Water Cult in Chinese Culture: Connotations in the Idioms With Component-Element “Water”

Abstract

   The relationship between language and culture can be traced in any picture of the world of the nation, it is the language that conveys all the facets of the non-linguistic principle projected into the human consciousness. Most vividly, taking into account the connotations, extralinguistic reality is projected in the phraseology of language. Phraseology is a direct verbal expression not only of the reality surrounding a person, but also of its spiritual nationally marked awareness. The description of phraseologisms with a component-name of the element "water" in this article is carried out using an interdisciplinary approach. The "water" component metaphorically conveys the meaning of water as an abstract concept, as a phenomenon of nature, as a process or reaction to it. Chinese linguists note that in the linguoculture of China, water is a symbol of purification, purity and movement towards truth.

   The aim of the article is to reveal the discreet cultural information, which is situated in the idioms with element “water” semantics.

   The article deals with the study of idioms with element “water”, which are analysed in the modern Chinese literature contexts. Different methods of analysis have been used: descriptive method, method of definitions, taxonomic and quantitative methods. The results’ analysis has revealed culture information about people values in the semantics of idioms. This information knowledge is vital for texts and cultural allusions understanding. Theoretical significance of the research is: it broadens the data of language and culture interrelations; it details the scientific understanding of the ways of storing information about the culture of the people in the semantics of idioms. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that its results make a certain contribution to the theory of language and cultural linguistics.