LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL POTENTIAL OF PHRASEOLOGY: COMMON AND NATIONALLY SPECIFIC FEATURES (BASED ON THE PHRASEOLOGISMS WITH THE SYMBOLIC COMPONENT <i>МЕЧ / SWORD / LE GLAIVE</i> IN RUSSIAN, ENGLISH AND FRENCH)
The article explores a phraseological group with the symbolic component меч/sword/le glaive in Russian, English and French with the aim of revealing common and specific features in the constituent elements of the group. Nowadays, Russian and foreign linguists are focusing on the research into the universal features, based on the main concept spheres in phraseology. Active comparative research works are being conducted both in sister languages and in unrelated languages. A frontal interlingual comparison makes it possible to weed out subjective “nationalized” interpretations of certain phraseological units. The analysis of phraseological units with the component меч / sword / le glaive, which is a phraseological forming symbol, seems interesting in terms of including this core component in units that reveal a commonality of associations. Our analysis of Biblical phraseologisms shows the international character of the Biblical phraseology in general. The common concept base proves the universality of the symbol меч / sword / glaive as the thing punishing for wrong-doings. By studying linguistic cultural equivalency in phraseology, we acquire rich material for understanding culture, mentality, and language structure of different nations from the point of view of the real world coding.