"Hamburg Account": the Importance of Phraseologism and Origin

The expression "Hamburg account", or "according to the Hamburg account," linguists refer to the category of such phraseological units, the meaning of which is not equal to the sum of the meanings of words. In other words, knowing what "Hamburg" is and what an "account" is, does not shed light on the meaning of this phrase.

Intuitive understanding of the expression, based on the context

Nevertheless, the expression "Hamburg account", or "according to the Hamburg account," is usually intuitively understandable from the context and is often equated with phraseology "by and large." In general, this is true, but only an intuitive understanding of phraseology usually does not make it possible to use it freely in one's own speech, since the boundaries of meaning are not entirely clear, and secondly, there is always a doubt as to whether it is correctly understood and what it has Attitude towards the city of Hamburg.

Understand the nuances of meaning and in the specific use of this expression will help to know what the "Hamburg score" is, and also what is the history of the origin of phraseology.

Viktor Shklovsky on the etymology of the expression "Hamburg account"

The origin of phraseology is closely related to the name of the well-known literary critic and critic Viktor Shklovsky. It is his book called the Hamburg Account. The meaning of phraseology becomes clear after acquaintance with the parable, told by Shklovsky and explaining the title of the book.

The parable says that sports wrestlers-professionals never fight honestly, their task is to perform by order. They have to lose (lie on the shoulder blades) when an entrepreneur tells them. This is a scam for making money. However, annually in one of the taverns of Hamburg the wrestlers gather for an honest struggle. Their struggle takes place without spectators, from which the struggle itself is hidden, and how much it is really long, unaesthetic and difficult for wrestlers. At this non-spectacular event, it turns out which of the wrestlers is stronger, and who is weaker.

This is done in order to find out the real price for each fighter, no matter what place he takes in the open arena.

The Hamburg Account in Literature

It is this hidden struggle, in which official titles and titles are not important, that Shklovsky calls the "Hamburg score". This concept is important in relation to literature, or rather - to what place in the literary arena is a particular writer. What is the phraseology "Hamburg account" for Viktor Shklovsky, it becomes clear from the use of the expression "on the Hamburg account" in the text of his small article. "According to the Hamburg account - Serafimovich and Veresaev there. They do not reach the city, "the author writes, and continues his allegory, saying that in Hamburg, that is, in hidden competitions, where the true strength of the fighter is revealed, Bulgakov would be at the carpet, Isaak Babel would play the role of a wrestler, Lightweight, the power of Maxim Gorky would be doubtful, since this "athlete" is not always in shape, but Velimir Khlebnikov would be a champion.

One of the spheres of use of the expression "Hamburg account" is economic. The etymology and significance of phraseology are such that it can be used in the sense that economic relations are built on honest, open principles, when all parties to the treaty are equal both formally and in fact.

The "Hamburg Account" in Literary Criticism

As can be seen from the retelling of Shklovsky's small article, in Hamburg, as in sports, the Hamburg score is important. The meaning of phraseology in the context of literary criticism lies in the fact that in literature, as in wrestling, any figure can be evaluated by two systems. For the first, the official "alignment" of forces is important, and for the second - the real one. In the first case, formal indicators of the success of the author and the work are important in the literature, and in the second - its real scale of talent.

Of course, in the literature to find out which of the writers "does not reach the city", and who is the champion, is much more difficult than in the sport. In the end, according to the Hamburg account, only the time can estimate the writer and the work, but it means that when evaluating a literary phenomenon, it is important not to follow the immediate criteria, but to look at it as if it existed outside of time.

"Hamburg account" in different spheres of culture and art

Since the days of Shklovsky (and his book was written in 1928) in many spheres of culture the expression "Hamburg score" has become customary. The meaning of phraseology has expanded. Most often, the score "on the Hamburg account" means an evaluation of a cultural phenomenon or cultural figure, regardless of any opinions, official confessions, awards, awards, popularity and fame.

Thus, a scientist by coincidence may not have a high scientific rank - not to be an academician or even a professor, but only an associate professor, not to hold managerial positions, not to participate in official events, but "according to the Hamburg account," that is, in reality , To be an interesting scientist, thoughts, works and achievements of which are really important for science.

This approach to evaluation is possible not only in relation to a person, but also, for example, to a book. One book can be published by the largest publishing house with a circulation of ten thousand copies, is widely known to readers, has a lot of admirers, a series can be shot on it, but according to the Hamburg account it is just a commercial project or a temporary, momentary phenomenon. Another book can be published in a small provincial publishing house with a circulation of five hundred copies and is known only to a small circle of readers, to receive negative feedback from critics, but according to a Hamburg account this can be a truly talented work.

The allegorical meaning of the expression "Hamburg account"

However, this is by no means all possible meanings of the expression "Hamburg account". The meaning of phraseology in modern language is even wider. It is used when they want to say about the real, honest price of something, about the true state of things. Judging and assessing the Hamburg account can not only be the phenomena and cultural figures, but also their actions, relationships in the family, relations between people, events in the country, etc. - in short, everything that can have a formal, official side and a real one, True.

Examples of the use of the expression "Hamburg account"

The specificity of phraseology is such that even with a clear understanding of its meaning, its use can cause problems, since it requires samples of grammatical "inscribing" the expression into a phrase. Grammatical and syntactic options, really, not so much:

• Pelevin is a strong satirist and a very successful commercial project, a successful writer, but, if in the Hamburg account, it is emptiness, like all postmodern phenomena.
• He is very willing to talk on a variety of topics, but he falls silent when Ivan Ivanovich: he understands that all his knowledge is superficial in the Hamburg account.
• I trust this veterinarian. He will never say too much and will not advise if he does not understand the situation. He works on the Hamburg account, his goal is not to pretend that he understands everything, but to save the animal and not harm him.
• Of course, they won this match. But, according to the Hamburg score, they played badly. They were just lucky. It was their day.

Relevant and inappropriate contexts

Phraseology is a language unit that, in the case of transparency of its meaning, is used freely and rapidly expands the horizons of its use. The same thing happens with the expression "Hamburg account": the origin and meaning of the words are transparent. This means that you can safely experiment. However, in this case, you should be careful not to use the expression even when it is clear what a Hamburg account is.

The fact is that this expression is intended for conversation "on the Hamburg account" and resists ordinary, everyday, insignificant topics and contexts. It will be inappropriate when talking about whether the birthday was good, whether the cake was successful or at what level of service in the cafe. In these situations, the expression "Hamburg account" is not redundant only if household events for some reason are important in someone's fate or are significant for the life of a city or country.