Kuranova T.P., Tepleneva P.A.

 

The role of transformed idioms in press headlines. Pp. 177–188.

UDC 811.161.1’373

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2025.89.4.018

 

Abstract. The article examines structural and semantic transformations of phraseological units in press headlines using the example of the print periodicals Argumenty i Fakty and Pravda. Particular attention is given to such methods of transforming set phrases as structural expansion, replacement and rearrangement of components, ellipsis, and contamination. The research applies interpretative and contextual methods of analysis, as well as quantitative processing of the material.

The results of the study show that the most common and productive methods of phraseological modification in the headlines of the analyzed publications are the replacement of one or more components of a phraseological unit and the expansion of the component structure of a phraseological unit. We also identified the less frequent types of transformations: rearrangement of components, contamination, and ellipsis. The study found that newspaper authors often combine two or more types of modified phraseology. This technique allows journalists to express ideas in a new way, to present a set expression in an unusual meaning, filling it with various semantic and expressive nuances.

The conducted analysis showed that occasional phraseological units in modern printed media perform a number of important functions. The allow the journalists to enhance the expressiveness and emotionality of headline phrases, evaluate the events being covered, vividly and figuratively characterize the phenomena being described, create a comic effect, and demonstrate linguistic creativity through wordplay. Emphasis is made on the fact that the modification of fixed expressions is used to achieve the attractive and expressive functions of newspaper headlines. The article affirms the role of phraseological transformations in enriching the language of the periodicals and attracting the attention of as many readers as possible.

 

Keywords: language of contemporary Russian press, methods of transformation of phraseological units (PUs), structural and semantic transformations of PUs, functions of PU transformation, replacement and rearrangement of PU components, expansion of the component structure of phraseological units, ellipsis, contamination.

 

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