Dichotomy свой / чужой in Burmese phraseological fund

This study is analyzed the conceptual opposition СВОЙ / ЧУЖОЙ within Burmese phraseological units (PUs). The СВОЙ / ЧУЖОЙ opposition is a dichotomy that defines the boundaries of interaction between different ethnic groups. Being mutually exclusive concepts, they form two opposite poles around which perception and categorization of the surrounding world are built. The conceptual opposition of СВОЙ / ЧУЖОЙ invariably attracts the attention of researchers and is the subject of in-depth scientific analysis. Binary thinking, fundamental to human experience, is actualized at the phraseological level. The worldview formed by each culture is inseparable from language, which is its main instrument of reproduction. Binary oppositions can determine both the spatial orientation and the value attitude of the subject to the surrounding world. The study of these concepts, such as СВОЙ / ЧУЖОЙ, is impossible without analyzing the phraseological fund, which is a resource for identifying and understanding cultural meanings and values embedded in the language. Based on the analysis of 50 PUs selected from a collection of Burmese folk sayings, it is revealed that these concepts are actualized in the language through lexical units, pronouns, spatio-temporal indicators, and emotional-evaluative means. The study establishes that this opposition permeates a broad spectrum of human experience categories, such as space, kinship, belonging, freedom, and significance. The concept of CВОЙ is a multifaceted concept, the core of which is the idea of belonging, proximity and community. It accumulates ideas about kinship, spatial proximity, common values and identity. In contrast to "one's own," the ЧУЖОЙ concept refers to everything that is outside of one's personal space, perceived as something different, unfamiliar, and potentially dangerous.