Somatic Idioms in Business English: Semantic Features and Translation into Ukrainian

Abstract

The study analyzes somatic idioms used in business English, which constitute an essential part of the linguistic worldview of native speakers. Phraseological units recorded in lexicographic sources were analyzed, and 212 English somatic idioms were selected. The research examines the semantic classification of somatic idioms covering thematic groups such as external human body parts, internal human body parts and external animal body parts. Idioms referring to external human body parts form the most substantial category of somatic phraseological units, comprising 141 examples or 66.5% of the analyzed corpus. It is followed by idioms involving external animal body parts (45 idioms, making up 21.2%), while idioms with lexemes nominating internal human body parts form the smallest group (26 units, representing 12.3%). The idioms under study were classified by their level of semantic opacity into pure (32.4%), semi-idioms (41.4%), and literal (26.2%). Special attention was given to translation techniques applied for adapting somatic idioms in interlingual communication. Results show that the most common translation methods are analogy (34.9%) and near equivalent (27.4%), whereas absolute equivalents (14.6%), descriptive translation (19.8%) and calques (3.3%) are less frequently used. The external human body parts thematic group exhibited the greatest variability in translation methods, indicating the universality of this group for constructing metaphorical meanings. The study demonstrates that metaphorical expressions involving lexemes that nominate human body parts are a rich source of idioms across languages. Among them, references to external body parts tend to carry meanings that are widely understood and easily translatable across cultures. In contrast, idioms involving lexemes nominating internal organs or animal anatomy often reflect culturally specific associations, making direct translation more challenging and frequently requiring explanation or adaptation. The originality of this paper lies in its focus on semantic features of somatic idioms used in business English, a topic that has received limited attention in linguistic research. By grouping these idioms into thematic categories - external human body parts, internal human body parts, and external animal body parts - and analyzing their meanings and translation techniques employed in rendering them in Ukrainian, the study offers new insights into how figurative language works in professional communication. Conclusion. The study highlights the richness of somatic idioms in business English and their semantic features. It shows that idioms based on external human body parts are the most common and easiest to translate due to their universal meanings. In contrast, idioms involving internal body parts or animal anatomy tend to be more culture-specific, often requiring explanation.