of the lexical and cultural meaning of this lexeme are revealed in idioms. The paper lists the attributive properties of the concept; concepts and signs associated with the lexeme «health». It has been revealed that English idioms with this lexeme, built on metaphorical transfer, reflect the ideas of the super-value of health, human responsibility for one's health, distrust of doctors and a mixed attitude towards medicine.
Key words: metaphor, trope, lexeme, idiom, stable expression, concept.
Metaphor is a trope that arises from comparison, i.e., the comparison of two features, objects, phenomena, or actions on the basis of their similarity. However, in comparison a person perceiving information recognizes the object and subject of comparison and their common property, and in metaphor the object is named by what it looks like.
This allows the word to be expressed in a new meaning, which is assigned to the word on the basis of transfer. The recognition of this meaning is similar to the process of decoding.
Clouds, like a flock, are flying across the sky. — A flock of clouds is flying across the sky.
Clouds are moving across the sky as if they were floating on the ocean. — Clouds are floating on the ocean of the sky.
Clouds are flying like fluff. — Fluffy clouds are flying.
The more sustained the metaphor, the easier the process of deciphering. Such metaphors become trite metaphors, when their imagery wears off. That is why no one can observe any expressive power in the phrases like «table leg», «the sun has gone», «the lip of a jug». However, at one time the formation of a new meaning for the words «leg», «go» and «lip» initially occurred on the basis of metaphorical transfer.
In English, the lexeme «health» is used in a number of phrases formed on the basis of metaphorical transfer. However, before giving examples of this kind of metaphorical idioms, a few words should be said about the concept of health the way it exists in the English language. And the term «concept» itself needs to be explained.
According to the Russian linguist Y. S. Stepanov, a concept is a «micromodel of culture, it generates it and is generated by it» [4, c. 276]. The scientist calls it a «conglomeration of culture» and fills it with extralinguistic information. According to the definition of another scientist, A. P. Babushkin, it is a «discrete meaningful unit of collective consciousness or an ideal world, which is stored in the national memory of a native speaker in a verbal form» [1, c. 12]. This interpretation is in line with the opinion of V. I. Karasik, who defines concepts as «primary cultural formations which express the objective content of words and have their own meanings», proving that they «penetrate into various spheres of human existence, in particular, into the spheres of conceptual, figurative and active mastery of the world» [2, c. 7].
The concept is realized in language at the level of word usage and syntax. This means that it can be represented at levels from the lexeme to metatexts.
What are the characteristics of a concept based on the above? According to V. A. Maslova, a concept has the following properties:
– It is a minimal unit of human experience in its ideal representation expressed in words.
– It is the basic unit of processing, storing, and transmission of knowledge.
– The concept has flexible boundaries and specific functions.
– The concept is social, and its associative field determines its pragmatics.
– It is the basic cell of culture [3, c. 46].
By studying different ideas and features related to health, we can create a complete picture. The parts of this picture are similar to those in the Russian language. These include:
- A normal state of the body, where all organs are working well.
- A person's well-being, which they think is good.
- Spiritual and social well-being.
- Peroration — a toast or wish.
However, some features are unique to the English language:
- healthy food
- healthcare services & institutions
Let us begin by noting the value placed on health in English culture, as in all known literate cultures. This idea is reflected in the proverb «Good health is above wealth», where health is metaphorically valued alongside a concept such as wealth, which has quantifiable valuation criteria.
There are a number of idioms and phrases that emphasize that the state of health is a state of integrity. (It is no coincidence that in not so distant history a doctor and a healer were linguistic synonyms).
Broken in health (My health broke down.) The Russian equivalent is «torn’. The origin of the Russian equivalent is connected with the etymology of the word «health». It comes from the ancient Indian expression «strong tree». To uproot, to tear a plant means to seriously damage or even destroy it. The English lexeme comes from the Old English hælþ, meaning «integrity, feeling good», which in its turn comes from the Proto-Germanic *hailitho, and the latter comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kailo-, meaning «whole, unbroken». The logic is clear: to destroy something growing is to tear, to destroy the whole is to break.
The national culture reflects the folk wisdom about the influence of peace of mind on health — the absence of fear and/or malice. In this context, the proverb «Happiness is nothing but good health and a bad memory» is an interesting one. It metaphorically brings the idea of the necessity of health mentioned above, and a much subtler idea that the inability to forgive and vindictiveness can do you harm.
In national culture, health is a basic condition for happiness and well-being. But the modern world, developing inclusiveness, strives to ensure that human manifestation does not depend unconditionally on health. That is, health as a factor of well-being is still important, but the absence of health does not inevitably define «unhappiness» anymore. However, the language has not yet formed any idioms about that, so let's look at another metaphor. «Health and happiness mutually beget each other». This is a kind of cognitive metaphor in which health and happiness seem to reproduce each other. This leads to the idea of a person's responsibility for his or her health. If cheerfulness brings health, then despondency destroys it.
There are a number of metaphorical expressions with the lexeme «health» that express the idea of a person's responsibility for his or her health. For example: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise, — where health (like intelligence) is metaphorically compared to wealth, i.e. it is called something that can be acquired and expressed in quantifiable indicators. Or an example of a nominative metaphor: Sleep is a healing balm for every disease. That is, get enough sleep — and you will be healthy.
It is noteworthy that the attitude towards doctors is often negative in idioms. This phenomenon has a lot of socio-cultural bases, but their analysis goes beyond the scope of this research.
«Fond of doctors, little health, Fond of lawyers, little wealth». Or the less categorical «Medicine sometimes snatches away health, sometimes gives it». However, when you compare these proverbs, it makes sense to pay attention to the fact that in the first case we are talking about doctors, and in the second case about science. The degree of generalization is higher, so positive experience is also taken into consideration.
Thus, it can be said that English metaphors with the lexeme «health» are used within the framework of the semantic concept of health and reflect the ideas of health being highly estimated, a person's responsibility for his or her health, mistrust of doctors, and a mixed attitude towards medicine.
References:
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- Маслова В. А. Введение в когнитивную лингвистику: учеб. пособие. — М.: Флинта: Наука, 2004. — 87 с.
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