PHRASEOLOGY AND PAREMIOLOGY ACROSS CULTURES AND LANGUAGES: CONCEPTUALISATIONS AND METAPHORICAL IMAGES OF LOYALTY PROVERBS
PHRASEOLOGY AND PAREMIOLOGY ACROSS CULTURES AND LANGUAGES: CONCEPTUALISATIONS AND METAPHORICAL IMAGES OF LOYALTY PROVERBS

Summary/Abstract: The article is dedicated to discussion of phraseology as a field of study, highlighting key figures and landmark works in English, Latvian, Italian, and Spanish. Initially introduced by Charles Bally, phraseology gained prominence in the 20th century, mainly through Viktor Vinogradov, who established classifications of phraseological units based on the degree of semantic cohesion. Today, phraseology is interdisciplinary, with contributions from various fields such as folklore, anthropology, cognitive linguistics, and cultural studies. With this theoretical background, the analysis of LOYALTY proverbs is comparative, focusing on selected case studies from four languages – English, Latvian, Italian, and Spanish – to identify recurring themes. Comparative case studies of specific proverbs reveal universal themes and cultural insights regarding loyalty, social and mutual protection, and recognition among peers. These findings demonstrate that the use of animal metaphors, along with references to social hierarchies and supernatural beings, conveys dominant cultural values and perceptions of the world. Studying proverbs is crucial for cultural and linguistic research, as it provides a deeper insight into language aspects through cultural conceptualisations that organise the social reality of different cultures. Moreover, this study suggests that the concept of LOYALTY1, mutual protection, and social recognition are fundamental to human social behaviour, transcending cultural and language boundaries.

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