Pragmatic Features of English Phraseological Units Containing the Lexemes “Good” and “Bad”

Abstract

This article examines the pragmatic features of English phraseological units containing the lexemes “good” and “bad”. The study focuses on the relationship between phraseological meaning, contextual interpretation, speaker intention, evaluation, emotional expressiveness, cultural identification, stylistic variation, and social positioning. The theoretical discussion draws on the approaches of Charles Morris, Geoffrey Leech, Sh. Safarov, Isro Burhoniddin Abdurrahman, N. M. Shansky, N. A. Lukyanova, A. V. Kunin, V. N. Teliya, and other scholars cited in the source material. The empirical part analyzes phraseological expressions such as “a good egg”, “bad blood”, “give a good account of yourself”, “have something on good authority”, “good call”, “in someone’s good/bad books”, “of good cheer”, “be in good company”, “put a brave face on something”, “so far, so good”, “give as good as you get”, “while the going is good”, “all to the good”, “as good as”, and “as good as gold”. The analysis demonstrates that the pragmatic interpretation of these units depends substantially on context and that the lexemes “good” and “bad” frequently function as carriers of positive or negative evaluation, emotional and expressive meaning, cultural associations, and interpersonal positioning.