Phraseological Units with Emotional Components in English, Turkish, and Georgian (Comparative Analysis)

Abstract

The presence of phraseological units across languages constitutes a distinctive linguistic phenomenon. Emotional phraseological units express positive, neutral, and negative emotions, whether definite or indefinite. The present study examines phraseological units with emotional components in English, Turkish, and Georgian, taking into consideration their structural, semantic, and cultural characteristics. A comparative study of phraseology in unrelated languages enables the identification of language-specific features as well as typological similarities and differences in both semantic content and expression.
A comparative analysis of phraseological units in English, Georgian, and Turkish reveals several common features:
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The somatic component heart functions as a means of expressing love or emotional states;
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The lexeme eyes is associated with emotional expressiveness (tears, attraction, anger);
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Blood represents intense emotional states, particularly anger (e.g., “blood boiling,” a phraseological expression attested in all three languages);
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Face / mouth is used to convey emotional states such as happiness or sadness.
In the languages under consideration, phraseological units expressed through identical somatic elements are attested, conveying human emotions (e.g., anger, rage) in both comparable form and meaning.
As regards the differences, emotional phraseology in English is predominantly based on metaphorical and idiomatic constructions; in Georgian it is characterized by figurative expressions grounded in somatic elements and conveying intense emotions, whereas in Turkish it tends to reflect social values and forms marked by a relatively moderate emotional tone.
The examples examined constitute clear evidence that phraseological units containing emotional components in English, Georgian, and Turkish—primarily characterized by somatic elements—demonstrate the presence of linguistic universals, that is, linguistic phenomena that are common to all or most languages of the world.