Abstract:

The article is devoted to the features of phraseologically represented concepts which are helpful in forming students’ linguistic consciousness in the course of learning English. Whatever profession learners of English specialize in, it is evident that in order to be efficient in using English as a tool of solving all sorts of communicative tasks they have to elaborate linguistic consciousness compatible with their inherent national and cultural worldview. Hence the objective of the present work is to analyze peculiarities of conceptual content verbalization by phraseological means and to reveal their role in forming students’ national and cultural specificity of the world perception.

The most outstanding feature of a phraseologism is that its general meaning is not made as a mere addition of its components’ meanings, but as a special integrated semantic unity, sometimes totally different from the primary result of the mentioned addition. That is what makes phraseology so loaded in terms of cultural awareness and so important in terms of students’ linguistic awareness.

The authors describe the basic types of phraseological concepts: reflective picture, scheme, frame, script. Thus, a reflective picture conveys colligated sensory images, the most obvious features of an object. A scheme is an abstraction which obtains a certain content in the particular situation. A frame describes the sequence of events. Scripts show some dynamics of events and actions.

Depicting linguistic and cultural aspects of phraseological concepts, the authors clarify their role and participation in representing peculiarities of the world perception, this or that nation way of thinking and associative links. In addition, the article proves that the phraseological level of a language significantly fixes the values and spiritual system of a society, its moral, ethical and aesthetic preferences, features of the mentality of a particular linguocultural community.

The research is conducted with the help of methods of cognitive linguistics. Application of the cognitive approach to the study of the language phraseological system allows to define the knowledge structures which are represented by phraseological concepts and to work out the optimal ways of delivering phraseologisms as a learning material to students of English.

The authors conclude that phraseology makes one of the most demanding layers of language to be studied by non-native speakers. At the same time it is one of the most engaging areas, mastering which helps students increase authenticity of their English speaking style.

Keywords:

English as a foreign language, phraseology, cognitive linguistics, phraseologically represented concept, reflective picture, scheme, frame, script, national and cultural specificity.