Reflection of the concept of “SUPERSTITIONS” in the linguistic picture of the world of the Spanish, French, British, Americans and Russians

Minova Mariya Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0003-3554-1272 PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages No. 3, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics 117997, Russia, Moscow, lane. Stremyanny, 36 mariaminova543@gmail.com Other publications by this author     Emelianenko Elena Mihailovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Foreign Languages, Department of Language Training, Institute of Social Sciences; Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 82 Vernadsky Ave., Moscow, 119571, Russia eemel@yandex.ru Kuznetsova Yuliya Andreevna PhD in Economics Associate Professor; Department of Foreign Languages No. 3; Plekhanov Russian University of Economics 36 Stremyanny Lane, Moscow, 117997, Russia yulia_success@mail.ru Kuznetsova Valentina Viktorovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Russian Language and Methods of Teaching; Ulyanovsk State University 42 Lva Tolstogo str., Ulyanovsk, 432970, Russia valentkuz@mail.ru

Sokolova Ekaterina Iosifovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Foreign Languages No. 3; Plekhanov Russian University of Economics 36 Stremyanny Lane, Moscow, 117997, Russia Sokolova.EI@rea.ru

Interestingly, a similar superstition with the same explanation exists among Spanish actors, but for some reason they believe that on his last day on stage as an "imaginary" patient, Moliere was dressed in yellow: when an actor suffering from tuberculosis in the last stage had a terrible coughing fit during the performance, then expectorated their blood began to stain his yellow robe ^[18].

This color change from green to yellow in the Spanish worldview, in our opinion, is due to the fact that in Spain yellow has always been a color that is associated with something negative. Indeed, in historical retrospect, people who were considered unworthy of the Spanish society of that time had to wear this color. This happened during the Spanish Inquisition, when those who confessed their heresy and repented of it had to wear a yellow sanbenito, a cape made of coarse woolen fabric like a poncho.

At the same time, the superstition about the "unlucky" yellow color among Spanish football players, on the contrary, transformed into a symbol of sports luck. As an example, here is a fragment from the paso doble by the famous Spanish songwriter Manuel (Manolo) Santander /Spanish Manolo Santander/, which is called “Me han dicho que el amarillo" ^[19]:

- Me han dicho que el amarillo

está maldito pa’ los artistas,

y ese color, sin embargo,

es gloria bendita para los cadistas.

Que aunque reciben a cambio

todo un calvario de decepciones,

de amarillo se pintan la cara,

amarillo son sus corazones.

This paso doble has become so popular among football fans in the Spanish city of Cadiz, who sing it at the Ramon de Carranza Stadium every time a home football match with their team takes place there, that it has been made the official anthem of Cadix Club de Fútbol.

· Superstitions related to animals

There is a superstition in the Russian-speaking picture of the world, according to which the cuckoo can predict a person's life expectancy by its cuckooing:

- Cuckoo, cuckoo, how long do I have to live? – people shout, having heard a muffled koo-koo in the forest thicket.

The fact is that among the ancient Slavs, the cuckoo was considered the embodiment of the goddess Zhiva, who is connected with the other world and, accordingly, can bring news from there: how many times the cuckoo will crow to the question asked to her, so many years a person will still live.

With another bird, namely – with a raven – in the UK, (to be more precise, in the British capital – London) An interesting superstition is also related:

- If the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Crown and Britain will surely fall. If the crows ever leave the Tower of London, then the Crown and Britain will fall./

The British firmly believe that as long as crows live in the Tower, nothing threatens the greatness of their country. Crows appeared in the Tower when it was still a state prison, and when executions were carried out both in the fortress itself and next to it – on nearby Tower Hill. Medieval London was a natural habitat for wild crows, and since these birds feed on carrion, it is not surprising that this place in the British capital attracted them so much. Local residents, who were inconvenienced by the sharply increased number of these birds, began to chase the ravens and exterminate them. However, Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed explained to the then ruling British King Charles II that killing all ravens would be a bad omen, and that the kingdom would not survive the last raven killed. Impressed by these words, Charles II ordered to keep at least six birds in the Tower at the same time, take care of them and feed them a variety of food, and in order for them not to fly away, they trim the feathers on one wing. Currently, seven ravens live in the Tower, they even have names: Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen and Rex ^[20].

- To meet a black cat on your way is to fail.

For Russians, meeting a black cat leads to failure. This superstition includes not only an animal (cat), which correlates with the zoomorphic code of culture, but also its color (black), which correlates with the color code of culture. The symbolism of black is identified both in Russian and in other considered linguistic cultures with death, evil, and hostility. At the same time, the black cat as an evil spirit with the established attributes of color and actions in its magical meaning correlates with the anthropomorphic code. An example of the realization of this superstition is contained in the famous song smash hit "Black Cat" by composer Yuri Saulsky based on poems by poet Mikhail Tanich, which was first performed by Soviet singer Tamara Miansarova, and later by the Bravo group:

- They say you won't be lucky,

If the black cat crosses the road.

In the meantime, on the contrary,

Only the black cat is unlucky!

- Cruzarse con un gato negro da mala suerte. / translated from Spanish . To cross paths with a black cat is bad luck./

We find the same superstition among the Spaniards. The origin of this superstition goes back to the Catholic Church, which in the Middle Ages considered black cats and cats to be the reincarnation of the devil, because they accompanied witches who were actively burned at the stake of the Inquisition in that era. Black was identified as the color of the night when the devil was doing his dark deeds.

- Un chat noir qui traverse la rue porte malheur. /translated from French. A black cat that crosses the street brings bad luck./

The French, being Catholics, also disliked black cats. But even when, after the Great French Revolution, the religious beliefs of the French swayed towards atheism, they were strengthened in this superstition by Napoleon. The French emperor saw a black cat running across his path on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, which ended with the crushing defeat of the French army.

A similar attitude towards black cats exists in the United States, where a significant percentage of the population (Latinos, immigrants from Italy, Ireland) are also Catholics:

- It's bad luck to have a black cat cross your path. / translated from English. Unfortunately, to meet a black cat running across your path. /

In the UK, by contrast, meeting a black cat leads to good luck. In part, this seems to be due to the transition of England under King Henry VIII Tudor, to whom the Pope refused to annul his first marriage with Catherine of Aragon, who did not bring the king boy heirs, from Catholicism to Protestantism. As S. G. Ter-Minasova notes, the British even issue postcards with the image of a black cat and an inscription wishing Good Luck! ^{[21, p. 63]}.

