INFLUENCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAR INDUSTRY ON THE EXPANSION OF THE PHRASEOLOGICAL STOCK OF THE GERMAN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the ethnophraseological topic and focuses on German phraseological units, one of the components of which is a lexeme from the language of car drivers. Based on the generally recognised conclusions about the asymmetry of the reflection of objective realities in different languages and the fact that phraseologisms as a result of figurative rethinking of reality most convincingly demonstrate the heterogeneity of the world perception of different ethnic groups, the authors have taken up this topic, a) to investigate the peculiarities of the semantic transformations of automotive vocabulary in the process of the emergence of the corresponding German phraseological units, b) to identify on this basis the aspects of human existence that these phraseological units reflect, and c) to determine the impact of the development of the automotive industry in Germany on the enrichment of the German-language phraseological stock. Thirty-nine phraseological units actively used by representatives of the German ethnos were the subject of the study, the main findings of which are as follows: – the majority of the phraseological units studied reflect actions and human states in various situations, which is due to the presence of verbs in their composition (an important formal feature). The semantics of these phraseologisms is quite diverse, and in terms of quantitative indicators, five areas can be distinguished: fast movement / fast actions, slow movement / slow actions, overcoming difficulties / problems, having things under control / managing work successfully, being excited / getting angry; – according to the criterion of positive, negative or neutral connotation, phraseological units with a positive connotation predominate, with phraseological units with neutral and negative features being represented in roughly equal numbers. The lexicographical sources show that the phraseologisms that are the subject of the study originated in the 20th century, i.e. the development of the automotive industry in Germany (as a significant external factor) and the vocabulary of ‘automotive origin’ became important factors in the emergence of new phraseologisms and thus refer to a particular aspect of the perception of the world by members of the German-speaking community.