ZOOMETAPHORA AS A COMPONENT OF THE WORLD PICTURE

Abstract

The article discusses zoononymous metaphors, which are a valuable and creative way of categorizing the outside world by the Russian and Chinese people. The peculiarities of metaphorization characteristic of zoolexemes, their value-oriented orientation and role in the metaphorical development of the world are revealed. The authors take into account the practical significance of the object, which is a valuable language material for the Russian and Chinese language community. When using the zoo metaphor in speech, the problem of rapprochement-discrepancies in assessments and understanding of different aspects of life from the point of view of native speakers of Russian and Chinese languages and, more generally, with differences in the worldviews of the named ethnic groups, arises. Particular attention is paid to the names of animals (zoolexemes), which are used as zoo metaphors for characterizing and evaluating a person (often negative). It has been revealed that the “descriminating” function of the zoomethaphor, their zoomorphic characteristic is most clearly represented in the opposition “man-animal”.