- If a black cat crosses your path, you will have good luck. / translated from English. If a black cat runs across your path, you will be lucky./

· Superstitions related to numbers

- el nú mero 13, the number 13 /translated from Spanish, translated from English number 13/

The number 13 for Spaniards, as well as for the British and Americans, is always unhappy, dangerous and even diabolical. The pronounced negative connotation of this numeral is primarily due to the fact that it is in the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation of St. John the Theologian (or, as it is otherwise called, the Apocalypse) – one of the most mysterious and sacred books of the New Testament – that the appearance of the Antichrist is mentioned ^[22].

Many Spaniards are even superstitiously afraid to just pronounce this "unlucky" number. An example of this is Angel Nieto, the famous Spanish MotoGP racer, 13-time world champion in the 50 cm2 and 125 cm2 classes, who, out of superstitious fear of the number 13, preferred to call the number of his titles as "12 + 1" ("doce más uno") ^[23].

Some people in the United States have such a strong superstitious fear of the number 13 that there is no button with this number in the elevators of the vast majority of multi-storey residential buildings and hotels, and 14 immediately follows 12, since few people will want to buy or rent an apartment, as well as rent a room on the "unlucky" thirteenth floor. This fact is also confirmed by statistical data from the Otis Elevator Company, one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of lifting equipment (escalators, elevators and moving walkways) in the world, according to which about 85% of elevator panels installed in high-rise buildings in the United States do not have a button 13 ^[24].

Also, many American airports do not have a 13th boarding gate, and some airlines even delete this date from flight schedules every month or they do not have flights numbered 13. Often American hospitals do not have a 13th ward.

In the UK, many cinemas have neither row nor seat number 13. The famous London Eye Ferris wheel / translated from English. The London Eye/, located on the south bank of the Thames, in reality has 32 capsule cabins for passengers, however, the numbering of the cabins goes up to 33, since the capsule number 13 is missing ^[25]. In his book “London: The Biography” Peter Ackroyd mentions the "superstitious" streets of the British capital that do not have houses with the number 13: Fleet Street, Oxford Street, Park Lane, Praed Street, St James's Street, Haymarket and Grosvenor Street – all these London streets avoid the terrible number 13 ^[26].

In English, there is a stable expression baker's dozen, which corresponds to the number 13, unlike the word dozen, which is equivalent to the number 12. The history of turning the number 13 into a "baker's dozen" in England dates back to the middle of the XIII century, when the Worshipful Company of Bakers trade guild introduced severe fines and penalties (up to cutting off the hand) for the non-weight of pound loaves of bread. However, any bread inevitably gives shrinkage, therefore, in order to avoid punitive measures, all the peddlers and shopkeepers who took bread from bakers added one extra loaf to each dozen loaves, which in English was called unbread / translated from English not bread / and was cut into appendages to all loaves that did not reach a pound or up to two pounds ^[25].

Especially the British established their negative attitude towards the number 13, when at 31 (when rearranging the numbers, the "unlucky" number 13 turns out) in August 1997, a car with Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the Pont de l'Alma Paris tunnel in an attempt to break away from the paparazzi chasing them, which led to to the tragic death of the "queen of human hearts" and her companion.

- le chiffre 13 (porte malheur ou bonheur, ç a d é pend de la situation) /translated from French. the figure 13 (brings both misfortune and luck, depending on the situation)/

The French have mixed feelings about the number 13. For example, gambling Frenchmen have an ambivalent attitude towards the number thirteen: many of them believe in the magic of the number 13 and buy lottery tickets on this date from la Française des Jeux (a monopoly company for lottery draws in France), or go to the casino hoping to win a large sum of money.

For other Frenchmen, this figure is associated with misfortune and bad luck, especially with the number of guests at the table:

- Un dîner à 13 personnes est de mauvaise augure. /translated from French. Dinner for 13 people is a bad omen./

The French should not have 13 people at the table during dinner, because that was the number of guests at the Last Supper, the last meal of Christ before His crucifixion, which was attended by the twelve apostles, including Judas, who betrayed Him.

This superstition of the French even formed the basis of the plot of the French film "Madame" (2017) directed by Amanda Shters with Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel and Rossi de Palma in the lead roles. The film begins with the fact that a rich married couple – an American Bob and a Frenchwoman Ann (to whom all the servants, according to French etiquette, address "Madame", that is, "Mistress") – are preparing to arrange an important dinner party for 12 people at their home in Paris, among whom there will even be the mayor of London. However, at the very last moment, Bob's adult son from his first marriage comes to visit them, and Madame realizes that there will be 13 people at the table then. The hostess, out of superstition, asks her Spanish maid Maria to join the meal as the 14th guest. Unexpectedly, Maria, who has faithfully served this family for many years, finds herself at the table incognito, makes a splash with her spontaneity and falls in love with a British art dealer who is sure that he is communicating with an eccentric Spanish aristocrat. Madame is furious that the maid has attracted the attention of a man not from her circle, but family members have to play along with Maria, since the family is on the verge of bankruptcy, and whether the art dealer will be able to sell their painting "The Last Supper" by Caravaggio (another reference in the film, this time to the origins of this superstition), their further well-being depends.

In the Russian Empire, the number 13 was also sometimes considered unlucky and was called the "damn dozen". During the First World War, a Special army was created as part of the Russian Imperial Army, which, according to military historian A. A. Kersnovsky, was named so out of superstitious fears so as not to be the "13th" army ^{[27, p. 299]}. In the USSR and in modern Russia, the number 13 does not have such magical power, and few people believe in its "unhappiness".

Russian superstitions related to numbers are more related to the number of flowers in a bouquet – an even number should be given to the living, an odd number of flowers in a bouquet is intended for the dead (for funerals or when visiting a cemetery). To give a bouquet with an odd number of flowers to a living person accidentally (one of the flowers broke or withered, and it was thrown away) or consciously (with malicious intentions) – to the imminent death of this person.

In the Spanish, French, British and American worldview, there is no superstition associated with an even and odd number of flowers in a bouquet.

· Superstitions related to the days of the week

Russians don't like Mondays, because that's how the working week starts.:

- Monday is a hard day!

There is a belief about this day of the week, based on the ancient Russian pagan superstition that Monday is the day of the Moon, the patroness of witchcraft, witchcraft and witchcraft, so a person who started a business on Monday risked encountering the counteraction of evil spells. Accordingly, according to the superstitious beliefs of Russians, Monday is a black, hard day.

Following this logic, there is a superstition in the Russian-speaking linguistic culture that those born on this day of the week will not see luck and luck:

- If you were born on Monday, you will not have luck all your life.

