Language - specific and interlingual phraseological units.

Abstract

Phraseological units (PUs) – fixed word combinations such as idioms, collocations, binomials, and phrasal verbs – are a central component of English vocabulary. They often convey meanings that cannot be deduced from their individual parts and carry cultural nuance. This paper examines English phraseological units and analyzes how they transfer (or fail to transfer) across languages, with a focus on Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Russian. Using a contrastive analytic approach, we compare selected English idioms and collocations with their literal translations, calques, or native equivalents in the target languages. Baker’s (2011) typology of idiom translation strategies (e.g. finding an equivalent idiom, literal translation, or paraphrase) guides our analysis. We find that while some English expressions have close counterparts (e.g. “break the ice” → Turkish buzları kırmak), many are culture-bound or syntactically incongruent and require paraphrase or avoidance. English collocations (e.g. strong tea) often differ in adjective choice (Turkish demli çay, lit. “brewed tea”). Phrasal verbs pose particular challenges, as Turkic and Slavic languages typically lack direct analogues. These mismatches have clear implications for ESL learners and translators: instruction should emphasize semantic context and metaphor, not word-by-word rendering. We conclude by offering pedagogical recommendations for teaching English phraseology (e.g. using corpora and contrastive examples) and for translator training (e.g. raising awareness of non-equivalence and strategy use).