COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC APPROACHES TO IDIOMS AND PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

This article examines cognitive linguistic approaches to the analysis of idioms and phraseological units. Unlike traditional linguistic theories that regard idioms as fixed lexical expressions, cognitive linguistics explains them as conceptual structures motivated by human experience, conceptual metaphors, metonymy, and cultural knowledge. The study investigates the role of conceptualization, embodiment, and cognitive semantics in the formation and interpretation of idiomatic expressions. The findings indicate that idioms are systematic conceptual phenomena rather than arbitrary linguistic constructions. Cognitive linguistic theories provide a comprehensive framework for understanding semantic motivation, figurative meaning, and cross-cultural variation in phraseological units.