National-Cultural Specificity of Biblical Idioms

Abstract

The article investigates the representation features of idioms of biblical origin on the material of various languages. Idioms of biblical origin are regarded as linguocultural and nationally specific units, reflecting the peculiarities of mentality and religious worldview of a particular linguistic culture. The article reveals a number of extralinguistic factors that determine both the universal and specific features of idioms of biblical origin representation in various languages. The factors contributing to the universality of idioms of biblical origin include: 1) the commonality of Christian culture; 2) the influence of the Greek and Latin languages on subsequent translations of the Bible used nowadays. The followings are singled out as extralinguistic factors that determine the specificity of idioms of biblical origin in various languages: 1) the emergence time and dissemination scope of biblical translations; 2) confessional affiliation of a certain ethnic group; 3) peculiarities of national perception of the world and cultural values of a particular linguistic culture; 4) the socio-political system of a particular era or country; 5) mass-media factors. The national-cultural specificity of idioms of biblical origin is manifested in their non-equivalence in a particular language, the quantitative divergence of idioms of biblical origin included into a particular language from a single source, differences in the semantic capacity and meaning of idioms of biblical origin used in each of the languages, the emphasis on certain images and cognitive features activated in idioms of biblical origin, in existance of a set of borrowed idioms of biblical origin from different languages. It should be noted that even universal idioms of biblical origin functioning in different languages can be nationally specific due to the differences in the activated semantic features and figurative components of idioms.