Article

Name: The cross they have to bear: modifications of the idiom in Russian, English, and German

Authors: P. S. Dronov

Institute of Linguistics of the RAS

Abstract: The article deals with similarities and differences (including those based upon the cultural specificity) in the variability of the idiom to have a cross to bear and its functional equivalence across English, Russian, and German. Despite all the (quite obvious) differences in morphological modifications and syntactical transformations of these idioms, the evidence seems to suggest the similarity of lexical and lexico-syntactical modifications, such as the insertion of adjectival or adverbial modifiers into the idiom. This similarity may be explained by the common Biblical source of those idioms, the constant quoting and recitation thereof, as well as the convergence of a cross to bear with to bear a burden (in other words, a link to the metaphor HEAVY IS HARD, which appears to be a language universal).

Keywords: phraseology, idiom variability and modifications, common figurative units, cultural specificity, figurative meaning

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