Anger emotion verbalization in English and Ukrainian ethnocultures

Abstract

Contemporary linguistics is characterized by a thorough study of human emotions, which are inseparably connected with our everyday lives as well as our everyday activities. Anger belongs to one of the basic human emotions, and with the emergence of a new humanistic anthropocentric linguistic paradigm that pays more attention to the speaker and his/her psychology, linguists began to refer to the emotions in their works more often and started having a particular interest in them. Although lexical units remain the main means of anger verbalization, in both English and Ukrainian there are many other ways to express the emotion of anger. Each language has its own specific patterns of anger expression, developed due to the peculiarities of culture, etiquette and mentality of different ethnic groups. The present paper focuses on anger emotion verbalization by means of direct nomination, invectives, curses, exclamations, irony and sarcasm in both English and Ukrainian ethnocultures, depending on its components, types, causes and consequences, which differ, but also possess certain common characteristics in the languages under study. The main common feature of anger is that it is a strong, negative emotion, often having destructive consequences both for the one to whom it is directed, and for the one who feels it. It is natural for humans to express their emotions regardless of their nationality, age, sex, educational background, etc. However, the very forms of doing so, their meaning and direction have notable features and specificities in each individual culture. Representatives of different ethnicities do not always feel the same emotions in similar circumstances and situations, and as a result, emotional reactions and conditions that are natural to one nation may seem strange to the other one. This cultural peculiarity also affects communication. Metaphors, idioms and phraseological units are often used in both English and Ukrainian to express various kinds of anger. The author dwells on all possible expressive means and stylistic devices to highlight their both role and function in anger emotion verbalization. The abovementioned language units are used in English and Ukrainian by their language bearers to pay regard to the external manifestations of internal experiences, to their assessment in terms of nonverbal communication as well as observing norms and rules of behaviour in corresponding societies. At the physiological level, the central organ associated with feelings is the heart, which on the spiritual level corresponds to the human soul. Negative and positive emotions are represented metaphorically by their comparison with the animal world, everyday realities and, especially in Ukrainian culture, with religious and demonic images. In this respect, much attention is paid to the analysis of different ways of anger emotion verbalization in English and Ukrainian and, correspondingly, in English and Ukrainian ethnocultures.