Фразеологические единицы с семантикой «внешность человека» в русском и китайском языках

Ван Цзин

doi:10.25136/2409-8698.2024.4.70109


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Litera

Reference:

Wang J. Phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese // Litera. 2024. № 4. P. 1-15. DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2024.4.70109 EDN: BWJWJB URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=70109

Phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese

Van Tszin

ORCID: 0009-0009-8848-0400

Senior Lecturer, Department of the Russian Language, School of Foreign Languages, Hulunbuir University (China); Postgraduate Student, Department of the Russian Language and Methods of its Teaching, Faculty of Philology, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 10, 2, office. Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences

jing-wang@mail.ru

Other publications by this author

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2024.4.70109

EDN:

BWJWJB

Received:

12-03-2024

Published:

22-03-2024

Abstract: Language is one of the main tools for communication between people, allowing to express our thoughts and feelings, as well as describe the world around us. Phraseology, as an integral part of any language, plays an important role in the transmission of cultural values and traditions of the people. One of the key groups of phraseological units are phraseological units with the semantic field "human appearance", which reflect ideas about beauty, ugliness, age and other characteristics of appearance. In this article, we will consider phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" using the example of Russian and Chinese languages. The relevance of this topic is due to the need to study and analyze phraseology as a means of expressing culture, mentality and national characteristics of peoples. In addition, the study of phraseological units in different languages allows to identify similarities and differences in the perception of certain concepts, as well as the peculiarities of translating these units into other languages. The subject of the study: phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese. Methods: 1. analysis of scientific literature on the phraseology of the Russian and Chinese languages; 2. comparative analysis of phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese; 3. study of examples of phraseological units and their translation into another language; 4. identification of similarities and differences between phraseological units in Russian and Chinese. Scientific novelty: for the first time, a comparative analysis of phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese is carried out. The article identifies similarities and differences between these units, as well as examines the features of their translation from one language to another. Conclusions: 1. In Russian and Chinese, there are phraseological units with the meaning "human appearance", which play an important role in communicating and describing people. 2. Despite some similarities, phraseological units in the two languages have their own peculiarities in terms of structure, semantics and pragmatics. 3. The translation of phraseological units requires taking into account their connotations, cultural characteristics and historical context. 4. Phraseological units can serve as a source for studying cultural differences and interaction between peoples.

Keywords:

idiomatic expressions, semantics of appearance, Russian, Chinese language, cultural differences, translation, common expressions, historical contexts, phraseology, language comparison
This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

The purpose of this article is to analyze phraseological units with the semantic meaning of "human appearance" and compare their use in Russian and Chinese. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: to study the theoretical foundations of phraseology, consider classifications of phraseological units, analyze examples of phraseological units in Russian and Chinese, as well as identify similarities and differences between them.

The object of the study is the similarities and differences between phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese, as well as the peculiarities of their translation and interpretation.

Auto R examines in detail such topics as:

1. Definition and classification of phraseological units with the semantics of "human appearance" in Russian and Chinese.

2. Similarities and differences between phraseological units in two languages describing a person's appearance.

3. Features of translation and interpretation of phraseological units related to appearance from Russian to Chinese and vice versa.

4. Examples of the use of phraseological units in literature and everyday speech.

5. The role of phraseological units in the interaction of cultures and peoples.

Introduction

A phraseological unit is a stable phrase or expression that has a certain meaning, structure and features of use in a language. Phraseological units are an integral part of any language and play an important role in expressing thoughts, describing emotions and events. According to N.M. Shansky, phraseology is a branch of linguistics that studies stable expressions and phrases in a language, their meaning, origin and usage ^[1]. Phraseology includes phraseological units, proverbs, sayings and other stable expressions. Phraseological units in Chinese are also known as idioms. An idiom is a stable expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of individual words. Phraseological units in the Chinese language have their own characteristics related to the culture and traditions of China ^[2].

Many scientists, both Russian and Chinese, have been studying phraseology. Among Russian researchers, such scientists as N. M. Shansky, V. V. Vinogradov, A. I. Molotkov and others can be distinguished. Chinese scientists engaged in the study of phraseology have also made significant contributions to the development of this field of science. Among them are Li Zhengdao, Liu Shuxiang and others.

As for the existing classification of phraseological units, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points, which A. M. Grishechkina wrote about in her article ^[3]. V. V. Vinogradov's classification is the most complete and detailed. It divides phraseological units into 4 groups: phraseological coalitions, unities, combinations and expressions ^[4]. However, for example, the classifications of Yu. A. Gvozdareva, N. N. Amosova, D. N. Shmeleva, A.V. Kunin can be used as additional sources of information about phraseological units.

Phraseological units characterizing a person's appearance in the Russian language. In Russian, there are many phraseological units used to describe a person's appearance. The data from the Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian language ^[5], as well as other reference materials, were used as the basis for the analysis.

There are many phraseological units in the Chinese language that describe a person's appearance. Based on the data of the Chinese-Russian Phraseological Dictionary ^[6], as well as the dictionaries ^[7] (Dictionary of Chinese Idioms) and ^[8] (Dictionary of Modern Chinese), various phraseological units were selected to describe a person's appearance and their semantic and grammatical analyses were carried out. This paper examines vocabulary and colloquial phraseological units borrowed from the personal speech practice of the author, who is a native speaker of the Chinese language.

In this article, a semantic and grammatical analysis of phraseological units in the Russian and Chinese languages was carried out. Semantic analysis is aimed at studying the semantic meaning of phraseological units and determining the context in which they are used. Grammatical analysis helps to determine the grammatical relationships between the components of phraseology and includes morphological and syntactic analysis ^[9].

