"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
277
“THE USE OF STYLISTIC DEVICES IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH
PROVERBS”
Ismatullaeva Kamola Nurilla kizi
1
st
year Master’s Degree Student
Department of English Linguistics,
The National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek
komolaismatullaeva2002@gmail.com
Annotation:
This article examines stylistic devices in proverbs, focusing on
English and Russian paremiology. It analyses key figurative elements, including
metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, and personification, to highlight their role in the meaning
and memorability of proverbial speech. The study finds that stylistic devices are widely
used in both languages, with slight differences in usage. By comparing some linguistic
features, the research provides insight into how different cultures use stylistic devices
in proverbs to encode wisdom and shared experiences.
Keywords:
proverbs, English, Russian, paremiology, stylistic devices,
linguistics.
Аннотация:
В
данной
статье
рассматривается
использование
стилистических приемов в пословицах, с акцентом на английскую и русскую
паремиологию. Анализируются ключевые выразительные средства, включая
метафору, аллитерацию, рифму и олицетворение, с целью выявления их роли в
значении и запоминаемости пословиц. Исследование показывает, что
стилистические приемы широко используются в обеих языковых традициях,
однако имеются небольшие различия в их применении. Сравнение
лингвистических особенностей позволяет глубже понять, как различные
культуры используют стилистические средства в пословицах для передачи
мудрости и коллективного опыта.
Ключевые слова:
Пословицы, английский, русский, паремиология,
стилистические приемы, лингвистика.
Annotatsiya:
Ushbu maqolada maqollarda stilistik usullarning qo‘llanilishi,
ingliz va rus paremiologiyasiga urg‘u berilgan holda ko‘rib chiqiladi. Maqolada
metafora, alliteratsiya, qofiya va jonlantirish kabi asosiy tasviriy vositalar tahlil qilinib,
ularning ma'noni shakllantirish va maqollarning esda qolarli bo‘lishidagi o‘rni
aniqlanadi. Tadqiqot shuni ko‘rsatadiki, stilistik usullar har ikkala til an'analarida keng
qo‘llaniladi, ammo ularning qo‘llanilishida kichik farqlar mavjud. Til xususiyatlarini
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
278
taqqoslash turli madaniyatlar maqollar orqali donolikni va hayotiy darslarni qanday
yetkazishini chuqurroq tushunishga yordam beradi.
Kalit so‘zlar:
Maqollar, ingliz tili, rus tili, paremiologiya, stilistik usullar,
lingvistika.
Introduction
. Proverbs are linguistic phenomena that teach people moral and
ethnic norms, and the employment of stylistic devices makes them more memorable
and sensitive. In both English and Russian proverbs, stylistic devices are widely used,
showing that using figurative language helps shape meaning. These devices are
metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, and personification, which contribute to enhancing the
figurativeness of proverbial speech.
Several studies have analyzed proverbs from cultural, semantic, and functional
perspectives. [5; 19]. However, articles on contrastive analysis of the usage of stylistic
devices in English and Russian proverbs are fewer. This article will compare proverbs
of two languages, Russian and English, in terms of the usage of stylistic devices. The
analysis will focus on five main stylistic devices - metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, and
personification and will seek similarities and differences between English and Russian
proverbs.
Main div. Different scholars gave various definitions for the term proverbs. A
proverb is a short, generally known sentence of the folk that contains wisdom, truth,
morals, and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed, and memorable form and is
handed down from generation to generation. [5; 119] The definition of a proverb is too
difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single
definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not
even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is
proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively
a sentence as proverbial. Those who do not speak a language can never recognize all
its proverbs, and similarly, much that is truly proverbial escapes us in Elizabethan and
older English. Let us be content with recognizing that a proverb is a saying current
among the folk. At least so much of a definition is indisputable. [1; 3]
Paremiologists have long identified numerous poetic devices, but Shirley Arora
summarized them well in her seminal article[1]. Such stylistic markers include:
alliteration –
“Practice makes perfect,” “Forgive and forget,” and “Every law
has a loophole”;
parallelism – “
Ill got, ill spent,” “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” and “Easy
come, easy go”
;
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
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rhyme: “
A little pot is soon hot,” “There's many a slip between the cup and the
lip,” and “When the cat's away, the mice will play”;
ellipsis:
“More haste, less speed,” “Once bitten, twice shy,” and “Deeds, not
words.”
