|
English
|
Uzbek
|
Russian
|
work as a horse
|
эшакдек ишламоқ
|
работать как лошадь
|
eat like a horse
|
----------------
|
есть как лошадь
|
as silly as a goose,
as silly as sheep
|
товуқмия
|
глупый как осёл
глупый как баран
|
as strong as a horse
|
филдек кучли
|
сильный как медведь
|
to swim like a duck
|
балиқдек сўзмоқ
|
как рыба в воде
|
as tame as a dog,
as gentle as a lamb
|
мушукдек мулойим,
қўйдек ювош
|
ласковый как котёнок
|
As coward as a chicken
|
қўёндек қурқоқ
|
трусливый как заяц
|
as hungry as a bear
|
бўридек оч
|
голодный как волк
|
The given examples prove that in different languages the same conceptual features are expressed by quite different images evoking quite different associations, and that can be explained by the peculiar features of the national world perception.
It is general knowledge that some animals have acquired a symbolic meaning. For example: Lion – is a symbol of strength and power; Wolf – a symbol of insidiousness; Fox – a symbol of slyness; Cat – a symbol of magic; Owl – a symbol of wisdom; Dog – a symbol of faithfulness; Lamb – a symbol of obedience; Dove – a symbol of peace. It should be noted that symbols being one of the powerful means of expressing imagery, play the most important role in conveying cultural information and representing national and cultural specifics of the language. Moreover, one of the trends of Linguoculturology focuses on the use of symbols in language and culture. Some scholars believe that culture is a “symbolic universe” some elements of which acquire a specific ethnic sense and become symbols of nations. The cultural value of symbols is proved by the multitude of researches in this field. Suffice it to mention such influential scholars as A.A. Potebnya (1988), V.V. Vinogradov (1976), Yu.M. Lotman (1982, 1996), A.F. Losev (1982), V. Terner (1983), E. Cassirer (1957), N. Frye (1965), Djusupov (2006, 2011). Besides, there are special dictionaries of symbols (Tressider, 2005). There are different approaches to the notion “symbol”, and it can be analyzed from different angles: philosophical, literary, cognitive, stylistic, etc. Not going into the details of the problem, we shall discuss symbols in terms of culture, from the point of view of cultural information they convey.
The cultural significance of symbols becomes evident if we look at the sources of image – symbols, are based on:
animals and plants: “Tree” – a symbol of life. “Snake” – a symbol of evil. “Dove” – a symbol of peace;
colors and numbers: “White” – a symbol of purity and innocence. “Black” – a symbol of evil and death. “Seven” – a symbol of completeness perfection, luck, happiness. “Three” – a symbol of wholeness;
minerals and stones: “Gold” – a symbol of wealth, “Pearl” – a symbol of beauty and innocence;
literary personages: “Othello” – a symbol of love and jealousy. “Don Juan” – a symbol of numerous amours;
religious notions: “Cross” – a symbol of Christianity, “Crescent” – a symbol of Islam; “Menorah” – a symbol of Judaism;
myths: “Zeus” – a symbol of power and justice, “Aphrodite” – a symbol of beauty, love. “Nemesis” – a symbol of justice;
planets and heavenly bodies: “The Sun” – a symbol of life, power and royalty. “The Moon” – a symbol of immortality, eternity, resurrection.
So, in order to understand and interpret symbols, one is supposed to have background knowledge about life, literature, mythology, religion, fauna and flora, etc. In other words, symbols are signs which activate cultural knowledge structures. For example, the symbolic meaning of Snake as evil originates from the biblical legend about Adam and Eve. The serpent (snake) persuades Eve to take a bite on an apple that God had forbidden them to eat. For this sin Adam and Eve had to leave the perfect world of the Garden of Eden. As for the snake, it was punished to crawl on the belly forever.
One of the major characteristics of image-bearing stylistic means in general, and symbols in particular, is their national specifics, since they reflect the peculiar features of national culture and ethnic consciousness. As is known symbols can be subdivided into the following groups: universal, nationally specific and individual. Nationally specific symbols represent countries, nations, ethnic groups. For example, Birch tree – a symbol of Russia, Oak tree – a symbol of Great Britain, Thistle – a symbol of Scotland, Maple – a symbol of Canada, Bear – a symbol of Russia, Kangaroo – a symbol of Australia, The Bald Eagle – a symbol of the USA. It is of interest to note that the same symbols in different cultures can acquire quite different, sometimes even opposite symbolic meanings. For instance, in English linguoculture “Raven” is a symbol of death and its meaning is associated with E. Poe’s poem “The Raven”. However, the Chanti nation regards “raven” as a symbol of life, spring and revival.
To sum up, the following conclusions can be made:
imagery is characterized by cultural specifics conditioned by its relevance to the human, his life and social activities, his mentality and behavior, his character and lifestyle;
from the linguistic point of view imagery is expressed by many stylistic devices (metaphor, metonymy, symbol, simile, periphrasis, antonomasia, euphemism), also by derivatives, compound words and phraseological units;
figurative zoonyms constitute an essential culture specific part of the linguistic world picture since animals play an important role in human life. Many zoonyms are characterized by national specifics conditioned by particulars of national perception and conceptualization of the world.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
