Nieuświadamiane archaizmy w polskich związkach frazeologicznych

Abstract

Hidden archaisms within Polish phraseological units

The fact that a language is a strongly conservative creation, lingering behind the extra-linguistic reality, is clearly visible from the still-existing phraseological units containing an archaic word. However, not all the phraseological units with an archaic lexeme are contemporarily treated as units containing an old, fossilized word. We notice that, according to some language users, some of the above-mentioned units seem to have been quite recent creations of Polish language, e.g.: mówić, powiedzieć itp. coś bez ogródek; być, pojawić się, znaleźć się na tapecie; bez pardonu; czyjaś noga nie postanie, nie postała gdzieś; mówić, odpowiadać, pytać z przekąsem; nie dziwota; wziąć, brać kogoś na spytki; świątek (i) piątek. There are a few reasons why these archaic components take on an „un-archaic” character in the given phraseological units such as: motivational transitions, the placement of isolated language units within word formation nests, the process of identifying them with a newly-created word formations. Through such mechanisms the boundary between what is obsolate and contemporary within a language is becoming very vague. This is the way how history melts with the present time.