THE IMAGE OF AN “ALIEN” IN THE SUB-STANDARD PHRASEOLOGY OF THE RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES
Abstract
10.18522/1995-0640-2026-2-86-95
The article is devoted to the study of the semantic and cultural peculiarities in the verbalization of the image of “Alien” in the sub-standard phraseology of the English and Russian languages. The research is based on the descriptive, comparative, interpretative and generalizing methods of analysis applied to the sub-standard phraseological units which were selected from the specialized dictionaries. It is established that the image of “Alien” in both languages is formed around the OwnAlien opposition with a negative connotation actualized through metaphors of threat, inferiority, incomprehensibility and moral deviation. The differences in the verbalization of the analyzed image are determined by the social structure, cultural archetypes and historical development of sub-standard systems in Russian- and English-speaking countries. In the Russian sub-standard worldview, the image of “Alien” is related to the socio-hierarchical division, where alienness relates to the position in the criminal society. In the English sub-standard tradition, the emphasis is shifted to behavioral, racial, and gender markers, as well as economic success/failure. It is proved that sub-standard phraseology is not just a set of expressive means, but a complex sign system that captures and transmits the basic values and antivalues of closed social groups, in which the image of an “Alien” performs a consolidating function for a group of “Owns”.
Key words: sub-standard, sub-standard phraseology, sub-standard phraseological unit, substandard worldview, image of an “Alien”
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Copyright (c) 2026 Galina V. Fayzieva, Zuhra R. Agleeva
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