This Russian superstition is played out in the song "The Island of Bad Luck" performed by Andrei Mironov from Leonid Gaidai's comedy "The Diamond Hand":

- All covered with greenery, absolutely all

There is an island of bad luck in the ocean.

There is an island of bad luck in the ocean

All covered with greenery, absolutely everything.

Poor savage people live there

They look terrible on the face, kind inside.

Terrible on the face, kind inside

Poor savage people live there.

No matter what they do, things are not going well.

Apparently their mother gave birth on Monday!

Apparently their mother gave birth on Monday!

No matter what they do, things are not going well.

For the British, and subsequently for the Americans, such an unlucky birthday is Wednesday. Superstition came from the popular English children's song Monday's Child. Who was born on Monday/, designed to teach young children in order to memorize the names of the days of the week, in which there is a line ^{[28, p. 309]}:

- Wednesday's child is full of woe / translated from English. The one who was born on Wednesday will be full of bitter grief. (literally: A child born on Wednesday is full of grief)/.

We find a reflection of this Anglo-Saxon superstition in the song Wednesday's Child from the musical album Collage (1970) by the American rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders, which contains the following words:

- Wednesday's child is full of woe

Whoa, oh-oh-oh

Woe I know

I am Wednesday's child.

Also, thanks to this superstition, Wednesday got her name – the main character of the American teen comedy series of the same name in the genre of horror comedy with supernatural elements based on the cult sitcom The Addams Family. The Addams Family/, because grief, failure and unhappiness in this "nightmarish" family mean the same thing as joy, luck and happiness for others.

Tuesday /Spanish martes/ is an unlucky day of the week in Spain, as its name comes from the planet Mars, named after the ancient Roman god of war Mars. Tuesday is especially unlucky if it coincides with the unlucky date of 13.

- Martes y 13 /trans. from Spanish Tuesday the 13th/

The superstitious fear of such a date in the calendar is reflected in the famous Spanish proverb:

- En martes y 13, ni te cases ni te embarques ni de tu casa te apartes. / translated from Spanish . On Tuesday the 13th, you do not need to get married, go sailing, or leave your home./

This unlucky date for the Spaniards is the same as Friday the 13th for the British and Americans, as well as for the French who borrowed this superstition from the Anglo–Saxons. The phobia present in these linguistic cultures before the fifth day of the week is due to the fact that, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday.

- Unlucky Friday 13th th. / translated from English. Unlucky Friday the 13th /

- Le vendredi 13 est un jour porte-malheur. /translated from French. Friday the 13th is an unlucky day./

The French have such a dark and mystical fact from the history of their country associated with the date Friday the 13th /fr. v endredi 13/, when on Friday the 13th in 1307, by order of King Philip IV of France, all members of the Templar Order were arrested along with its leader, Grand Master Jacques de Molay / fr. Jacques de Molay/. For several years they were subjected to the most severe tortures of the Inquisition in order to obtain confessions of heretical thoughts and deeds, and then executed. Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake on March 18, 1314 in Paris. There is a legend about the curse of de Molay, according to which, having ascended to the bonfire, the Grand Master of the 13th Templar Order, defeated on Friday, summoned the French King Philip IV and Pope Clement V to God's court, promising that they would survive him for no more than a year. Clement V died on April 20, 1314, Philip IV – on November 29, 1314, as for the causes of their deaths, there are still various versions – from ordinary to occult. Also, at the time of his death, Jacques de Molay cursed all subsequent kings of France, and this curse allegedly ceased to work only after the Great French Revolution and the execution of Louis XVI ^[29].

Americans and Britons have a superstitious fear of this date – Friday, The 13th – fueled by the entertainment industry. First of all, in this regard, it is worth mentioning the American horror franchise of the slasher subgenre "Friday, The 13th", which has already become a cult among fans of this genre since the first film, released in 1980. Due to the relentless interest of viewers, seven more films of the franchise were released in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, TV series were launched that had fairly high ratings, so filming of new episodes continues to the present. The hockey mask worn by the main character of the film series maniac and brutal killer Jason Voorhees has become one of the most recognizable attributes in world cinema. Many novels and comics have been released based on the films, as well as a large number of goods with their attributes. A computer game in the genre of Survival horror, which is also called Friday the 13th: The Game (2017), is very popular with gamers.

· Food-related superstitions

- If you accidentally spill salt, it will bring bad luck.

- Derramar la sal trae la mala suerte a la casa. / translated from Spanish . Spilling salt is a misfortune in the house./

- Le sel renversé porte malheur. /translated from French. Spilled salt brings bad luck./

- It's bad luck to spill salt. / translated from English. Sprinkle salt – unfortunately./

From ancient times until the invention of refrigerators, salt was mainly used to keep food from spoiling for a long time: many products, primarily meat, fish and vegetables, were preserved by salting. This was relevant not only for countries with hot climates (Spain, France), but also for countries with more severe climatic conditions (Great Britain, Russia). In ancient times, salt was in short supply and, accordingly, was very expensive, which is why it was believed that the scattering of salt would bring misfortune to the house. A multiple increase in the price of salt could even lead to popular unrest, as happened in 1648 in Moscow: This event went down in Russian history as the "salt riot" ^{[30, p. 140]}.

However, Spaniards know how to neutralize the negative effects of salt spilling. You need to immediately take the spilled salt in a pinch and quickly throw it behind your back over your left shoulder in order to blind the devil sitting on it, who then will not have time to notice anything, and, therefore, will not bring misfortune. In modern Spain, this superstition and the way to neutralize it have spread from salt to any loose substance or product. For example, in the award-winning comedy-drama film "Family" (Spanish Familia/ (1996) by the Spanish director and screenwriter Fernando Leon de Aranoa /Spanish Fernando León de Aranoa/ the mother of the family, when doing makeup, accidentally spilled powder, immediately collected part of the spilled powder in a pinch and threw it over her left shoulder.

- Mettre le pain à l’envers sur la table porte malheur. / translated from French. Putting bread with the base up is unfortunate./

Every Frenchman knows that in no case should you put bread with the back side up. This French superstition dates back to the Middle Ages, when executions were carried out in public on the square, often in the lunch area, which in France what then, what now begins at exactly 12 o'clock in the afternoon. Since the executioners were busy executing at noon, the bakers had a habit of leaving bread for them, putting it aside. To distinguish the "hangman's bread" from the one intended for other customers, it was turned upside down. The inverted bread, which was reserved for the executioner, became synonymous with misfortune. People were careful not to touch the bread of the executioners and not to put the bread with the base up.

- An empty bottle of alcohol on the table leads to a lack of financial well-being.

