American Journal Of Philological Sciences
48
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue04 2025
PAGE NO.
48-51
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue04-13
Values and Their Expression in Proverbs
Zokhida Mukimova
Institute of Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, senior researcher,
Doctor of Philosophy in Philological Sciences (PhD), Uzbekistan
Received:
12 February 2025;
Accepted:
13 March 2025;
Published:
10 April 2025
Abstract:
This article analyzes the people's attitude towards national and universal values from linguistic and
axiological perspectives based on Uzbek proverbs. Based on the axiological-linguistic approach, the place of the
concept of value in linguistics is determined, and the expression of values is revealed through proverbs. The study
examines the essence of the concept of "value," its manifestations in oral folk art, in particular, how it was formed
in national thinking through proverbs. Uzbek folk proverbs show how such high human qualities as family values,
diligence, honesty, patience, friendship, and justice are reflected in language. This article highlights important
issues at the intersection of linguistics, cultural studies, and folk psychology.
Keywords:
Uzbek language, proverbs, values, national value, universal human value, axiological-linguistic analysis,
folklore, language and culture, thinking, moral norms.
Introduction:
Every person, knowing and appreciating
their own worth, the values of the nation to which they
belong, realizes their identity and develops; as an
individual, they become a participant in the
development and enhancement of their culture and
eternal values. In this, first of all, the study of values is
important. As our President emphasized, "In today's
era of globalization, it is natural for every nation, every
independent state to prioritize ensuring its national
interests, and in this regard, first of all, to preserve and
develop its culture, ancient values, and native
language." Our wise people didn't say in vain: "One
who doesn't know their own worth doesn't know the
worth of others." Yes, only those who know their own
worth can know the value of others and appreciate
them. People need to know their worth both to earn
respect and recognition among people and to leave a
good name. We want to say that today attention to the
concept of dignity and value is growing more than ever.
In this regard, new research is being conducted in our
linguistics.
As is known, the philosophy of values in the 19th
century
–
([yun. axia - value + logos - science, doctrine;
The field that studies issues related to the nature of
values, their place in reality and the structure of the
world of values, the relationship of various values with
each other, as well as with social and cultural factors
and the structure of personality; a branch of
philosophy”) the science of value studies has emerged.
In linguistics
“
QADRIYAT [a.
ة
,qiymat
–
ردق
ی
significance; valuables; national treasure] A concept
used to demonstrate the universal, socio-moral,
cultural, and spiritual significance of certain
phenomena in reality. All things that are important for
a person and humanity, for example, freedom, peace,
justice, enlightenment, truth, goodness, material and
spiritual wealth, etc., are considered values. From this
it is clear that value has its own definition in linguistics.
It is clear that values are the object of such sciences as
philosophy, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, and
linguistics. Especially in the fields of linguistics,
linguoculturology, and axiolinguistics, the concept of
value is one of the main units. The concept of value has
been deeply studied by linguists and has received its
own assessment and definition (see: Usmonov F.).
“Often, value in a broad se
nse is understood as the
significance, value of some object formed for some
subject. In fact, as correctly noted, "value" is a
somewhat broader concept, and every concept that is
socially significant in the life of a nation is a value, and
the things and events associated with them are
valuable elements of the linguistic landscape of this
nation”. Linguist F.Usmanov, in his dissertation on the
topic "Linguocultural Aspect of Uzbek National Values,"
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
presents the classification of national values
(classifications of V.I.Karasik, S.F.Anisimov, G.Vejletsov,
V.A.Maslova, A.Fyodorov, B.Yerasov), expresses his
attitude to this and comes to this conclusion. ..."there
are spiritual, social, economic, and material types of
values, and moral, aesthetic, and religious values are
considered as spiritual values. In the life of society,
values that serve interpersonal relations, such as social
value, wealth, well-being, economic, fully transferred
to the image of their material representatives - all
materialized values (for example, national clothes,
food, etc.) we consider material values. The
classification should be supplemented with "reflecting
the meaning of life" (existential) and vital values.
