The concept of “father” in Kyrgyz and English linguistic picture of the world based on proverbs and sayings

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 81.42                                         

Linguistic interpretation of the world is ethnically specific. The cognitive aspect of conceptual analysis of languages reveals the ideas that form the picture of the world. The world, in its turn, reflects the order of values belonging to a particular folk. Every conceptual system relies on important, specific, social, cultural, and other values. Thus, in a national language, concepts are certain indicators of sociocultural experience and worldview of people. It is possible to say that concepts reflect national, class, professional, family, and personal experience of human being. It is clear that in the culture and language of any nation there are notions which are common to all mankind, universal, and national-specific. Nevertheless, people possess cultural values strengthened by their mother tongue, moral standards, behavior, prejudices that are characteristic only for their folk. In this way, we decided to analyze one of the most significant concepts that are common for all languages. It is the concept of father in Kyrgyz and English.

Concepts can get different representations in the language using words, phrases, sentences, and texts [3]. With the help of concepts people are able to get introduced with certain notions of a nation throughout their culture, collocations, proverbs and sayings. Since it is impossible to explain what is concept with a single sentence or one term, scientists normally use different tools, for instance, language units like sayings in order to achieve this goal and deliver the idea of a particular concept. It aids in discovering problems concerning the bridge between cultures of different peoples. Being aware of special points of the linguistic pictures of the world of different peoples makes it possible to build intercultural communications. According to the lecturers of Osh State University, “the concept is considered as a mental formation marked by linguistic and cultural specifics … characterizing the bearers of a certain ethno-culture” [4].

Concepts can get different representations in the language using words, phrases, sentences and texts.

Concepts can get different representations in the language using words, phrases, sentences and texts.

Concepts can get different representations in the language using words, phrases, sentences and texts.

In this research paper we agreed to compare one concept in two languages through idioms, proverbs and sayings, since they contain important and powerful knowledge and information about a folk. Wolfgang Mieder, a professor of German and folklore, in his handbook named “Proverbs”, proclaims “since they belong to the common knowledge of basically all native speakers, they are indeed very effective devices to communicate wisdom and knowledge about human nature and the world at large” [1]. In addition, it is said that “proverbs and sayings play a very important role in enriching the language with cultural concepts, since, beings a product of folk art, they reflect folk wisdom” [4]. Thus, it is obvious that studying a concept, it is impossible not to mention folk paremias for better reflection of ethical and moral standards, customs and so on.

In their article named “Expressing of National and Cultural Identity in English and Russian Proverbs”, T.Orlova and A. Kolosova emphasize that, nowadays, a language is used not only for communication and sharing ideas, but also for reflection of the mentality of people, their national character, traditions, and consciousness. T. Orlova states “The most vividly national and cultural identity of people is reflected in the phraseological body of a language, in particular – proverbs, which are short, well-defined sayings, containing teachings, advice, edification, judgements and moral appraisals” [2]. Additionally, she highlights that “Proverbs are an important means of cognition the national and cultural identity of folk’s live, being a kind of clot of thought, “popular wisdom” of an ethnos” [2]. According to the mentioned statements of T. Orlova, it is clear that proverbs are able to demonstrate people’s state of mind, identity, culture, notions, and richness of the folk that are carried from the past to our days. Obviously, it becomes certain that by studying one nation’s paremias, we can look at the folk’s perception of the world and the most important — at the key-notions. In other words, key-concepts of life, such as father, are in an open access to comprehend and analyze them.

According to Z. Derbisheva, the concept sphere of Kyrgyz linguaculture consists of set of concepts that have existential value for Kyrgyz community. The scientist conducts an associative experiment basing on 25 concepts. Derbisheva proclaims that “Эксперимент был направлен на анализ языкового сознания и определение когнитивной структуры ассоциаций, вызванных ключевым концептом” [4; 5]. The experiment is considered significant in understanding standard forms of cognitive thinking. This method enables readers to analyze the peculiarities of functioning of a human being’s linguistic consciousness. Later in her book “Кыргыз тилиндеги негизги маданий түшүнүктөр” (2022), Z. Derbisheva presents 34 Kyrgyz cultural notions with detailed explanations. In both books the concept of father does exist, because it is considered to be one of the most important points of culture. That is the reason, why we worked on the concept of “father” and collected 184 Kyrgyz proverbs and sayings and 54 English ones in order to study and examine the notion properly.

In order to have a better view at the concept of father “ата” in Kyrgyz, we present main definitions for father — “ата” below taken from “Kyrgyz Language Dictionary” (2010) by A.Akmataliev part I:

Ата – 1 a person who has children (towards his kids). 2 A word to address to an old man expressing one’s respect. 3 According to myths, he is a patron spirit of domestic animals: Cholpon ata (a patron spirit of a sheep), Kambar ata (a patron spirit of a horse), Chychang ata (a patron spirit of a goat), Oysul ata (a patron spirit of a camel) [6].

