Frazeologizmy z komponentami "dusza" i "serce" w języku polskim, rosyjskim i hiszpańskim

The present paper presents evidence that idioms containing the components soul and heart are as frequent in other languages (e.g. Spanish) as they are in Slavonic languages. It appears that such idioms are essential for conveying the image of a human being, irrespective of the language. However, each the analysed linguistic systems has its own range of idioms which is characteristic of this particular language. This study focuses on the following groups of idioms: 1) idioms describing a human being; 2) idioms denoting mental and physical state; 3) idioms referring to interpersonal relations; and 4) idioms describing the manner of performing the activity or the intensity of a given state. The author of the article emphasises that idioms enable us not only to talk about abstract concepts and phenomena, but also to think about them in terms of specific notions. This is regarded as one of the mechanisms shaping the linguistic image of the world