French Paremies With the “Argent” Lexeme as the Means of Reflecting National World Picture

The article is devoted to the examination of French paremias with the “argent” lexeme, (meaning”money”), from the point of view of theoretical understanding of proverbs in modern linguistics, as well as from linguaxiological and linguoculturological aspects. The article first focuses on the lack of general consensus around the definition of paremia and proverb and analyzes the reasons. Next, the article focuses on the semantic analysis of paremias with the «argent» component in order to identify the place of money in the value system of an individual and society as a whole. It has been established that proverbs contain the judgment that money is a material value necessary for life, but from the point of view of moral norms, it becomes good or evil depending on a person’s moral or immoral attitude towards it. Money is valued as good if it is honestly earned, wisely spent, ensures human well-being and is the driving force of society. Money is considered evil if it is obtained dishonestly and becomes the cause of greed and social inequality. A neutral and controversial assessment of the role of money is to recognize the pros and cons of having wealth and point out that money is not the main value.