ANTHROPOCENTRIC POTENTIAL OF GASTRONOMIC PHRASEOLOGY (WITH REFERENCE TO UKRAINIAN AND ENGLISH)

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of phraseological units with a gastronomic component in Ukrainian and English within the framework of the anthropocentric paradigm. The study is based on the principles of cognitive linguistics, particularly the theory of conceptual metaphor, and a linguocultural approach, which makes it possible to interpret gastronomic imagery as a source for conceptualizing human physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral characteristics. The relevance of the study is determined by the anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics and the need for a deeper investigation of cognitive mechanisms of metaphorization in the phraseological system of language.
The investigation applies descriptive, semantic-cognitive, componential, linguocultural, and comparative methods to systematize and interpret phraseological units recorded in modern phraseographic sources. Four main subgroups are identified, representing physical characteristics, emotional and psychological states, intellectual abilities, and moral and ethical characteristics of a person. The analysis reveals several basic cognitive models common to both languages, including HUMAN APPEARANCE = FOOD PROPERTIES, EMOTIONAL STATE = TASTE / FOOD SITUATION, THINKING = COOKING, and MORALITY = FOOD RESOURCE ECONOMY.
At the same time, the study demonstrates national and cultural specificity in the realization of these models. Ukrainian phraseology tends to emphasize the introspective representation of internal states and socio-ethical balance (bread as a symbol of labor, justice, and reciprocity), whereas English phraseology more frequently highlights situationality, the degree of completion of processes, and the categories of responsibility and loyalty. The findings confirm that gastronomic phraseological units function as an integral system of anthropocentric conceptualization, transforming bodily experience into a cognitive tool for interpreting the physical, psychological, intellectual, and moral-ethical dimensions of human existence.