In Russia, a popular sign says that you can not leave an empty bottle after wine, vodka or other alcoholic beverage on the table, because otherwise those sitting at the table will find emptiness in their wallet and, as a result, poverty. It is believed that empty bottles that are placed on the table bring poverty: the hostess will soon have nothing to treat the guests with, and the family will literally finish the last crumbs of bread. And, indeed, Russians scrupulously make sure that empty bottles are sent under the table during the feast. This superstition has become so firmly embedded in the Russian picture of the world that it is done automatically, while lack of money, "empty" life and other misfortunes are not even mentioned.

- Spilling wine on yourself is unfortunate.

According to Russian superstition, spilling red wine on yourself means incurring major misfortune and bad luck, but if the spilled wine is white, then the problems will not be so serious. Such a difference in the effects of superstition, depending on the type of wine, in our opinion, is rather due to the fact that red wine is more difficult to wash off.

In Spain, on the contrary, they believe that spilled wine brings happiness:

- Derramar el vino predice buena suerte o trae alegría. / translated from Spanish. Spilling wine foreshadows good luck or creates an atmosphere of joy./

Following this superstition, every year at the end of June in the Spanish city of Haro, located in the wine region of La Rioja, a celebration of the "wine battle" is held /Spanish batalla del vino/, which attracts Spaniards from all over the country, as well as tourists, to give each other plenty wine. In Spain, wine is an important element of culture and traditions, and pouring wine over each other for Spaniards is a kind of ritual of cleansing from the past and a symbol of joy and celebration of life.

· Superstitions related to animal waste products

There is a superstition in the Russian picture of the world:

- If a bird pooped on you, then it's for the money.

We find a reflection of this superstition in the Soviet joke about Lenin and Gorky:

Vladimir Lenin and Maxim Gorky are walking around the Kremlin one day. Suddenly, a bird flying over them is doing its business right on Lenin's bald head.

- To the money, Vladimir Ilyich! - Gorky says.

"Yes, what I have is enough for me," the leader of the proletariat answers him, annoyingly wiping this outrage from his head.

To which the petrel of the revolution utters with a characteristic shout:

- Well, then it's good that cows don't fly!

Among the French, this superstition no longer concerns birds, but dogs:

- Marcher dans le caca du chien du pied gauche: oui!, mais du droit: non! /translated from French. To step into the dog's poop with your left foot – yes!, but with your right foot – by no means!/

It's no secret that dog excrement on the sidewalks has already become one of the symbols of France in general and Paris in particular, so it is absolutely not surprising that it is in the French picture of the world that there is a superstition about which foot to step into dog poop brings good luck, and which one brings bad luck.

- ¡Mucha mierda! / translated from Spanish . A lot of D&@#ma! /

Good luck in Spain in the theatrical environment before the premiere of the play. The analogue of the Russian wish "No fluff, no feather!" is a hunting formula with a broader context of application, in response to which in Russia you should never thank, and in violation of all the rules of elementary politeness you need to send the interlocutor "to hell!".

· Superstitions related to household items

In all the linguistic cultures we are considering, there is a superstition that a broken mirror is a great misfortune. Only the period during which this misfortune will last varies: if in the Russian picture of the world it will happen in the near future and be of a one-time nature, then for the rest it is characteristic to indicate a clear period of time how long this misfortune or bad luck will last (exactly seven years), which indicates its prolonged nature. Let's compare:

- A broken mirror in the house leads to the death of someone close to you or to a great misfortune.

- Si rompes un espejo tendrás siete años de mala suerte. / translated from Spanish . If you break the mirror, you'll have seven years of bad luck./

- Break a mirror, and you'll have seven years bad luck. / translated from English. Break the mirror, and you'll have seven years of bad luck./

- Casser un miroir apporte 7 ans de malheur. /translated from French. Breaking a mirror leads to seven years of unhappiness./

A reference to this superstition is found in a song performed by American soul singer Stevie Wonder from his album Talking Book (1972), which is called Superstition:

- Very superstitious, nothin' more to say

Very superstitious, the devil’s on his way

Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass

Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past.

The origins of this superstition date back to Antiquity, because for the ancient Romans mirrors were an object of unprecedented luxury. At that time, it was believed that mirrors reflected not only the appearance of a person, but also his soul. Therefore, breaking the mirror meant harming one's own soul and even destroying it.

- To meet a woman with an empty bucket is a disaster.

The appearance of this Russian superstition dates back to the days when women with buckets went to the wells for water. If they returned home with empty buckets, it promised trouble: either the water had left the well, or it had become contaminated and unusable. With the advent of central water supply, it is already very rare for someone to carry water with a rocker arm. However, this superstition is not outdated and has not lost its relevance for us Russians, since buckets are still used when washing windows and floors or to bring the harvested harvest from the cottage. The belief in the power of bad consequences is so great that often from someone who goes with a bucket, you can hear the phrase: "Do not be afraid, it is not empty!".

- Putting up umbrellas indoors will cause bad fortune to rain on your family. / translated from English. Opening an umbrella indoors will lead to bad luck, which will rain down on your family./

The origin of this superstition dates back to England in the XVIII century, when it was believed that opening an umbrella indoors leads to unhappiness due to the contradiction that, in the understanding of the British, existed between an umbrella (protection from rain and from the sun) and a house, since the house protects its inhabitants (Eng. My house is my castle (=fortress).) and does not tolerate any other protection. Another, more mundane explanation of this phenomenon is associated with the fact that the first rain umbrellas were quite heavy and bulky, with a cane handle and a sharp tip. So, opening such an umbrella in a cramped hallway, there was always a risk of breaking or damaging something and even accidentally injuring someone. As a consequence of this superstition, the British always have an umbrella stand next to the front door in the room.

The French, Spaniards and Americans also, following the British, adhere to this superstition:

- Ouvrir un parapluie dans une maison porte malheur. /translated from French. Opening an umbrella in the house brings bad luck./

- Abrir un paraguas bajo techo da mala suerte. / translated from Spanish . Opening an umbrella indoors leads to unhappiness./

In Russia, this superstition is not adhered to and during the rainy season they calmly dry their umbrellas in the open inside the room where they are located.

In all the linguistic cultures under consideration, there is a superstition that walking under the stairs brings bad luck:

- Going under the stairs will lead to misfortune.

