Unidades fraseológicas relativas al paraguas /la sombrilla en chino cantonés

Abstract

In this paper, based on the Conventional Figurative Language Theory by Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005), we analyse from a linguo-cultural perspective the phraseological units of umbrella in Cantonese, by exploring specifically a series of subtypes: compounds, idioms, terminological phrasemes, proverbial phrases, proverbs and two-part allegorical sayings. This study demonstrates how the Cantonese language uses the image of umbrella in phraseology by means of its particular connotations and symbolism in this language. We have observed that, one the one hand, Cantonese has peculiar phrasemes of umbrella; on the other hand, in some cases, it also uses the same or similar phrasemes from Mandarin, which reflects cultural integration and diversity, as well as the close relationship between culture and language.