Phraseological units describing a person's appearance in Russian and Chinese can be divided into several groups according to their semantic features ^[10]. We will present several groups that include phraseological units denoting various aspects of appearance, such as "appearance", "age", "height".

Table 1 – Appearance

№	Meaning	Example in Russian	Example in Chinese
1)	"Attractive, handsome"	"Unearthly beauty" is a phraseology used to describe a person who has such a beautiful appearance that it seems unearthly, supernatural.	"Cover the moon and intimidate the flower" – The expression describes a very beautiful woman, making the flower ashamed and hiding the moon.
		"The first guy in the village" is a phraseology that is used to describe the most prominent, handsome and successful young man in a village or small town. He is usually an object of admiration for other residents and can be a leader among his peers.	"A stranger is like jade" – ("Beautiful as jade on top of your head"). A metaphor for male beauty.
		"Blood with milk" is a stable expression that is used to describe a healthy, strong and ruddy person. That's usually what they say about young people or children.	"Beautiful as a flower" – (The woman is as beautiful as a blooming flower)
		"Apollo Belvedere" is the image of an ideal man, handsome and slender, with perfect facial features. This expression is used to describe a very handsome man.	"Look like Pan An" – ("Fruit throwing Pan An" or "Fruit Throwing Heyang"). The expression is used to describe the beauty of a man.
2)	"Unattractive, ugly"	A "scarecrow of the garden" is a person who looks very ugly, usually because of old or dirty clothes. This expression is used to describe someone who looks very bad.	"A hundred clumsiness and a thousand ugliness" – Extremely clumsy and ugly.
		"No skin or face" is what they say about a person who is very ugly, has no attractive features in appearance.	"30% of a human, 70% of a ghost" – , ("Three quarters like a human, seven parts like a ghost" is an idiom referring to a person with an ugly appearance.
		"Scary as hell" is what they say about a very ugly person.	"Sharp mouth and thin cheeks like a monkey" – Describes a person's appearance as ugly.
3)	"Inconspicuous, unremarkable"	"Not worth a nail" is an expression used to describe something or someone so insignificant that it doesn't even deserve attention.	"The Unknown Soldier" – (A metaphor about a man without fame and status)
		"Neither fish nor meat" is how they say about someone or something that is neither good nor bad, neither useful nor harmful.	"Hair on nine bulls" – ("One hair out of nine bull skins") an insignificant item in a huge amount

Based on the comparative table of phraseological units of the Russian and Chinese languages on the topic "Human appearance", the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. In both languages there are phraseological units that describe a person's attractive appearance, his beauty and superiority over others.

2. Chinese has more metaphors and images related to nature and its beauty, for example, the moon, flowers, jade.

3. In Russian, comparisons with mythological characters and images from literature are often used, for example, Apollo Belvedere.

4. Both languages have phraseological units describing the attractiveness of both men and women. However, there are more expressions in Chinese that emphasize male beauty.

Table 2 – Age

№	Meaning	Example in Russian	Example in Chinese
1)	"Old"	"Not the first freshness"	"The Year of Smooth Ears" – (about old age)
		"Sand is pouring out of it"	"Fish Back" – about a 90-year-old man
		"Ancient (old) How is the world"	"Hanging Chariots" – about a 70-year-old man
		"God's Dandelion"	"A candle fluttering in the wind, which is easy to blow out" – (about an old man who is about to die)
		"Being at the dawn of my powers"	"Her hair is white like crane feathers, and her face is pink like a child's." – (about an old man)
2)	"Young"	"He still has milk on his lips."	Lit.: "My mouth still smells of milk" – (contempt for youth)
		"Still very green"	"Beauty and green whiskey" ("Red face and green whiskey") – (describes a girl in her youth)

The age titles of the ancient Chinese had different origins ^[11]: most of them were named according to the physiological characteristics of different ages, but some became fixed titles based on what their predecessors said. Among all age titles, the title "ninety years old" is the most common and interesting. It is also called the "fish back". Mackerel is a type of fish, and the spots on its back resemble the wrinkled skin of an old man. In old age, pigmented spots appear on the skin, similar to the peel of a frozen pear, which is why it is also called a "frozen pear".

Both languages have expressions describing different age categories. In Chinese, images related to age and old age are often used, for example, "" (lit.: "A candle fluttering in the wind, which is easy to blow out") is used to describe an old man who is on the verge of death. In Russian, figurative comparisons are more often used, for example, "God's dandelion" ^[12]. Both languages also contain expressions that emphasize the beauty of the elderly or the youth of the young. For example, "+" (literally "hair like crane feathers + face like a baby") is used in Chinese to describe an elderly man with a noble appearance, and in Russian "His milk is still wet on his lips" is used to express contempt for young people ^{[13, p. 44]}..

Table 3 – Growth

№	Meaning	Example in Russian	Example in Chinese
1)	"High"	Kolomenskaya Verst. This expression means a very tall man. (Its origins are from the name of the tall bell tower in Kolomna, which was one of the tallest buildings in Russia).	"A jade tree facing the wind" – ("Yushu Linfeng" is an idiom that describes a man tall and slender like a jade tree; mostly refers to a man).
		"Fire tower". This expression means something very high. It comes from the name of the fire tower, which was the tallest building in the city and was used to monitor the fire.	The "Tall Behemoth" – (Refers to something tall and bulky. Now it is also used to describe things that seem strong, but are actually weak).

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