“THE USE OF STYLISTIC DEVICES IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH PROVERBS”

PROVERBS”

Ismatullaeva Kamola Nurilla kizi

1st 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 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 body. 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”;

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 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.