DIACHRONIC DEVELOPMENT OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN ENGLISH

Phraseological units (PUs) in English evolve through historical, cultural, and grammatical processes. This study traces their diachronic development from Old English to Modern English, focusing on origins in folklore, literature, and socio-historical events, and mechanisms like grammaticalization, semantic shift, and fossilization. Drawing on historical corpora and contrastive analyses, it reveals patterns of stability in stylistic use alongside unidirectional changes toward opacity and pragmatic specialization. The findings emphasize PUs as mirrors of societal evolution, with applications in language teaching and lexicography. This diachronic perspective highlights English phraseology's adaptability and cultural preservation amid linguistic change.