CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN IDIOMS WITH THE COLOR BLACK

Abstract

This article reviews idiomatic expressions in English and Russian that contain the colour term black. The paper has an overview character and is based on observations of examples presented in linguistic literature and monolingual dictionaries. It describes the semantic, cultural, and connotative features of such expressions and provides a brief comparison of their usage in the two languages. Particular attention is given to the symbolism of the colour black, which in idioms is often associated with meanings such as negativity, secrecy, and danger, and in some cases with elegance and authority. The observations presented in the article may be useful for translation studies, intercultural communication, foreign language teaching, and lexicography.