The construction of cultural identity from phraseology: the case of Spanish proverbs by Russian SFL students; [La construcción de la identidad cultural a partir de la fraseología: el caso de las paremias españolas por estudiantes rusos de ELE]

Phraseology, as an integral part of language, has been the subject of study from various linguistic approaches. However, in recent years, greater attention has been given to its relationship with culture and how this is reflected in language. In this sense, proverbs, idiomatic expressions conveying popular knowledge, are considered an important source of information about beliefs, values, and customs within a language community. However, for foreign learners of SFL they are units with an intrinsic pragmatic charge made more difficult by the cultural element. Furthermore, in this study, with the aim of analysing the relationship between phraseology and cultural identity, we examine the role of proverbs in the transmission of culture in Spanish. Furthermore, we set out to address the following research question: Are proverbs really bearers of culture or are they merely linguistic conventions? For this purpose, a paremiological analysis of proverbs is carried out by means of a test exercise with Russian SFL students, establishing a categorisation according to their relation to culture and exploring their possible role in the construction of cultural identity. Finally, it is deduced that proverbs, regardless of whether they are bearers of culture, are not merely fixed and static linguistic conventions, since their meaning and use vary in time, space, and context. © Pablo Ramírez Rodríguez.