Phraseological units with opposite meanings in the German language

The paper presents the description of phraseological units with enantiosemic, in other words, opposite meanings. A phraseological unit is a grammatically undivided syntactic unit in the form of a word or a word combination without a notional semantic content, which performs communicative and often esthetic functions. According to the nature of semes which are opposed as antonyms in phraseological units one can distinguish nominative and emotive enantiosemy. Enantiosemic meanings can be expressed by phraseological units that refer to the following semantic groups: ''assertion'' / ''negation'', expressive valuation, as well as etiquette one. Symmetrical units are considered to be phraseological units -enantonyms which are able to express two diametrically opposite meanings that are of equal size and quality content, that is, of the semes of expressed meanings used in similar situations of speech communication. Asymmetric phraseological units are respectively those which do not meet these requirements. Nominative enantiosemy is represented by phraseological units with the meanings ''assertion'' / ''negation'' and etiquette ones. Phraseological units with the meaning ''assertion'' / ''negation'' are symmetric because of the uniform situations of realization of their meanings, of their same size and quality of their content. And if a negative meaning is accompanied by an extra ironic context, then there is asymmetry of enantiosemic meanings. Etiquette phraseological units are symmetrical enantonyms as they are used in the symmetrically opposite situations which are identical in their volume and seme content. The etiquette phraseological units opposition of meanings does not have a gradual character, so it can be qualified as a kind of complementary symmetric enantiosemy. Emotive enantiosemy finds its expression in phraseological units which have opposite meanings based on expressive and evaluative components. The semantics of such units is associated with the expression of the opposite relation to a subject or an action. Despite the variety of expressed emotions and the degree of expression, emotive phraseological units often express opposite symmetrical meanings which are of the same volume and quality of content and are used in similar situations of speech communication. The wide variation in the meaning of emotional evaluation in speech practice can also be the cause of the asymmetry of enantiosemic meanings of emotive phraseological units. Although this makes it difficult to systematize all the cases of their use, it is the basis of high productivity in terms of enantiosemy.

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