Besides these external markers, there are also internal features that add to the
rhetorical effectiveness of proverbs, among them:
hyperbole:
“All is fair in love and war,” “Faint heart never won fair lady”;
personification:
“Love will find a way,” “Hunger is the best cook.”
Not all, but most, proverbs contain a metaphor, among them such common texts
as “
A watched pot never boils,” “The squeaky wheel gets the grease,”
and “
Birds of a
feather flock together”.
[3; 24]. According to Shirley Arora, there are seven main
frequently used stylistic devices such as alliteration, parallelism, rhyme, ellipsis,
hyperbole, personification, and metaphor. This finding can be applied to both English
and Russian proverbs. But four of them are similarly widely used in Russian and
English: metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, and personification
“Metaphorical proverbs are a way of representing knowledge based on the
transfer of meanings
”
[2; 15]. So, metaphors in proverbs are used to compare one
concept to another in a figurative way. For example: "
Time is money.", "The grass is
always greener on the other side.", "Волка ноги кормят.", "Рыбак рыбака видит
издалека."
. In all cases, the proverbs don't just state facts; they illustrate an idea
through a metaphor, making the message more powerful and easier to remember.
Alliteration is one of the most widely used stylistic devices in proverbial speech.
According to Yang, alliteration is 'the repetition of a particular sound in the first
syllables of a series of words or phrases in a sentence' [6; 152]. This is evident in: “
Busy
bees buzz brilliantly”
,
"Рука руку моет, вор вора кроет".
In both these examples,
the first letters of the first syllables are repeated, which shows features of alliteration
in the proverbs.
Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combinations of
words. Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular distance from each other. In
verse, they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding lines [4]. This is evident
in:
"The more you learn, the more you earn."
The words
learn
and
earn
are similar in
sound, making the proverb more rhythmic. In Russian, this device is also seen, for
example: "
Без труда не вытащишь и рыбку из пруда".
"The proverb is not only a
reflection of language but also a carrier of cultural wisdom. Through personification,
proverbs transform abstract ideas into tangible, relatable images" [1 ]. So, by using
personification, non-human things such as nature, objects, and concepts are expressed
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
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by human qualities.For example: "
Love is blind", "Time waits for no man", "Слово не
воробей, вылетит – не поймаешь", "Вода камень точит"
Proverbs are an essential part of linguistic and cultural heritage, encapsulating
moral and ethical norms through concise and memorable expressions. The analysis of
English and Russian proverbs in this article has shown that figurative language plays a
crucial role in shaping their meaning and effectiveness. Among the most frequently
used stylistic devices in both languages are metaphor, parallelism, alliteration, rhyme,
hyperbole, and personification, all of which enhance the expressiveness and
memorability of proverbial speech. By comparing proverbs from a stylistic perspective,
this article highlights the deep interconnection between language and culture. Despite
linguistic differences, English and Russian proverbs share the same strategies in their
use of stylistic devices, underscoring the power of figurative language in shaping
meaning
and
preserving
traditional
wisdom
across
generations.
REFERENCES:
1.
Arora, Shirley L. (1984). The Perception of Proverbiality. Proverbium. Vol. 1.
2.
Doyle, Charles Clay, Wolfgang Mieder, & Fred R. Shapiro. (2012). The
Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Yale University Press.
3.
Hirsch, Edward. (2014). A Poet’s Glossary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
4.
Liberman, Anatoly. (2009). Word Origins and How We Know Them:
Etymology for Everyone. Oxford University Press.
5.
Mieder, Wolfgang. (2004). Proverbs: A Handbook. Greenwood Publishing
Group.
6.
Yang, Y. (2002). The Phonological Stylistic Devices in English Proverbs.
Journal of Language Teaching and Research. Vol. 3.
7.
Djumabaeva, J. S., & Avazmatova, M. M. (2022). International Journal of Social
Science Research and Review.
8.
Djumabaeva, J. S. (2015). Plesionymy and graduonymy in English and Uzbek.
European Journal of Literature and Linguistics, (2), 55-58.
