The place of Christianity in social life is presently described in the relation of contemporary states to the Catholic Church and religious communities, current European models of legal solutions and to the protection of freedom of religion as the basic human right. Ideological presuppositions hinder a fair discussion both on the part of the supporters of individualistic-liberal ideology as well as the collective one. The first ideology perceives religion as a threat to human freedom, the other one negates a supernatural dimension of human existence, defining religion as one of the factors of social alienation. The influence of contemporary postmodernism is significant. The ideology inspires politics of some European states which are driven by secularity that is interpreted in a particular way; its aim is to reduce religion only to a private sphere and finally to eliminate it from public life. Christianity is perceived as an alien element which does not fit with contemporary culture and pluralistic social life. However, Christianity is still an essential element of individual national cultures, it is confessed and practiced, though its expression may vary, while secularization is a strong trend in European societies. Christians are actively present in social life and they contribute to social development though the witness of their faith, family communities and though organizations, associations, communities, religious movements, educational facilities of various levels, institutions. In this way Christians form social capital which is important for the society. Therefore it seems fitting to pose a question about the importance of Catholic associations in the formation of social capital. As Catholic associations base their activity on Christian values and their members affirm principles of Christian morality one can ask also about the significance of Christianity in social life and its impact on the formation of social capital.
Celem artykułu jest opis językowego sposobu wyrażania faktu śmierci, jego różnych aspektów oraz pokazanie podobieństw i różnic w sposobach ujmowania tego zdarzenia w języku polskim i francuskim. W zebranym materiale wydzielono kilka grup semantycznych: śmierć jako podróż, sen, przełomowy moment egzystencji człowieka, zmiana formy bytu, pogrążenie się w ciemności, zgaśnięcie płomienia życia, zaprzestanie funkcjonowania mechanizmu, do którego porównuje się organizm człowieka. Motywacja metaforycznych znaczeń zwrotów frazeologicznych jest na ogół czytelna i ma charakter kulturowy. Wszystkie związki zawierają w swej strukturze treści wspólny element znaczeniowy ‘koniec’ oraz mieszczą się w ramach kategorii konstytuowanej przez pojęcie zmiany. Podobieństwa w obrazowaniu śmierci w języku polskim i francuskim wynikają ze wspólnego podłoża kultury europejskiej i uniwersalności doświadczeń ludzkich, różnice – z odmiennych postaw intelektualnych wobec tego zjawiska. Wspólnym punktem odniesienia jest tu religia chrześcijańska, mitologia grecko-rzymska, dualistyczna koncepcja człowieka, wiedza o świecie naturalnym. Wspólnym dla obu języków jest obraz śmierci ujmowanej jako sen i podróż. We frazeologii francuskiej, w odróżnieniu od polskiej, bardziej widoczny jest wpływ mechanistycznej koncepcji człowieka, uwydatnienie społeczno-prawnych aspektów zakończenia życia oraz przedstawianie śmierci z perspektywy zdarzeń codziennych. Ponadto wydaje się, że język francuski śmielej i częściej korzysta z elementów groteskowych i drastycznych w budowaniu obrazów śmierci.
EN
In the paper an attempt is made to describe the various aspects of linguistic means of expressing death. Similarities and differences between Polish and French are investigated. Several semantic groupings have been discriminated in the material collected: death as a journey, falling asleep, the turning point or a change in one's mode of existence, or plunging into darkness. Death is also seen as the 'flame of life1 going out, or a mechanism symbolizing the human organism which ceases to function. The motivation behind metaphorical meanings of phraseological units is culture-based and on the whole transparent. Ali set phrases contain the common element of' ‘the end (of something)’ and belong to the category constituted by the concept of change. Similarities between Polish and French linguistic imagery of death derive from the common background of European culture and the universality of human experience. Differences stem front dissimilar intellectual attitudes towards the phenomenon. The common reference points are Christianity, Greek and Roman mythologies, a dualistic view of the human being and the knowledge about the natural world. In both languages death is portrayed as falling asleep and a journey. In French phraseology, however, one can see a more conspicuous influence of the mechanistic view of the human being, a greater stress on social and legal aspects of death as well as the presentation of death from the perspective of everyday life. It also seems that in French grotesque and drastic elements in portraying death are more frequent and pronounced.
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