Information on the thesis

The thesis is dedicated to the study of semantic, structural and cognitive
peculiarities of the dynamics of functioning of biblical idiomatic expressions (BIE) as
an integral phraseological system in modern English. The complex method of BIE
analysis is suggested in the thesis which is based on interaction of lexical-semantic and
cognitive-linguistic paradigms involving the corpus linguistics methods and using
software and internet applications. The particular importance in the study of the corpus
of biblical idiomatic expressions is attached to the theory of semantic field as the
fundamental for organization and describing method of the semantics of biblical
idiomatic expressions, as well as the method of cognitive-matrix modelling.
The meaning of the terms „idiomatic phrase” and „biblical expressions” or
„biblical idiomatic expressions” is defined in the research, the classifications of biblical
idiomatic expressions of the English language are generalized, their classification
features are systematized. The corpus of biblical idiomatic expressions is approved of
being a stable subsystem of English phraseology, which can be represented in the form
of a cognitive matrix. At the same time, in analysing the BIE system, the author of the
dissertation proceeds from the understanding of biblical phraseology as a means of
verbal representation of a fragment of the English linguistic picture of our world
associated with the moral and ethical values of the Christian worldview.
The research explores biblical idiomatic expressions that make these domains
relevant in both biblical texts and contemporary discursive practices.
The thesis emphasises the correlation between the concepts of “lexical and
semantic field”, “phraseological field” and “nominative field of a concept”. It is
mentioned that lexical and phraseological field and phraseological and semantic field
are based on the unification of language units having a common genetic source, the
Bible, and coincide with the nominative field of a concept in a segment where idiomatic
expressions are a means of expressing a certain mental essence related to the Christian
ideology. The above provides an opportunity to consider the structural and semantic
types of biblical phraseology organisation according to the cognitive matrix theory as
cognitive contexts (basic and non-basic domains) where the formation and
understanding of language meanings inherent in biblical idiomatic expressions occurs.
The research reconstructs the main domains typical for the cognitive matrix of
the Christian moral and ethical value system in the English language worldview such
as “HUMAN BEING”, “SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP”, “SACRAL NATURE”,
“WELFARE”, and analyses the matrix component represented by the antagonistic
concepts of LIFE and DEATH.
The method of component analysis has been applied to detect and characterise
the productive tendencies of biblical idiomatic expression semantics transformation:
the reduction of component composition of the idiomatic unit due to the extraction of
original biblical component of meaning and the expansion of biblical semantics due to
the presence of new substantive or connotative semes, while the original structure of
the idiomatic unit is kept. The research also describes such semantic transformations
of biblical idiomatic expressions in English as literalisation of an idiomatic unit, its
transformation into a proper name and into a term due to its transfer from the sphere of
traditional word usage into other fields of knowledge. The changes in the structure of
biblical idiomatic expressions are associated with the occurrence of their truncated
variants, which gives a high precedence to units of this type and a general tendency to
reduce the linguistic effort.
GoogleBooks NGram Viewer is used to analyse the frequency of English
idiomatic expressions of biblical origin in the second half of the 20th century and at
the beginning of the 21st century. The analysis has demonstrated that the frequency of
the use of biblical phrases in different socio-linguistic practices is variable and, in most
cases, shows a gradual decreasing trend in both British and American English. The
author considers the loss of the dominant ideological role of Christianity in the
twentieth century, the secularisation of modern society, and the establishment of a new
system of moral and spiritual values of mankind as significant factors in this process.
Key words: Bible, phraseology, idiomatic phrase, biblical idiomatic expression,
cognitive matrix, domain, concept, lexical-semantic field/group.