- It's bad luck to walk under ladders. / translated from English. Misfortune will happen if you walk under the stairs./

- Passer sous une échelle: en plus d’être dangereux, porte malheur. /translated from French. Passing under the stairs is not only dangerous, but also brings misfortune./

- Pasar debajo de una escalera da mala suerte. / translated from Spanish . Going under the stairs brings bad luck./

Although this is one of the most popular superstitions about bad luck, its origin is somewhat unclear. On the one hand, the ladder was associated with death on the gallows, as the executioners climbed the stairs to throw a rope around the neck of the hanged man. On the other hand, in the Christian pictorial tradition, Lucifer was depicted twisted and glaring maliciously from under the stairs down which the body of Christ descended from the cross. Another possible origin of this superstition is connected with the sacred and mystical meaning that has always been attached to the triangle in Christianity (the Holy Trinity as the Tri–Personality of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and it is the triangle that is the geometric figure that forms a ladder leaning against the wall, which is why it was considered sacrilege to cross this sacred trinity.

Another superstition – tapping on wood to bring back good luck – also dates back to Christianity, because Jesus Christ was crucified on a wooden cross. The crosses of the first Christians were also made of wood. Therefore, touching a tree is like asking for help and protection from Christ.:

- You need to tap on the wooden surface three times to avoid danger and the evil eye.

- Knocking on wood twice reverses bad luck. / translated from English. Knocking on wood twice will take away bad luck from you./

- Toucher du bois récupère votre chance. /translated from French. Tapping on wood will bring back luck./

- Tocar madera da buena suerte. / translated from Spanish . Tapping on wood will bring good luck./

· Superstitions related to natural phenomena

- If you make a wish on a shooting star, it will come true.

The superstition of making a wish on a shooting star is mentioned in chapter VI of the novel in the poems of A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". Telling about the susceptibility of the main character Tatyana Larina to superstition, the poet, in our opinion, wants to emphasize the provincial naivety of Tatiana, who at the time of meeting with Eugene Onegin, lived most of her life in a rural estate:

- When is the shooting star

I was flying through the dark sky

And it crumbled, – then

In her confusion, Tanya hurried,

While the star was still rolling,

The desire of the heart to whisper to her.

Spaniards, British and French also rush to make a wish when they see a shooting star.

In the USA, there is the same superstition, which we find confirmed, for example, in the song Superstitions in travel by the American band Elliott:

- It's superstitious but i keep on wishing

On all the falling stars on hold for me.

· "Professional" superstitions

1) superstitions of sailors

As N. A. Kalanov notes, there are no non–superstitious sailors, because "superstition is the poetry of marine life" ^{[31, p. 12]}.

"The woman on the ship is unlucky.

- Women are to be avoided as passengers because it brings bad luck. / translated from English. It should be avoided to take a woman on the ship as a passenger, as this will bring bad luck./

This gender superstition has been prevalent among sailors for a very long time, regardless of their nationality. Bringing a lady onto the ship meant incurring the wrath of the captain and the rest of the crew. According to one version of the origin of this superstition in ancient times, the lords of the seas, the Greek god Poseidon and the ancient Roman god Neptune, seeing a woman on a ship, might want to take her for themselves, thereby sinking the entire ship along with the crew. However, there is another, more prosaic version: since ships sailed for many months, or even years, it was believed that the presence of the fair sex on the ship would distract the sailors from their duties and excite their passions, causing jealousy among the crew members and leading to discord or even fatal fights.

However, it can be stated that nowadays this superstition has completely gone out of use: in all the linguistic cultures under consideration, women are no longer identified with the misfortunes of sea voyages.

- It is considered very unlucky to kill an albatross. / translated from English. It is considered a very bad omen to kill an albatross./

The English superstition associated with the albatross, the largest seabird and the eternal companion of ships, is mentioned in the famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge / The Rime of the Ancient Mariner / translated from English. The Legend of the Old Mariner / (1798). According to the superstition of sailors, killing an albatross leads to a very big failure. In a poem by S. T. Coleridge, the narrator killed a bird, and the rest of the sailors were so angry at him for bringing trouble on them that they forced him to wear a dead bird around his neck so that he would not forget for a second what he had done. But it still did not save the ship's crew from a painful death due to thirst. One by one, all two hundred of the sailor's comrades die, and only the narrator escaped a sad death, because, constantly looking at the beautiful bird he killed, he sincerely repented of what he had done before the Lord. The curse disappears, and as a sign, the albatross breaks from his neck into the depths of the sea. Rain pours from the sky and quenches the thirst of a sailor, his ship sails straight home, disobeying the wind, led by angels who have inhabited the bodies of the dead. Having brought the sailor to his homeland, the ghost ship disappears with the crew in a whirlpool, and the sailor, as a sign of his repentance, now has to wander the earth, telling his story everywhere for edification.

- Cuando las ratas abandonan un barco es porque se va a hundir. / translated from Spanish . When the rats leave the ship, it means that it will soon sink./

- Rats are fleeing from a sinking ship.

Interestingly, the last superstition in the Russian language has been transformed into a phraseological unit, beginning to be used figuratively in relation to people who are traitors and alarmists.

2) superstitions of athletes

For Americans, baseball is the main summer team sport, respectively, and the main sports superstitions are associated with it. For example:

- Superstitious baseball players will wear the same shirt every day when they are on a hitting streak. / translated from English. Superstitious baseball players wear the same T-shirt when they participate in a series of strikes (the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and receives at least one base hit)./

We find a similar superstition among Americans about hockey, which they love so much. In the 3rd episode of the 5th season of the American TV series about the everyday life of an "age-old" rookie police officer. The Rookie/ we find such a dialogue between the main character John Nolan and a young trainee police officer, a Latin American Celina Juarez, who firmly believes in otherworldly forces:

She: - And what about you? Do you believe in something?

He: In superstitions? No, no. Not really. But in high school I didn’t wash my hockey jersey for a year because of the winning streak.

/ She: - And you? Do you believe in anything?

He: - Superstition? No, no. Actually, no. But in high school, I didn't wash my hockey jersey for a year because of the winning streak./

It is not customary for Russian hockey players to shave during a winning streak, so it is not surprising that when our hockey team returned home from the Beijing Winter Olympics, they all had a full beard and gold medals.

- If the first game of the series ended with the victory of the team, then the hockey players do not shave while the games of the series of matches continue.

3) superstitions of students

Soviet students had a superstition that before passing a test or exam, you need to put a five–kopeck coin in your shoes under the heel for good luck (the number 5 is considered lucky by students, since this is the equivalent of the highest grade - "excellent").

- If you put a textbook or a summary under your pillow the night before the exam, then the material will be deposited in your head in a dream.

Indeed, many Russian students still believe that it is possible to lure luck and knowledge in a dream. To do this, the night before the exam, you need to sleep on your notes and textbooks, having previously put them under your pillow.

