LIBERTÉ, ÈGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ and parallel constructions in Slavic languages. Towards a comparative account

Abstract

The slogan of the French revolution, Liberté, ègalité, fraternité, is in Slavic languages categorized in a variety of ways: as a revolutionary triad, a list of basic values, non-material goods, key concepts, ideas, rights or goals, as a socio-political doctrine, an admonition, motto, programme, slogan or appeal. In this article, it is proposed that it be treated as a collection in the sense of Lublin cognitive ethnolinguistics, more specifically as a “collection of values”. Discussed are rare cases of quoting the original untranslated French collection in Slavic languages, as well as its translations and transformations, e.g. those that involve a change of one element: Liberty, equality, democracy; Liberty, equality, university, etc. In other cases, the whole construction functions as a component of a larger set of values. Attention is drawn to semantic relations between values within the construction, as well as to social functions and profiles of this constructions and its derivatives.