Specific traits of animalistic images п "o тк ‘cock' and такаа ‘hen' in the Altai language

The concepts of personal qualities in the Altai and the Russian languages are connected to the same groups of animalistic images; however, the actual ranges of meanings might be different. The zoonym пöтӱк ‘cock' in the Altai language is similar to the image of a cock in the Russian worldview. It symbolizes the behavior of an aggressive, confrontational, loud person. What makes the Altai пöтӱк special is its relation to age - the behavior of boys or young men, because according to Altai traditions, adult men are supposed to be mature and reserved. The image of такаа ‘hen' is used to characterize the low intellect of men and women; it is included in the idiom with the meaning of stupidity (lit. ‘hen brains'). The similarity in semantic organization of zoonyms in Altai and Russian may be explained by their belonging to the same cultural and historical community (250 years in Russia), as well as similar associative mechanisms which may be universal. At the same time, different dominant traits are activated in the Russian and the Altai language.