Co broda mówi o mężczyźnie? O bułgarskim językowo-kulturowym obrazie brody

Abstrakt

This article presents a reconstruction of the language picture of the beard in Bulgarian. The analysis was performed with the use of systemic data (derived from Bulgarian language dictionaries) and text data (collected from electronic versions of high-volume magazines, other Internet portals, and from the Bulgarian national corpus). Data originating from Bulgarian folk traditions are also taken into consideration. The image of the beard in the Bulgarian language is based on its symbolic meaning as an attribute of old age, wisdom, experience, power, grandness, and masculinity. A man with a beard is depicted in the language in opposition to a man without a beard (кьосе) of negated masculinity and even stigmatised. Beard in the Bulgarian language is described in relation to its owner, colour, physical properties (length, density and shape), bread growth time, and is assessed for its aesthetic values and sexual attractiveness of a man. At present, a beard reflects fashion preferences and is subject to various care treatments and cosmetic regimens.