Clichés in Wulfstan’s Sermo lupi ad anglos as a Phraseological Phenomenon

Abstract

This paper focuses on Old English phraseology, clichés in particular, using an original text of the later Old English period. A number of problems are pointed out here, the primary ones being finding texts that can serve as sources of linguistic material and, based on clear linguistic criteria, detecting in these texts word-combinations bearing certain signatures of phraseologization. Wulfstan’s homilies are a rich source of such word-combinations. A contextual analysis of the early 11th-century Sermo lupi ad anglos, Wulfstan’s best-known homily, demonstrates an extensive use of phraseological clichés with mainly phraseomatic connection of components. A total of 40 word combinations in 70 contexts are considered here. The phraseological status of the word combinations in question was verified using the methods of phraseological identification and component analysis on the basis of the following characteristics: structural separability, unity of phraseological invariant, and regularity of use in Old English texts. Structural separability is determined by means of spelling, morphological, and syntactic criteria. The structural-semantic unity of the phraseological invariant is underpinned by the common structural pattern of variants, common lexical components, and unity of meaning provided by the semantics of the core components. The following types of regularity of use of specific word combinations were identified: one-time occurrence in a single text, multiple uses in a single text, and occurrence in various texts. The analysis demonstrates how the phraseology of old languages can be studied on limited material. The research can be of interest to linguists specializing in phraseology and history of English.