ANALYSIS OF CHINESE PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS AND THEIR SERBIAN EQUIVALENTS

Abstract

This study investigates the contrastive analysis of Chinese phraseological units (熟语/shúyǔ) and their equivalents in the Serbian language, focusing on both lexical and semantic levels. Chinese, as the native language of the Han ethnic group, carries a rich cultural and historical tradition, and its idiomatic expressions serve as carriers of collective wisdom, social norms, and cultural values. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding these phraseological units not only as linguistic expressions but also as reflections of cultural identity. The main objectives of this research are twofold: first, to identify the types of equivalence between Chinese idioms and their Serbian counterparts, distinguishing between full, partial, and zero equivalence; second, to analyze and classify twenty selected Chinese idioms in terms of their lexical and semantic characteristics. The corpus for this study consists of twenty idioms extracted from the lexicographical publication Chinese Idioms (Obradović, 2013), chosen to allow a detailed and systematic analysis while establishing a foundation for future research on a larger scale. The methodology involves a two-level analysis: lexical, which examines the choice of lexemes and their role within fixed expressions, and semantic, which identifies the meanings and cultural components embedded in the idioms. Following the model proposed by Jarmo Korhonen (2007), the study classifies the equivalence of each idiom. Results indicate that full equivalence occurs in only 10% of cases, partial equivalence in 45%, and zero equivalence in 45%. The findings reveal significant differences in the cultural and metaphorical motivation of idioms between Chinese and Serbian, highlighting challenges in direct translation. Nevertheless, functional and culturally sensitive translation strategies can provide adequate equivalents even in cases of zero equivalence, suggesting possibilities for refining existing translations. This research contributes to the development of contrastive phraseology and translation studies by providing insights into the adaptation of Chinese idioms in Serbian. The findings offer a basis for further studies aimed at enhancing translation strategies and promoting a deeper understanding of cross-cultural linguistic correspondences.