Semantics of phraseological units expressing negative emotions in the English-speaking worldview

This study focuses on analyzing semantic features of phraseological units expressing negative emotions in the English linguistic worldview. The relevance of the research is determined by the anthropocentric orientation of modern linguistic studies and the interest in exploring the language-based interpretation of emotions. The empirical corpus incorporates 780 phraseological units representing emotions such as sorrow, suffering, anger, fear, shame, contempt, disgust, and madness. The primary aim is to analyze the semantic features of these units and classify them. In accordance with the goals and objectives set, the main theoretical approaches to the study of emotions conceptualization have been studied. The phraseological units with different component structure expressing human emotions and feelings have been analyzed. Semantic features of the units under study have been described. The use of methods of phraseological identification and phraseological description made it possible to present the empirical corpus in the form of classification including a number of semantic groups. As a result, eight semantic groups have been identified, with “Sorrow and Sadness” being the most prevalent (239 units, 30.7%) and “Madness” the least represented (17 units, 2.1%). The research highlights the importance of phraseological units as reflections of emotional and cultural perceptions of the world, enriching the understanding of the English linguistic worldview.