Ата – 1 To give a name. 2 To call someone by name. 3 To dedicate, to sacrifice [6].

Material and research methods

To accomplish this research the following methods were used: qualitative analysis, observation, comparative analysis, and interpretation. In order to work on concept, we chose to research it with the help of proverbs that is the reason why we found related paremias from handbooks and dictionaries. Searching for the paremias, the qualitative method was held mostly. Later, we interpreted and divided them into semantic groups. Furthermore, we had a chance to compare the paremias about father from Kyrgyz and English languages. In total, we collected and examined 184 proverbs in Kyrgyz and 54 in English. Despite the fact that we studied one concept but for two different-structured languages, we used the method of conceptual analysis showing the difference between the tongues backing up by examples, namely, proverbs. A descriptive type оf research was emplоyed since fact-finding inquiries were described and all the textual information frоm the bоok was given in this paper.

Results and discussion

After examining and interpretation of all the collected proverbs in Kyrgyz language that are relevant for the topic of father, we have classified them into 3 semantic groups according to their meaning and idea:

father-children relations the analogy of father’s and mother’s role proverbs with a collocation “ата-эне” (parents)

Obviously all the proverbs, sayings, and idioms in any language come from the past and deliver the folk’s wisdom, knowledge, life experience, and conclusions for various situations in life time. The same thing we have in Kyrgyz language, where we studied and analyzed 184 proverbs and saying.

Out of all the taken proverbs, the majority of them are devoted to the father-children relations theme. This topic is marvelously explained and revealed in every saying. Thanks to them, readers are able to witness how much the father is revered and respected in the Kyrgyz culture. For instance:

“Абийир тапса баласы, атасына бак конот” [7]. This proverb expresses the importance of qualitative upbringing by a dad, since it always has a result like conscience of a child and “бак – бакыт-таалай” which means happiness of his\her father. The reason is that if a kid is given a good education, great parenting, and good manners, there will be a lot of luck on the way of the child, thus, the father will be definitely proud of his kid.

“Эмне сепсеӊ, ошону оросуӊ. Атага эмне кылсаӊ, өз балаӊдан ошону көрөсүӊ” [7; 85]. The second one proclaims that a person must think about his\her future in advance, namely, if a man wants a proper attitude towards himself from his children, then it is obligatory to treat his father worthily. The proverb is based on the old well-known in all languages proverb: “reap what you sow” in English, “что посеешь, что и пожнешь” in Russian, “эмне сепсеӊ, ошону оросуӊ” in Kyrgyz. It means that everything that happens, everything what a person gets is a result of his\her deeds in the past. That is why the saying assures people to treat fathers properly in order to get the same attitude from their own children.

“Алты күн ачка калсаӊ да, атаӊды сыйла” [7]. There is a tradition among the Kyrgyz according to which fathers begin a family meal. He is the head of a family, he is a starter, that is why children must wait for him at the table. This proverb claims “even if you will be hungry for six days, still, respect your father”, which means 1) to wait for the dad at the table, let him start supper; 2) give all the food to your father with respect despite your own hunger.

“Атыӊ барда жер тааны, атаӊ барда эл тааны” [7]. This saying informs readers that in the past there was only one type of transport, it was a horse. That is why the proverb firstly mentions “explore, travel and visit different lands when you have a horse”. In the second part of the proverbs it is said “go and meet people when you have a father”. The second part is really significant because from the past, Kyrgyz fathers used to take their children, especially, sons, to relative or any other meetings, where they introduced their kids to everybody in order to build a communication between his child and friends, relatives, and neighbors around.

“Атам өлсө өлсүн – атамдын көргөн өлбөсүн” [7]. “Despite the fact that my father is dead, don not let die people who knew him” declares in the mentioned proverb. At the beginning it might be difficult to understand, however, there is a deep meaning in this saying. However, it is mostly clear for people who experienced the pain from a father lost. Normally, there are always people who knew the person who is gone; they might be friends, neighbors, colleagues, relatives. That is why when for a person whose dad is dead, it is so warm and necessarily to have and meet people who knew his\her father. Those people always might tell something about their dads, share that pain, and at least remember the man.

The next semantic group according to our classification is “the analogy of father’s and mother’s role” where proverbs mostly compare, express, and demonstrate the importance of roles of both parents. Every parent has his and her impact on a child’s process of becoming a person, on upbringing. That is why there are many proverbs and sayings that demonstrate both a father’s and a mother’s contribution in children’s lives in one folk sentence. For example:

Ата жакшы — уул жакшы, эне жакшы — кыз жакшы [7]. There is a belief among Kyrgyz people that every child resembles his\her father or mother, grows with the same character and appearance features. That is why it is said in the proverb “if a father is good – the son will be good too, if a mother is good – the daughter will be as well”. However, it is believed not only in Kyrgyz culture, there is a similar proverb in English “like father, like son” or “like mother, like daughter” that contain the same meaning. Additionally, there is Russian one with the same message: “яблоко от яблони недалеко падает”, which claims that kids always resemble parents.

