Summary: | After briefly reviewing the theories related to the internal form of the words, but of phraseological expressions as well, the article starts from Wilhelm von Humboldt’s and Jacob Grimm’s theories, according to which the internal structure of the language really exists and it reflects both the specificity of a linguistic community, and its history, traditions and mentalities. In order to prove the credibility and the actuality of these theories, the article analyses the internal structures of some phraseological expressions in Albanian, Romanian, French, Italian and English, by emphasizing mainly the contrasts but also the resemblances between them. The contrasts are attributed to the differences that the speakers of these languages show in the way of looking at certain things, at certain situations, or by paying attention or not to certain details. The resemblances are accounted for especially through the linguistic borrowings resulted over time, but also through the linguistic and cultural contacts accumulated by the speakers of these languages.
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