Axiological Potential of English Proverbs for Business Communication

Proverbs of a language contain an objectified perception of the worldview, evaluations and meanings that have value in various types of human activity. The aim of this study was to analyse the axiological potential of proverbs in business communication. As a result of the proverbs analysis, five fundamental axiological factors were identified: labour, time, financial resources, risks and market situation. The axiological values in the category “labour” are professionalism, competence, and high quality of duty completion. From the rational point of view, the value of labour consists not only in well-being, but also in careful attitude to active subjects of labour activity (maintaining labour potential) by means of work-life balance observation. In the category of “time”, planning, foresight, active involvement in the early stages of work, timeliness and punctuality. In the “money” category, sources of income, intensity of labour, balancing income and expenses are valuable. Each of the axiological dominants – labor, time and money, being multifaceted categories (material and non-material) – equally has high value potential. The category “risks” emphasises the value of anticipation and, at the same time, the willingness to act under conditions of uncertainty. In the category “market situation” we can highlight proverbs whose axiological basis is the ability to identify favorable circumstances, leaders and unification with competitors. The analysis of English proverbs shows their axiological potential for teaching English for business purposes.