Verbalization of the national and cultural stereotypes through zoonymic phraseology based on the material of the English and German languages

Aim . To establish the national and cultural specificity of phraseological units with a zoonym component, which are closely related to the problems of studying individual imaginative thinking and identifying common features and differences between worldviews and values of individual ethnic groups using means of their reflection in the language, in particular on the material of English and German as closely related Germanic languages. Methodology . The material for the study – the phraseological units with a zoonym component in German and English – was selected by a continuous sampling method from the bilingual and monolingual dictionaries, and analyzed using the method of component analysis, descriptive, comparative methods, as well as quantitative calculation methods. Results . 205 phraseological units of the German language and 207 phraseological units of the English language were divided into thematic groups reflecting intellectual, physical, volitional properties, emotional state, character of a person, as well as characteristics not related to a person. The German language is dominated by phraseological units represented by 18 groups reflecting such characteristics as “Self-love”, “Cunning”, “Aggression”, and containing a negative meaning. In English, the phraseological units with a zoonym component are represented by 25 thematic groups, in which phraseological units predominate, which denote such signs as “Failure”, “Aggression”, and also have a negative meaning. Research implications . The results of the research can be used in the study of semantics, structure, connotative and stylistic features of the phraseological units with a zoonym component in German and English, as well as in the study of language worldviews of native speakers represented by linguistic cultures. The results of the analysis can be used in practical classes in German and English, in seminars on lexicology, in lexicographic practice when compiling dictionaries of a special type.