Because it is natural for every nation to have an
existential value that determines its existence, in our
opinion. Also, vital values such as life and health cannot
be denied”. In general, according to the creation of
values (individual and collective values ), according to
the scope of application (universal and national) -
according to the place of realization (ethnic and
universal values), according to the volume (micro and
macro group values), in terms of significance absolute
values, anti-values, relative values ("1) absolute values
- life, health, knowledge; 2) anti-values - correlates of
value - poverty, disease, death, hunger; 3) relative
values - values that change according to the
characteristics of the historical period, social class.” )
are categorized as. We prefer to divide values into
three groups according to their creation: personal
("Values related to the individual, their lifestyle, moral
and ethical character, refinement and beauty, labor
and economy, level of development, talent and social
status, and well-
being” ), national ("A set of things,
phenomena, and actions related to the life, way of life,
language, culture, spirituality, customs and traditions,
past and future, current social environment of a
particular people, nation, or ethnic group, which are
beneficial for relations between people; a spiritual
phenomenon that regulates the activities of individuals
and social groups accordingly” ) and universal
("representing the most fundamental, most important
aspects, laws, and interrelationships of the Universe,
nature, and society, not losing their significance in all
epochs…” ) values.
"The sum of knowledge, criteria, and values in society
is embodied in culture." It is known that culture is a
product of human activity. Culture is a method of social
practice developed by people for practical and mental
actions of social significance; a way of life activity of an
individual, social
group,
or society. Culture
encompasses ideas, values, customs, beliefs, and moral
norms, develops, and passes down from generation to
generation as heritage. 2. The totality of achievements
in the production, social, cultural, and spiritual-
educational life of society and the level of these
achievements.". "As the renowned philosopher M.
Heidegger wrote:..."human activity is understood as
culture and constitutes it. Culture is the realization of
high values, human dignity, through civilization”.
Values form the basis of culture. They are realized
through works of art, traditions, customs, language,
etc.
Among the definitions given to language, this definition
is also noted. "Language is a product of culture, its
important component, a condition for its existence, a
factor in the formation of cultural codes.... From the
point of view of the anthropocentric paradigm, a
person cognizes the world through self-knowledge,
their theoretical and practical activities. For example,
no abstract theory can explain why, when thinking
about the feeling of fire, one speaks of the fire of love,
the fire of the heart, warm friendship, etc.
Understanding all things in their own measure gives a
person the right to create an anthropocentric order of
things in their consciousness. It will be possible to study
it at the scientific level, not at the everyday level. This
order, existing in a person's mind and consciousness,
determines their spirituality, values, and motives of
behavior. All this can be understood by studying human
speech, in particular, the expressions it uses most
often”.
We can say that language is also a value. Language
plays a particularly important role in collecting,
preserving,
and
transmitting
values.
Because
"Language is also a means of evaluating its owner.
Language is a great value. "In our opinion, language is
an intermediary in the sense that it opens the way to
understanding other values. In this sense, we consider
language itself to be one of the most important values.
Indeed, there is no need to dwell long on the role of
words (kalam) in the creation of the universe. The
Creator's creation of the universe saying "be" (Holy
Quran. Surah Ali 'Imran, verse 59), it is sufficient to
mention that the "Gospel" also begins with the words
"In the beginning, there was the Word" . Stable units,
including proverbs, which are considered an invaluable
treasure of the language, can vividly reflect the culture
and values of the people to whom they belong. The
owner of language is not an individual, but a
nation....language is the discipline of perception of the
nation (a specific way of perceiving the world), a means
of understanding the composition and structure of its
values" is also. "The mother tongue of every nation is
its national identity, a "mirror of its intellectual and
spiritual world, an invaluable treasure that it will not
give to the world." Proverbs, which are a part of such
invaluable wealth, are conclusions formed on the basis
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
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of life observations collected by our people over
thousands of years, measured seven times and cut
once. "Wise sayings and proverbs are for us the echoes
of centuries, an eternal call that awakens a sense of
harmony with the distant past, a bridge between
times” . Since the life experience of our people passes
from ancestors to generations through proverbs,
studying them is of great importance. In axiology,
proverbs are considered a figurative field of national
values: "A wise expression in a concise poetic form,
reflecting the national-figurative way of thinking and
axiological attitude of native speakers, formed in most
cases by means of linguocultural codes; a small part of
the linguistic picture of the world” called a proverb.
One of the founders of linguoculturology, the founder
of the Moscow Phraseological School, V.N.Teliya, as a
linguist and folklorist, emphasizes the connection of
culture with language. In his opinion, language
represents an entire culture. Stable units, that is,
proverbs, which are part of the vocabulary of the
language, as one of the most active means, are
becoming one of the important topics of the process of
linguocultural, axiological research in linguistics today.
