COMPOSITIONAL SEMANTICS OF THE PHRASAL VERBS PHASE DOWN AND PHASE OUT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to investigate the semantics of the phrasal verbs ’phase out’ and ’phase down’, to understand the linguistic reasons for different interpretations of their meanings by native speakers. The following methods were used in the process of working: the comparison method, the component analysis and the semantic analysis. Examining the definitions of the phrasal verbs ’phase out’ and ’phase down’ in lexicographical sources, we found that these verbs are absolute synonyms in the Cambridge Dictionary of English, but in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary their meanings differ. It was found that in the Cambridge English Dictionary the core of the phrasal verb ’phase down’ is the verb component, and in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the semantic center of the ’phase down’ is shifted under the influence of the adverb ’down’ towards its meaning. In both dictionaries, the semantic center of the phrasal verb ’phase out’ is shifted towards the meaning of the postpositive ’out’, which specifies the lexical meaning. Since the phrasal verb ’phase down’ in the Cambridge English Dictionary means ’to remove or stop using something gradually or in stages’, and the adverb ’down’ does not have the meaning ’to the point where something is removed or disappears / to the point of depletion, extinction, or exhaustion’ (in contrast with the adverb ’out’) in any dictionaries , this gives grounds to consider ’phase down’ in the Cambridge English Dictionary as an idiomatized phrasal verb. ’Phase down’ in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ’phase out’ in both dictionaries should be attributed to the group of so-called semi-idiomatized phrasal verbs. In semiidiomatized phrasal verbs, the verb retains its direct meaning, while the postpositive (the adverb) brings an additional shade of meaning. The conducted research allows to state that in the English language the same phrasal verb can belong both to the group of semi-idiomatized and to the group of idiomatized phrasal verbs. This explains the fact that for some native speakers ’phase out’ and ’phase down’ are fundamentally different, and for others they do not differ.