Grimace: a conceptual analysis

Abstract

The paper analyses the GRIMACE concept according to Academician Yuri Stepanov’s algorithm proposed in his pivotal dictionary, Konstanty: Slovar’ russkoj kul’tury (‘Constants: a Dictionary of Russian Culture’). Analysing similarities and differences in the ways grimace is conceptualised in Slavic (exemplified by Russian and Serbian), Germanic (English, German), and Romance (French) languages, the paper demonstrates that, despite all denotative and connotative differences, the key idea behind the grimace shared by all the languages consid-ered is ‘violation of the familiar template, norm, or ideal’.