Phraseology as a base gender stereotypes (on the material of the english language)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of gender stereotypes on the material of English phraseology.
The author has analyzed phraseological fund as the main source for forming personal worldview, which
revealed via language. Phraseology has been declared both as the basis for forming mental, behavior and
cultural intentions of person and as the instrument for making stereotypes (particularly, concerning relationships between man and woman). The article presents a study on the formation of some of the gender
stereotypes reflected in one of the most components that make up the culture of the people – proverbs
and idioms. These phraseological units give the initial idea of the concepts such as: appearance, social
status, intelligence, age, etc. The conclusions based on these concepts form the idea of how society
should treat gender images of femininity and masculinity.Phraseology is a branch of lexicology that studies sequence of words that are semantically and often syntactically restricted and they function as single units similar to individual words. Phraseology received increasing attention in the English-speaking
world. Linguistic competence also includes a familiarity with restricted collocations and proverbs as well
as the ability to produce or understand metaphorical interpretations.Phraseological units absorb values
of the ages in which it lives. The problem of understanding the meaning of a phraseological unit is linked
with a possibility of increasing our knowledge about the world diachronically.