Title A contrastive analysis of equine idioms in English, Spanish and Lithuanian /
Translation of Title Lyginamoji idiomų su arklinių šeimos gyvūnų pavadinimais analizė anglų, ispanų ir lietuvių kalbose.
Authors Korostenskienė, Julija ; Tarnauskaitė, Greta
DOI 10.15388/Verb.2015.6.8812
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Is Part of Verbum.. Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. 2015, Nr. 6, p. 123-134.. ISSN 2029-6223
Keywords [eng] phraseology ; idioms ; equine ; componential analysis ; English ; Spanish ; Lithuanian
Abstract [eng] Based on the assumption that language reflects the cultural constructs of its users, the article examines idioms containing equine component, i.e. those referring to horse and to donkey, in English, Spanish and Lithuanian. The data are collected from major phraseological dictionaries and are examined aplying componential analysis, initially identifying basic meaning components characteristic of horse/ donkey, dividing all idioms according to the positive or negative connotation contributed, and then establishing the idiom-distinctive meaning component. The analysis of idioms reveals that, apart from common areas of perceiving animals as a means of transportation, several language-specific traits can be identified, e.g. horse as used for racing specifically in British culture, or predominantly positive attitude to donkey (vs horse) in Spanish. The negative connotation is characteristic of all donkey idioms in Lithuanian. The results demonstrate that the negative connotation across the three languages is conveyed when the animal is attributed personifying features referring to human behaviour.
Published Vilniaus universiteto leidykla
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2015
CC license CC license description