NATIONALLY MARKED STEREOTYPES IN PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS OF THE POLISH AND UKRAINIAN LANGUAGES

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of stereotypes reflected in Polish and Ukrainian ethnophraseology, which constitute a significant part of the national and cultural worldview. Particular attention is devoted to the comparison of phraseological units with ethnonymic components that convey traditional perceptions, evaluations, and prejudices regarding both “own” and “foreign” ethnic groups. The article examines phraseological expressions with the components Jew (Żyd), German, Gypsy, Russian (Muscovite), Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Turk, and Tatar, which function in the Polish and Ukrainian languages and demonstrate both common and distinctive features in the formation of ethnocultural images.

The methodological basis of the study is a combination of cognitive and cultural approaches, which makes it possible to interpret phraseologisms not only as linguistic clichés but also as value markers that accumulate social experience and reflect historical contacts, conflicts, and intercultural relations. The research material consists of data from Polish and Ukrainian lexicographic sources, supplemented by examples from literary language and online sources.

The aim of the article is to identify, analyze, and compare phraseological units of Polish and Ukrainian that contain ethnonyms or other ethnoconnotative components, in order to reconstruct linguistic stereotypes about other nations and peoples.

The analysis has shown that Polish and Ukrainian ethnophraseology records a number of similar stereotypes formed on the basis of shared history, geographical proximity, and contacts with neighboring peoples. The study identified a set of phraseological units with ethnic markers in Polish and Ukrainian, carried out their semantic analysis, and classified them according to types of ethnic stereotypes (positive, negative, neutral). Furthermore, both common and divergent features of stereotypical images preserved in the phraseology of the two languages were established. The conclusions emphasize that phraseology is an important source for studying ethnic stereotypes, as it reflects collective representations that preserve the cultural memory of a people. The comparison of Polish and Ukrainian material makes it possible to trace both universal patterns of stereotyping and the specificity of the national worldview.