From Soviet times to the present day, Russians have preserved many other student superstitions, for example:

- When preparing for the exam, you should not leave notes and textbooks open so that the knowledge you have already learned does not "fade away".

- You can not wash your hair before the exam, otherwise you will "wash away knowledge".

- During the exam, one of your friends or family must scold the student "for luck."

- If you hold on to a student who has just passed the exam with "excellent", then his success will pass to you.

- You must take the ticket with your left hand, then you will draw a "lucky" one.

The last two superstitions are found in the comedy feature film directed by Leonid Gaidai "Operation Y and other adventures of Shurik" (1965) in the second of three short stories – "Obsession", in which during an examination session at the Polytechnic Institute Shurik meets an excellent student Lida.

In Moscow, students diligently rub the nose of a dog from a sculptural composition of a border guard by Matvey Manizer at the Revolution Square metro station during a session, starting in 1938, when this station of the Moscow metro just opened. The tradition is still alive, and even a small queue of sufferers can be observed here during the session.

- If you rub the nose of the bronze dog, the session will be passed successfully.

There are also some interesting student superstitions in Spain. The most famous of them is about the search for a frog.

- El universitario capaz de localizar la rana en la fachada de la Universidad de Salamanca sin ayuda, tendrá suerte en sus estudio. / translated from Spanish . A student who manages to see a frog on the facade of the University of Salamanca without assistance will be lucky throughout his studies. /

The facade of the University of Salamanca, Spain's oldest institution of higher education and one of the oldest in Europe, founded by Alfonso IX de Leon in 1218, hides a frog, which is the main character of a curious superstition very popular in this Spanish university city. According to this superstition, university students must find this amphibian on the facade if they want to successfully pass all the examination tests. It is said that the university student who can find a frog without anyone's help will be lucky in his studies. This is not as easy as it may seem at first glance, since the frog is small in size, it is located on the right half-column of the facade at the junction between the second and third floors. The amphibian sits on top of the left of the three skulls forming the capital of the semicolon, so it is extremely difficult to see the frog standing at the bottom.

4) superstitions of people of dangerous professions (police officers, firefighters, military, pilots)

Among people of dangerous professions in Russia, you can not say the word "last", instead they use the word "extreme" ("extreme assignment", "extreme work duty", "extreme combat", "extreme flight"), because "last assignment", "last work duty", "last fight", "the last flight" is "the last in life", "deadly".

Los Angeles police officers "for luck" wear a medallion with the image of St. Nicholas around their necks. Christopher, on which it is written in a circle S ain't Christopher protect us /translated from English. Saint Christopher, protect us./. At the same time, it is not customary to buy this medallion yourself, you need a friend or relative to give it to you. Also, a medallion with the image of St. Christopher is an indispensable attribute of American surfers, because, according to legend, this Saint carried the Child of Christ across the river, and therefore gives protection to those in danger and those associated with the water element.

All American cops have another superstition. It concerns the prohibition on pronouncing the word "calm" at work, since it is worth saying it to any policeman, as all the most serious and complicated crimes of this day or night will occur precisely on the territory of his precinct or his patrol area.

- If the men and women in blur want to have good luck they shouldn't never say the word "Quiet" (normally referred to as the "Q" word) in any squad room. If men and women in blue uniforms want to keep their luck, they should never pronounce the word "Quiet" (usually it is even referred to as the "Q" word) in any department of the police station./

It is not customary for firefighters to polish their shoes immediately before changing, otherwise they will have to run through burning rooms all the time until they are heavily dusty from the ashes.

5) superstitions of bullfighters

It seems advisable to single out the last category of "professional" superstitions separately, since it is characteristic only of the Spanish picture of the world. Although bullfights in addition to Spain are also held in the south of France, however, for the French this phenomenon is not something iconic and sacred as for the Spaniards. Tavromachia has become firmly embedded in the cultural code of the Spaniards and has become an integral part of their national identity, reflected in Spanish literature, art and language. At the same time, it is quite logical that bullfights, in which any bullfighter entering the arena involves a risk to life and health, have given rise to a whole layer of superstitions ^[32]. Here are the most popular of them.

- Si colocar una montera sobre una cama del hotel esto atraer á irremediablemente la mala suerte a la hora de la corrida. /translated from Spanish. If you put a montera (bullfighter's headdress) on a hotel bed, it will inevitably bring bad luck during a bullfight./

- Hay que tocar la madera de la barrera antes de hacer el paseíllo para tener suerte. / translated from Spanish . You need to knock on the wood of the arena fence for good luck before making a solemn passage at the very beginning of the bullfight./

- Cuando brindan al público y lanzan la montera al aire, todos los toreros prefieren que caiga boca abajo (señal de buena suerte) porque, si cae boca arriba, la posibilidad de que suceda alguna fatalidad aumenta. / translated from Spanish. When at the beginning of the bullfight there is a ceremony of greeting the audience by bullfighters during which they throw their montera (bullfighter's headdress) into the air, then all bullfighters prefer that she fall face down (a sign that luck will accompany her), because if she falls face up on the sand, the possibility that something will happenthat bad thing is increasing./

- Para tener suerte hay que encender una veladora al santo o virgen de su devoción en la habitación donde se vistieron y apagarla al regresar de la corrida. /translated from Spanish. To be lucky, you need to light a candle to your saint or the Virgin Mary in the hotel room where the bullfighter was placed, and you need to put it out only after returning to the hotel after the bullfight./

- Para tener suerte hay que pisar el ruedo por primera vez con el pie izquierdo. /translated from Spanish. To be lucky, you need to step into the arena circle with your left foot./

- Ver antes de un festejo un búho trae suerte. / translated from Spanish . Seeing an owl in front of a bullfight will bring good luck./

In the latter case, superstition is associated with the fact that owls are nocturnal animals, and it is very rare to see them in the daytime, when bullfighting usually takes place.

· Superstitions related to marriage, marriage and celibacy

- Si llueve el dí a de la boda, el matrimonio ser á feliz y unido. /translated from Spanish. If it rains on the wedding day, then the marriage will be happy and strong./

When the wedding of the Spanish Crown Prince Philip (Spanish príncipe Felipe) and journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (Spanish Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano) took place in Madrid on May 22, 2004, and a heavy downpour fell in the church just before the wedding, all Spaniards were happy for the newlyweds. The fact is that in Spain there is a superstition that rain on the wedding day promises many years of marital well-being, and the fact that this year King Philip VI and Queen Letizia celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their harmonious and happy marriage clearly confirms this.

- Giving a knife for a wedding leads to disagreements and quarrels between the young.

