Reflections of Social Stereotypes in Modern Bulgarian Phraseology

Ellie Boyadzhieva (South-Western university of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria)

Email: alek@bcci.bg

 

ABSTRACT:

Language reflects the development of the society which it serves following not only the transition of the economic, political and social life, but also rendering the beliefs and ways of thinking of the peoples sharing one language in a society. This relation may well be defined as 'mirror effect'. The presentation focuses on the meaning of some set phrases and phraseological units in English and Bulgarian containing etnonyms, words denoting ethnicity or nationality, in order to find out what values they bear in the respective languages and thus to make conclusions as to how a language can reflect some stereotypical ways of perceiving foreign cultures. Special attention is paid to the transition from traditional models reflected in Bulgarian set phrases containing etnonyms to those borrowed from English. Some conclusions are drawn concerning the differences between the existing stereotypes in the two cultures. The issue of the possibilities of breaking up with traditional stereotypes and resisting the 'borrowing' of new ones as a result of the intensive contact of Bulgarian learners with English in the global world is discussed.