Keywords
proverb
conceptual metaphor
cognitive model
frame
How to Cite
Abstract
The article offers a linguocognitive analysis of English and Uzbek proverbs containing plant names (phytonyms) in which the plant serves as a source domain for conceptualising the human being. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory, the Great Chain of Being metaphor and frame analysis, the study reconstructs the plant frame (seed, root, stem, branch, leaf, flower, fruit, thorn, soil, height, decay) and traces how its slots are mapped onto a person’s origin, upbringing, moral qualities, social status, attachment to homeland and life span. Six cognitive models are identified: ORIGIN IS ROOT AND CHILDREN ARE FRUIT, UPBRINGING IS SHAPING A YOUNG PLANT, MORAL QUALITY IS THE QUALITY OF A PLANT, SOCIAL STATUS IS HEIGHT, HOMELAND IS SOIL, and HUMAN LIFE IS THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PLANT. The comparison shows that the core models are shared by the two unrelated languages, which confirms their experiential basis, while differences appear in the choice of phytonym, the evaluative orientation and the modality of the proverb. These differences are explained by the natural environment, the agricultural economy and the religious and ethical traditions of the two peoples.References
1. Alikhasanova Z. F. (2025). Olam floristik manzarasining qiyosiy-chog‘ishtirma jihatdan lingvopragmatik xususiyatlari: PhD dissertatsiyasi avtoreferati. Toshkent.
2. Apperson G. L. (1929). English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases: A Historical Dictionary. London: J. M. Dent and Sons.
3. Bohn H. G. (1855). A Hand-Book of Proverbs. London: H. G. Bohn.
4. Dekhkanova O. K. (2022). Sinkhronno-tipologicheskii analiz sistemy paremii i frazem s komponentami slov-fitonimov v yazykakh raznogo grammaticheskogo stroya (na materiale uzbekskogo, tadzhikskogo i angliiskogo yazykov): avtoreferat dis. … kand. filol. nauk. Khudzhand.
5. Honeck R. P. (1997). A Proverb in Mind: The Cognitive Science of Proverbial Wit and Wisdom. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6. Kövecses Z. (2010). Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
7. Lakoff G., Johnson M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8. Lakoff G., Turner M. (1989). More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
9. Mieder W. (2004). Proverbs: A Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
10. Mirzayev T., Musoqulov A., Sarimsoqov B. (2005). O‘zbek xalq maqollari. Toshkent: Sharq.
11. Muqimova G. R. (2023). Fitomorf metaforalarning lingvopoetik, lingvokulturologik xususiyatlari va leksikografik talqini: PhD dissertatsiyasi avtoreferati. Buxoro.
12. Nan Yanhua (2022). Lingvokul’turologicheskoe opisanie paremii russkogo yazyka s komponentom-fitonimom na fone kitaiskogo i koreiskogo yazykov: avtoreferat dis. … kand. filol. nauk. Sankt-Peterburg.
13. Salimova Z. R. (2023). Turk va o‘zbek tillarida inson obrazining zoomorf hamda fitomorf komparativ birliklarda ifodalanishi: PhD dissertatsiyasi avtoreferati. Toshkent.
14. Speake J. (ed.) (2015). The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15. Teliya V. N. (1996). Russkaya frazeologiya: semanticheskii, pragmaticheskii i lingvokul’turologicheskii aspekty. Moskva: Yazyki russkoi kul’tury.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.