Einblicke in die deutsche Kultur durch die Sprache – Zur Motiviertheit in der Phraseologie

“Geht mal euren Phrasen nach, bis zu dem Punkt, wo sie verkörpert werden” is an often cited expression which encourages scientists to conduct etymological research on idioms. The research on phraseological motivation gives us an insight into various conceptions related to perceiving the world which are greatly documented by idioms. The community of a particular culture and the culture itself also wield an enormous influence in this respect. In the article we shall discuss the sources of phraseological motivation in the German language which relate to man and which document the contribution of man to the development of culture.