“Аталаштан алтоо болгончо, энелештен экөө бол” [7]. This argues that it is much better to be two siblings of one mother but different fathers rather than to be six siblings from one father and different mothers. The reason is that generally kids who get love and warmth from the same woman become more united because a mother is supposed to be mostly at home and bring up her children spending with them majority of time. Nevertheless, the situation with father is different, because from the past, it is considered for men to be outside mostly: earning money and providing their families with everything. Thus, the proverb is narrating that it is not beneficial to be six siblings from the same father but absolutely different mothers since there is no unity, friendship, and harmony among all of them.

The following group is about parenting, the proverbs that have the collocation “ата-эне” (parents) in them. Even thanks to this phrase, the audience might notice the regard to fathers in Kyrgyz culture, as it starts with“ата” but not “эне”.

“Атам-энем бар болсун, оозу-мурду жок болсун” [8]. Translating it directly we get next: “Let my parents exist, but with no nose and mouth”. Unfortunately, the meaning of this proverb is desperate. It delivers a message that mostly children grow up and wish to have parents who 1. do not need to be fed or just eat less; 2. do not speak and give a lot of “unsolicited advice”.

There are more proverbs containing the collocation “ата-эне”:

“Ата-эне кара мүртөз болсо, өз баласын каргайт, кан кара мүртөз болсо, өз башын өзү жалмайт” [8].

“Ата - энеңди сыйласаң, өз балаңдан жакшылык көрөсүң” [9].

As English proverbs we can present the following ones with explanations in the table below.

Table

ENGLISH PROVERBS RELATED TO THE FATHER CONCEPT WITH THEIR EXPLANATIONS

PROVERB	EXPLANATION
The child is the father of the man [10; 95]	This proverb occurred from the poem of W. Wordsworth “My Heart Leaps Up”. It means that a man is the result of his deeds, habits, treats that were built and established from the very young ages.
Like father, like son [10; 122]	The proverb delivers the most popular message that every son resembles his father because he takes the same characteristics of the father.
Experience is the father of wisdom. [10; 174]	This one is about value of a person’s own experience from life. Everybody knows that we grow by mistakes, we get more experienced, we know more by learning unknown things. So, it is quite normal to make mistakes since later, person gets much wiser.
Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. [10; 480]	This sentence claims that many people would like to take part for success, but no one wants to take responsibility for defeat. For instance, in teamwork, people normally prefer to be and support the group of winners rather than losers or weaker ones.
It is a WISE child that knows its own father. [10; 544]	The saying conveys a great meaning concerning family roots. It is significant for a person to know his\her roots and origins. The reason is if a

PROVERB	EXPLANATION
	child recognizes the importance of his\her father concerning family values, traditions, the past, history, values, the child reflects and expresses maturity and awareness of family bonds.
The WISH is father to the thought. [10; 545]	This sentence is used to express that a person’s wishes and dreams can have an impact on the way he\she thinks and perceive things around. That is why it is important to believe and follow positive ideas and dreams.
Children suck the mother when they are young, and the father when they are old. [12; 78]	The main idea of the proverb is that children really need their mothers when they are babies or kids because mothers give them nourishment, care, warm and emotional support. However, when they grow up their requirements and needs also do shift concerning material support, guidance in adult life, life experience that fathers usually give a lot and really effectively.
Father knows best. [11; 297]	This phrase mostly reflects a traditional view of a family where fathers are considered as the only head of it, authority whose words are a law. Usually, family members, especially kids, must follow father’s ideas undoubtedly. Thus, the main person at home who knows best and takes all the primary decisions is father. That significant role is shown in the mentioned proverb.

Conclusion

Summing up all the information presented above, it is significant to proclaim that Kyrgyz proverbs focus mostly on educations and proper upbringing of children. They highlight the importance, authority and respect towards fathers. Additionally, Kyrgyz people adore the idea that expressing regards to parents will lead you to success, luck, and bright future with your own children. We consider that the main part of paremias in Kyrgyz related to fathers is devoted to father-children theme since their number dominates comparing to other ones. Unlike Kyrgyz proverbs, English ones can mention father metaphorically. In other words, people can name wish or success as father. That means that it is not obligatory for them to call father only the man who has children. Metaphorical comparison is considered quite widely-spread in English proverbs and sayings. Therefore, we can witness that the content of two different cultures and languages do have differences in comprehending the concept of father, since Kyrgyz people concentrate on father’s family role, respect and regards towards him, the consequences of proper behavior to fathers, and significance of parents in a child’s life. On the other hand, English proverbs do emphasize father’s role at home but not with the same strength and power like in Kyrgyz ones. Softener attitude to fathers can be felt in reading English paremias too because readers do not witness that compulsory and mandatory demand of respect towards fathers like in Kyrgyz ones.