Tasks in Cultural Linguistics Task 1

Juda’s kiss - an act of betrayal.The phrase alludes to the Biblical story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, disciple who betrayed Jesus to the authorities in return for thirty pieces of silver. The idiom is used as a symbol meaning “betrayer”. For example: Later, I understood that he gave me a Juda’s kiss.
National-cultural specifics of this idiom can be explained by the followings: 1) the reference to Bible, which is considered to be sacred book of Christians who the English belong to; 2) the idiom belongs to non-equivalent vocabulary; 3) the usage of nationally-specific anthroponym as a component.


Achilles heel – vulnerable point of weakness of a person. The phrase alludes famous Greek mythology and its main character Achilles that his mother dipped Achilles to the river Styx to prevent from death but the heel she held was not touched to the river. In one of the battles, brave Achilles died by the axe on his heel. Thus, the idiom is used as a symbol of human physical vulnerability.


Ex: Dentists are my Achilles heel.

National-cultural specifics of this idiom can be explained by the followings: 1) the reference to Greek culture 2) the idiom belongs to non-equivalent vocabulary; 3) the usage of nationally-specific anthroponym as a component.

Trojan horse- something harmful made to look helpful. The phrase alludes another myth in Greek mythology and a story named “War of Troye”. In the story, the wooden horse was used to enter the city Troy. The Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army and win the game.

National-cultural specifics of this idiom can be explained by the followings: 1) the reference to Greek culture and cities like Troy 2) the idiom belongs to non-equivalent vocabulary; 3) the usage of nationally-specific toponym as a component.

Black letter- bad information or unpleasant event occurring. The phrase alludes World War 2 and background scenes of the war in the Republics of USSR. Soldiers at war daily wrote letters to their relatives and if those letters were pink, it meant that the soldier was alive, but if it was black, it was the sign of death. People knew what was written in the black letter without opening it.

National-cultural specifics of this idiom can be explained by the followings: 1) the reference to the cultures the USSR and Uzbeks, particularly. 2) the idiom belongs to non-equivalent vocabulary; 3) the usage of nationally-specific symbol as a component.

Task 3

1. 
   Different symbols and images represent different cultures. For example, half-moon is a symbol of the Islamic religion, crescent is a symbol of the Christians. Think and fill in the chart below with cultural symbols. (See an example).
   
2. 
   Try to explain cultural factors and reasons that presupposed the usage of exact symbols or images to describe a particular sphere
   

Example:

These phrases are connected with the colors of people’s collars worn at work. These can commonly reflect one's occupation.

White-collar workers are usually professionals named so for the white-collared shirts worn among them, office workers and others.
The phrase “Blue-collar”taken from the image of manual workers wearing blue denim or chambray shirts as part of their uniforms because theyinexpensive and do not show dirt easily.