Proverbial realization of notions of time in terms of adequacy and inadequacy

Perceptions and notions of time in the linguistic consciousness of culture bearers relate to various aspects connected with time, including natural cycle, life expectance, conditions of human activities, etc. The perception of time as an undoubted value is manifested in paremias at the level of expressed cultural beliefs and attitudes, used vocabulary, and grammatical constructions. Proverbs, being linguistically formalized manifestations of “common sense”, fi x certain models of appropriate and socially approved – or disapproved – behavior. They testify to the speakers’ attention to the observed phenomena and situations and their evaluations based on the determination of their conformity or nonconformity to the stereotypical notions developed in the society. The article presents the fi ndings of a linguocultural analysis of 110 proverbs extracted from paremiological dictionaries, which refer to different spheres of life, but are related to the category of time. The study addresses two categories of paremical units: the fi rst group includes paremias mentioning time expenditures relative to the obtained result, which allows to evaluate the productivity of efforts, while the second group verbalizes cultural attitudes that emphasize the importance of timely action, help, service rendered, etc. The variety of situations presented in proverbs – in their literal reading – clearly testifi es to the universality of the criterion of adequacy and inadequacy: it becomes a tool for assessing the degree of reasonableness or propriety of what is happening. The variety of verbalizations of same ideas in paremias suggests the importance of relevant studies for the bearers of culture and language.