Comparative phraseological units as signs of national culture (based on Austrian and Swiss phraseology)

The research aims to identify the cultural specificity embedded in the standard images of comparison that form the semantic basis of comparative phraseological units in the national varieties of the German language. The article conducts a comparative analysis of the figurative foundations of synonymous German, Austrian, and Swiss comparative phraseological units, as well as the most relevant and traditional source domains of standard comparisons for the Austrian and Swiss linguistic and cultural regions. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the application of the linguo-culturological method in combination with the method of trilateral comparison of symbolic foundations, characteristic of the comparative phraseology of the German language in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, made it possible to obtain new data on the features of national systems of standard symbols and to identify distinctive means of transmitting the codes of the corresponding linguo-culture. As a result of the research, it was found that the Austrian and Swiss systems of standard symbols have different reference domains as their figurative basis, and their specificity is largely due to the use of specific signs of national culture as standards of comparison.