In Russia, you can not give knives for a wedding, even as part of a set of cutlery – the marriage will not be successful. According to beliefs, sharp objects will bring misfortune and spoil relations in a young family. If this does happen, then in response to such a gift, you need to give the donor a coin, then the negative will be completely neutralized.

According to English superstitions, on the bride's wedding day there must be something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue / something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue/, where the old symbolizes the continuity of generations, a new thing on the bride it symbolizes the formation of a new family, borrowed from relatives and friends, embodies warm relations and strong friendship, and blue – loyalty and marital devotion. For the USA, this superstition is also very characteristic, for example, in the movie "Twilight. The saga. Dawn: Part 1" / eng. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1/ (2011) this phrase also sounds when Bella is preparing to walk down the aisle. In this film, this tradition was symbolized by a vintage comb that Bella's father and mother gave her before her wedding to Edward.

For a long time in the British, American, French, Spanish and Russian worldview, the white dress of the bride personified her purity and innocence, so there was a superstition that before the wedding ceremony, the groom should not have seen the bride in a wedding dress, because it would be indecent and even insulting to her, and starting a family life with such a thing would be a bad omen. Nowadays, this superstition has a different background, because every bride dreams of making an indelible impression on her groom with her wedding outfit, and, therefore, the future husband should see her in it for the first time when she is in full dress and in an appropriate festive and solemn atmosphere.

- The groom should not see the bride in a wedding dress before the wedding, otherwise the marriage will not be happy.

- It’s bad luck if the groom see the bride's wedding dress before the big day. / translated from English. It's unfortunate if the groom sees the bride's wedding dress before the "big day."/

- Le futur époux ne doit pas voir la robe de la mariée avant la cérémonie parce que ça porterait malheur au jeune couple. /translated from French. The future husband should not see the bride's dress before the ceremony, because it will bring misfortune to the young family./

- Si el novio ve el vestido de novia hasta el día del matrimonio los perseguirá la mala suerte. / translated from Spanish . If the groom sees the bride's wedding dress before the wedding day, then their marriage will fail./

The superstition associated with "throwing the bride's bouquet" /eng. t he tossing (/throwing) of the wedding bouquet, Spanish e l lanzamiento del ramo de l a novia, fr. l e lancer du bouquet de la mariée/, exists in all the linguistic cultures under consideration. After the festive banquet, the bride throws her wedding bouquet into the crowd of guests without looking, and all the unmarried girls who want to change their status to "married" try to catch it in competition with each other. This superstition has turned into a cheerful wedding tradition, bringing joy and fun to the participants of the wedding celebration, provided that the bouquet of the bride will be without thorns and not too weighty, and that the unmarried bridesmaids will not take this superstition literally and will not arrange "fights without rules" in the battle for the coveted bouquet.

- The bride's bouquet caught by the girl at the wedding is for an early marriage.

- La afortunada chica soltera de la boda que coja el ramo de la novia será la siguiente en casarse. / translated from Spanish . Fortune will smile on the unmarried girl who catches the bride's bouquet at the wedding, because soon she will also get married./

- When the bride tossing her bouquet of flowers into a crowd of single women, the woman who catches it will be the next to get married. When a bride throws her bouquet of flowers into a crowd of unmarried girls, the one who catches it will be the next one to get married./

- Quand une mari ée jette son bouquet sur ses épules et dans un groupe de femmes cé libataires, c elui qui attrape le bouquet va se marier. /trans. from fr. When a bride throws her bouquet behind her back into a crowd of unmarried girls, the one who catches the bouquet will get married in the near future./

It is interesting to note that pragmatically this is the only superstition where you can share your luck with another person.

Nowadays, when girls honor feminism and the pursuit of freedom and independence, this superstition has the opposite effect: if a girl does not want to get married soon, then in no case should you catch a bouquet, even if it flies right into your hands. An example of this new approach to this superstition is found in episode 8 of season 6 of the American TV series Sex and the City (1998-2004), when at Charlotte's wedding with Harry, the bride specially throws her bouquet towards her three best friends Carrie, Samantha and Miranda, who are standing apart at that moment they were not married, then none of them makes the slightest attempt to catch him, and a luxurious bouquet falls at their feet.

Russians have several superstitions related to celibacy.

- If an unmarried girl leaves a teaspoon in a mug during tea drinking, then it promises her loneliness.

The Russian superstition that drinking tea with a spoon left in a mug leads to celibacy is closely intertwined with the rules of etiquette at the table. The tradition of drinking tea developed in Russia in the XVII century, when the drink was imported from China. Tea was served in special cups or mugs, then it was customary to drink tea with sugar, which was stirred into a fragrant hot drink with a special small spoon, and then put this device on a saucer. Up to the present time, according to etiquette norms, it is impossible to leave a spoon in hot tea or coffee, and a girl who does not know how to behave at the table has significantly less matrimonial chances.

According to another superstition about celibacy, unmarried people should not sit on the corner of the table, so in Russia girls are told:

- Don't sit on the corner of the table, otherwise you won't get married for seven years!

In the male version, superstition sounds like this:

- Don't sit on the corner, or you'll get married seven times.

Since ancient times, Russian people believed that there was a right "red" (beautiful) corner in the house, where icons were hung, a table was placed and where the most expensive and welcome guests and household members were placed under the images. The opposite left "black" corner of the house was considered a refuge of an evil, otherworldly force, it was a place of punishment for children by standing "in the corner", there was a bowl for a cat, and a broom was kept. Because of this, during feasts, old maids and hangers-on who did not have their own family were put on the corner of the table, which looked in the "black" direction and, therefore, was "unhappy". In the 20th century, these beliefs were forgotten, and only the "terrible" part of the superstition remained in people's memory, that the left corner of the table or just the corner is for old maids.

As the analysis of the above examples of superstitions in the linguistic worldview of the Spaniards, French, British, Americans and Russians has shown, the core of the concept of "SUPERSTITION" is the opposition of "what brings good luck" and "what brings bad luck." The periphery of this concept consists of superstitions about what indicates the imminent acquisition of wealth, and what can lead to poverty, as well as superstitions about what leads to an early wedding or, conversely, to celibacy.

For example, the French have a superstition about what can lead to poverty:

- Poser son sac à main par terre apporte la misère. /translated from French. Putting your bag on the floor brings poverty./

There is also a superstition in France associated with gaining financial well-being:

- Avoir de la monnaie dans une main et faire des crêpes apporte fortune. /translated from French. Bake pancakes, holding a coin in the other hand, to the money./

There is a superstition in Russia that whistling leads to poverty:

- Don't whistle, or you won't have any money!

