Idiomaticity Of Goodness-Related Proverbs In English
Keywords:
proverb semantics, goodness, idiomaticity, semantic motivation, phraseology, English proverbsAbstract
This article investigates the semantic motivation and degree of idiomaticity of English proverbs expressing the concept of goodness. Proverbs are examined as culturally marked phraseological units that encode moral values through figurative language and stable semantic structures. Drawing on A. V. Kunin’s theory of phraseological units, the study differentiates goodness-related proverbs according to degrees of idiomaticity, including phraseomatic, ideophraseomatic, and fully idiomatic types. The analysis also incorporates conceptual metaphor theory to identify cognitive mechanisms underlying semantic motivation. The data are taken from authoritative English proverb dictionaries and verified lexicographic sources. The findings demonstrate that English proverbs expressing goodness are predominantly metaphorically motivated and exhibit varying degrees of semantic transparency, reflecting ethical norms such as reciprocity, altruism, and moral causality. The study contributes to phraseological semantics by clarifying the applicability of idiomaticity and motivation frameworks to proverbial material.
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