The Structure of Somatic Phraseological Units in the Avar Language

Abstract

Somatic idioms constitute one of the oldest and most productive layers in Avar phraseology. The frequency of a certain somatic unit as a core component of idioms depends on the number of both extra-linguistic and linguistic factors (etymological, semantic ones). The article presents the structural and semantic characteristics of corresponding Avar phraseological units. The relevance of the article is determined by the need for further detailed studies of the somatic phraseology of the Avar language. The study was implemented on the basis of the cognitive models that contribute to revealing the semantics of somatic idioms under consideration.To determine the phraseological variance it is necessary to emphasize the unity of the internal form and the mode of bonding the grammatical structure and composition of phraseological components. Another condition is relative identity of the syntactic structure within which the lexical substitution takes place.In the Avar language, the enhanced structural and semantic equivalence is characteristic of those somatic units that form the greatest number of idioms. The somatic units are as follows: ‘heart’, ‘head’, ‘hand’, ‘eye’ and ‘mouth’.

Keywords

• somatic phraseological units
• somatic idiom
• phraseological variation
• adjective
• somatism
• etymology
• semantics
• compound word
• phrase