Reflection of stereotypical perceptions of women in paremias: Polish-Ukrainian parallels
Authors: Shkitska Iryna 
Published: December 2024

Background. In todayʼs globalized world, scholarly inquiries that delve into the peculiarities of mentalities and uncover the cultural richness of various ethnic groups have become increasingly relevant. This statement is also applies to linguistic studies, which focus on comparing the verbal manifestations of the cultural heritage of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples.Сontribution to the research field. Based on the phraseological and paremiological material of the Polish and Ukrainian languages, the author conducts a comparative analysis of the verbalization of stereotypical perceptions of women. The stereotypical views on the character traits of women, their attitude towards their appearance, and the creation of a family are highlighted. The typical character traits attributed to women are identified, and the means of their verbalization are characterized; the ways and means of demonizing women, reflected in proverbs, are shown. The differences in stereotypical perceptions of women in Polish and Ukrainian cultures are revealed.Purpose. The research aims to compare the peculiarities of verbalization of stereotypical perceptions of women in Polish and Ukrainian paremias.Methods. The primary methods employed in this article include descriptive analysis and analytical and synthetic methods, such as structural, quantitative, and comparative analysis. The descriptive method enabled the systematization of semantic varieties of Polish and Ukrainian paremias reflecting stereotypical views of women. The classification method was applied to systematize the results of the study of Polish and Ukrainian paremias reflecting stereotypical views of women, as well as to identify semantic varieties of paremias on the studied topic and structure their means of verbalization. The analytical and synthetic methods ensured the processing of the achievements of scholars in the field of phraseology. They made it possible to characterize paremias that reflect stereotypical views of women. The structural analysis method enabled the identification of components in paremias, the establishment of relationships between them, and in particular, made it possible to determine the semantic dominants among the means of verbalizing stereotypes about women in the phraseological and paremiological material of the Polish and Ukrainian languages. The quantitative analysis method was used to characterize the frequency of representation of various semantic varieties of paremias on the studied topic. The comparative analysis method was applied to compare Polish and Ukrainian paremias reflecting stereotypical views of women in terms of semantics and the linguistic means presented in them.Results. Polish and Ukrainian paremiology reflects stereotypical assertions that women aspire to create families, cannot fulfill themselves without a man, and are unable to be happy without one. The phraseology and paremiology of both languages reveal a shared understanding of motherhood as a normal and expected state. Evaluations of women based on their appearance and a focus on female beauty are more prevalent in Ukrainian phraseological and paremiological material. However, the claim of womenʼs excessive attention to their appearance is present in the paremies of both compared languages. The stereotypical assessment of womenʼs intellectual abilities, physical strength, and endurance, as reflected in Polish and Ukrainian paremies, is characterized by ambiguity. A common feature of both languages is the allusion to the irrationality, illogicality, tearfulness, and emotional instability of women. The large group of paremies reflects stereotypical notions of womenʼs character traits. The demonization of women is vividly expressed in the phraseological and paremiological material of both Polish and Ukrainian languages, manifested in statements that a woman can surpass evil spirits in wickedness, is similar to them, and is the embodiment of evil. The image of a woman as a temptress and the stereotypical notion of women as timid and wasteful are typical of Polish and Ukrainian paremies. Ukrainian paremies emphasize the flexibility and compliance of women, especially young ones, and their preferences — a love for dancing, sweets, and fussiness in food.Discussion. While Polish and Ukrainian proverbs often position women as guardians and keepers of the domestic hearth, negative stereotypical characteristics of women dominate. The analyzed phraseological and paremiological material reveals views of womenʼs work as being easier and less valuable, and of women themselves as being unable to hold leadership positions or perform significant social roles. A promising avenue for future research is a comparative analysis of the individual traits of women as depicted in Polish and Ukrainian proverbs.