Imaging and lexis as the elements shaping the expresiveness of phrasemes

Abstract

Imaging is a feature determining phrasemes. The nature of images contained in phrasemes is characterised by multi-dimensionality as images are comprised of general features of items and individual observations. As a result, image treatment might be perceived as subjective and doubtful from the point of view of a reliable expressiveness determinant. However, attention is paid to the generally accepted and understood perception of the non-verbal world, i.e. the relevant features of the denotation. It comprises the basis of the internal form of phrasemes. Its literalness or irrationality affects the shaping of expressiveness, and the reality or abstraction of an image determines the level of expressiveness intensity. Phrasemes randomly selected for examination demonstrated that the qualities of vocabulary contained in them also influence the intensity of expressiveness. Furthermore, a combination of a characteristic image with marked vocabulary strengthens the level of expressiveness. The described process was presented in a quantitative manner, the measurement unit of which is the unit of intensiveness (UI). An attempt to compare the expressiveness of selected phrasemes was made on the basis of the UI indicator.