SIGNS AND SUPERSTITIONS ACROSS CULTURES: RUSSIAN, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH LINGUOCULTURAL TRADITIONS

The ubiquitous presence of superstitious beliefs calls for an in-depth study of their cognitive foundations from a cross-cultural perspective. Potential drivers of human behaviour, superstitions are viewed in this paper as cultural constructs resulting from the complex nature of human experience and cognitive activity. This research aims to present unfounded beliefs as a cognitive phenomenon and to identify underlying conceptual mechanisms. With the use of a complex methodology including observation, hermeneutic and conceptual analysis, several most popular superstitious signs and beliefs in three cultures - Russian, English and French - are scrutinized in a bid to obtain a better understanding of the preferences different cultures demonstrate in selecting a focus in the conceptual framework of a superstition. The paper shows how choosing a different focal point is reflected in the interpretation of a superstition, consequently resulting in a different behavioural pattern. It is argued that adding a linguistic dimension to the research of superstitions makes it possible to demonstrate the role systemic linguistic differences play in creating a culture-specific superstitious worldview. Common and specific models of verbal and non-verbal superstitious behaviors are part of any national culture, and this "linguistic-behavioral" cluster can be classified as a cultural idiom whose exploration will be beneficial for practical purposes in foreign language teaching and will open new avenues in cross-cultural studies. (C) 2020 Published by European Publisher.