Contemporary approaches of Slavic phraseo-logical studies to general issues of phraseology

Abstract

Contemporary linguistics devotes increasing attention to the study of the linguistic picture of the world as a reflec-tion of the mentality of an ethnic group. Phraseology is one of the most effective means of conceptualizing rea-lity. It preserves in its structure cognitively significant re-presentations of the surrounding world that are deeply embedded in the linguistic memory of a given culture. The aim of this study is to conduct a cognitive-linguistic and linguocultural analysis of phraseological symbolism in selected Slavic languages, namely Ukrainian, Polish, and Bulgarian. The methodological foundation is cogni-tive-linguistic analysis, which seeks to identify the inter-connections between linguistic form, conceptual content, and cultural codes, with theoretical grounding in cognitive linguistics. Two analytical vectors were employed: verbali-zation from sign to concept and from concept to linguistic expression. The empirical material was drawn from phra-seological dictionaries, associative and frequency databa-ses, and texts of both fiction and non-fiction literature. This approach made it possible to outline the main principlesof linguocultural analysis of phraseological units. The re-sults revealed the mechanisms by which phraseological units are formed through symbolic representation of cul-turally significant concepts across the studied languages. The cross-linguistic analysis demonstrated both universal and culture-specific dimensions of phraseological symbo-lism within a broader interlingual context. The study holds practical value for translation studies, lexicography, and the development of linguocultural resources, particularly a multilingual dictionary of attributive comparisons. Its fin-dings create a solid foundation for further interlinguistic investigations in cognitive linguistics and linguocultural research.