Russian Russian superstition, for example, is played out in the domestic cartoon "Ilya Muromets and the Robber Nightingale" (2007) from the animated series "Three Heroes", when the villain Robber Nightingale, sweeping away everything in his path with a whistle, one of the Russian heroes knocks out a front tooth with his fist in the heat of battle with the words "Don't whistle, or else there will be no money!", thereby depriving the basurman of his superpowers.

Our research of the factual material has revealed that for the linguistic expression of the concept of "SUPERSTITION", Spanish, French, English and Russian languages have different resources, which manifest themselves in a variety of structural forms.

In all the languages under consideration, the verbalization of superstitions is characterized by a high frequency of the use of grammatical constructions expressing the logical relationship "condition – consequence" and having a predictive function.

First of all, grammatically superstitions are formed by complex narrative sentences with a hypothetical subordinate type I modal expression of conditionality (a real condition related to the plan of the future). For example: English. If the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Crown and Britain will surely fall. spanish Si llueve el día de la boda, el matrimonio será feliz y unido. rus. If a person accidentally spilled salt, it will bring him misfortune.

Also, superstitions are often presented in the studied languages in the form of complex narrative sentences with a temporal subordinate (for example, French Quand une mariée jette son bouquet sur ses épaules et dans un groupe de femmes célibataires, celui qui attrape le bouquet va se marier.), subordinate causes (for example, French Le futur époux ne doit pas voir la robe de la mariée avant la cérémonie parce que ça porterait malheur au jeune couple.) or goals (for example, rus. It is necessary to tap three times on the wooden surface to avoid danger and the evil eye).

In the verbalization of superstitions, infinitive phrases are also often used, which are usually contained in the first part of superstition as an implicit expression of a condition in a consequence leading to both luck and failure. For example: Rus. To meet a black cat on your way is to fail. French Poser son sac à main par terre apporte la misère. spanish Derramar el vino predice buena suerte o trae alegría.

In addition, when verbalizing superstitions, compound sentences are often used, in which conditionality is conveyed using the affirmative imperative contained in their first component, and the predicate of the second component is used in the simple future or in the present tense of the indicative. For example: English Break a mirror, and you'll have seven years of bad luck.

We also came across many constructions with a negative imperative, for example: Spanish. Martes y 13, no te cases, ni te embarques. rus. Don't sit on the corner of the table, or you won't get married for seven years. The high use of the negative imperative, in our opinion, is explained by its pragmatic function of expressing a strict prohibition on performing any action, which makes it possible to convey the prohibitive intention of many superstitions in the best possible way in order to protect a person from misfortune and failure.

Pragmatically, most of the superstitions contain an explicit (you can not do something, or else ...; under such circumstances, do not do this) or an implicit prohibition (the occurrence of an event, or the implementation of any action entails certain consequences) on the commission of any action.

There is also a very high frequency of superstitions with predictive potential (if ... then ...) in which the occurrence of certain events means a high probability of certain consequences.

It should be noted that in the linguistic implementation of the concept of "SUPERSTITION", there is a different degree of rigidity of the urge to perform any actions in order to achieve a certain successful result or avoid undesirable consequences. At the same time, superstitions embedded in the unconscious of a person as a belief in something supernatural, unusual, magical are often fulfilled almost reflexively.

It is interesting to point out that some superstitions, according to our observations, have a negative connotation in one culture, but a positive one in another. For example, a black cat in Russia, Spain, France and the USA symbolizes failure, bad luck, and in the UK, on the contrary, meeting a black cat leads to luck. Spilling red wine in Russia leads to grief and failure, but in Spain it promises luck and joy.

In countries where Christianity is the predominant religion, there is a community of superstitions associated with references to the Holy Scriptures, for example, the unlucky number 13, the prohibition to walk under stairs, knock on wood from the evil eye of luck.

Superstitions are an integral part of the cultural code of the nation, one of the ways of national identification. So, for example, we Russians will never go on a trip without "sitting down on the path", because in Ancient Russia it was believed that this way you can confuse a brownie so that he does not go on the road too, leaving the traveler's house without his protection, but now it is rather an opportunity to remember documents or things that have been forgotten to put it with you, or about the things that you did not do before leaving. The British firmly believe that the four-leaf clover is a reliable talisman against negative energy and the evil eye, since each of its four leaves symbolizes something important and unique: the first leaf represents faith, the second – hope, the third – love, but the so rarely found fourth – luck. The French, known for their love of bread, do not put a baguette or a loaf of bread with the back side up ("bread of the executioner"), so as not to invite trouble and misfortune. And the Spaniards still say ¡Jes ' s as a wish for health when sneezing! / translated from Spanish . Jesus!/, which means May Jesus Christ be with you / with you! God help you!, because in the Middle Ages in Spain there was a superstition that sneezing was the first symptom of the plague.

Thus, the conducted research has revealed the main trends in the implementation of the concept of "SUPERSTITION" in Spanish, French, English and Russian. Based on the studied factual material, it can be concluded that the core of the concept of "SUPERSTITION" is the opposition "luck – failure". Russian Russian, French, British, American, and Spanish superstitions were analyzed comparatively, which showed that the main semantic groups of the concept of "SUPERSTITION" in the Spanish, French, British, American, and Russian worldview are: superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with animals; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with animals; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color; superstitions associated with a certain color. related to numbers; superstitions related to products; superstitions related to days of the week; superstitions related to animal products; superstitions related to household items; superstitions related to natural phenomena; "professional" superstitions; superstitions related to weddings, marriage and celibacy. The origin of the superstitions in question has also been studied in depth and in detail. Based on the results of the analysis of factual material, it can be concluded that superstitions are reflected in language, being realized in prose, poetry, and song lyrics, becoming part of the plot of feature and animated films and TV series. A detailed examination of the structural and grammatical characteristics and pragmatic orientation revealed that superstitions are most often verbalized units in the form of sentences with a predictive function, bearing faith in something supernatural, unusual, magical, according to which a person models his behavior. There is a pronounced community of superstitions associated with references to the Holy Scriptures, which is due, in our opinion, to the fact that Christianity is the predominant religion in all the countries under consideration. As for the differences in the perception of the same superstition, some superstitions, according to our observations, have a negative connotation in one culture, but a positive one in another. It is interesting that, despite intercultural communication in the context of globalization and the tendency towards active mutual integration of linguistic cultures, the frequency of superstitions peculiar to only one national picture of the world is still high. Consequently, superstitions are one of the ways to form a national identity, forming an integral part of the cultural code of the nation.