Nonverbal Display of Emotions and their Expression in Phraseological Units of the Polish Language

Abstract

The article deals with semantics of phraseological units of the Polish language related to kinesic means of communication, in particular with the linguistic expression of emotions in such phraseological units. The mechanisms of storing and conveying cultural information by phraseological systems are analyzed. The basic categories of Polish phraseological units related to kinesic means of communication are determined, and their semantic classification is presented. The regularities of the process of sign interpretation of kinesic behaviour in phraseologisms are analyzed. The author investigates peculiarities of naming of nonverbal expression of emotions in Polish phraseological units. It was found out that the Polish phraseologisms prove to be expressions of emblematic (communicative and symptomatic) and illustrative kinesic movements. Within the phraseological units (the names of kinesic movements) the author distinguishes generally communicative and etiquette ones. The emotional state of the speaker is expressed by symptomatic nonverbal means which can be divided into three subgroups: 1) those that denote emotional states; 2) those that are related to the characteristics of a person; and 3) those that are referred to interpersonal relationships.