Each proverb, as the scholar emphasizes, is a mirror
that can concisely and succinctly, and generally
speaking, fully express the people's way of life. He
writes about this: "Proverbs are a huge source of
cultural values related to the daily life of the people,
traditionally passed down from ancestors to
generations over the centuries”.
The linguocultural codes used in proverbs also vividly
reflect the attitude of the people to their values. This
Motherland is a golden cradle; Your native land is your
grass bed, No other land will be your cradle; The
bottom of patience is gold; If the head is safe, a skullcap
will be found; The kernel is sweeter than the seeds; Pull
the mill yourself; Labor fills the bowl, Minnat burns the
mountain; I chopped a hoe - I bit bread; To mow a sickle
- to play; Cover the bread in the heat of the tandoor;
This can be seen in many proverbs, such as "If you
sweat like silver, you'll get pearls like a pearl."
The history, character, peculiarities of labor activity and
life, and values of a particular people are also imprinted
in proverbs. Their application is also connected with
their owner, that is, with the life of a certain people. If
the people live, they will live too. Indeed, proverbs are
a means of expressing universal and national values.
They are national, social, and cultural in nature and
reflect the linguistic consciousness of the speakers of
the corresponding language. Uzbek folk proverbs
create a value picture of the Uzbek world. It is known
that price and value are inextricably linked. They are
units that require each other. As G. Komilova correctly
noted, "A thing-object, a reality, selected through
evaluation, becomes a value after receiving a positive
or negative assessment. Because value is formed on the
basis of an individual's assessment of reality and
society. This process occurs in speech within the
framework of the speaker's linguistic capabilities”.
"Today, when the world is fighting for the minds and
hearts of the younger generation, we must educate our
youth, the future of Central Asia, in the spirit of
patriotism, respect for national and universal values".
From this point of view, the axiolinguistic analysis of
proverbs, which are a product of human thought, is of
great
importance.
G.
Komilova's
dissertation
"Axiolinguistic Analysis of Uzbek Proverbs" is one of the
research works done in this regard. In this research
work, the following principles of value classification
were used in the analysis of proverbs: "1.Intellectual
values. 2. Aesthetic values. 3. Moral values. 4. Social
values. 5. Physiological values. 6. Economic values. 7.
Religious values". In this work, proverbs are analyzed
as a figurative field of national values. For example, it is
noted that proverbs based on bread are relatively
common among proverbs formed on the basis of
household products, and its reflection of such
economic values as sustenance, income, material well-
being is proved by the following examples: "Non bolasi
- non ushoq; As long as there's bread, The rest is desire;
If bread is blood, blood is life; A number of proverbs,
s
uch as "non ham non," "ushoği ham non"
(wastefulness - anti-value), express material values that
show that bread is the main food, cherished by the
people; in turn, the value of bread among the people is
the basis for other values. The hunger knows the value
of bread, The value of clothing - the naked; For a baker,
bread is precious, for a miller - proverbs with the
meaning of flour mean that personal values arise from
the needs and desires of everyone; See how a person
who doesn't have back pain eats bread; In the text Tilab
olgan non qorin to'ydirmas, the lexeme non is used to
evaluate people who make a living through the labor of
others (ethical value). The value of bread products
among the people formed the concepts of
"reputation," "attention" in the minds of native
speakers and was realized in the style of "Ulug
so'zlama, ulug parcha non yersan" (ethical value).
There's work, there's work, Those who haven't worked
are desperate for bread; In the proverb Ketmon
choptdim, non tishladim bread → rizq
-nasiba, in the
proverb Mehnatning noni - shirin, in the proverb
Yalqovning joni -
shirin bread → daromad, in the text
Abjir bo'lsa farzanding, cho'ldan non terar bread →
moddiy farovonlik, such economic values are reflected
was correctly analyzed.
Value is also reflected in expressions that are
considered an expression of folk wisdom and national-
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
cultural wealth. "Based on such phrases as non
yeymoq, noni butun, noni yarimta bo'lmoq, non
topmoq, non ursin, which contain the word non, the
bread archetype is manifested as a symbol of life,
livelihood, sustenance, abundance. These expressions
vividly express the fact that bread was the main food in
the Uzbek people and was revered by the people. These
expressions are of particular importance because they
reflect the unique national character of the Uzbek
people”.
Har bir kishida madaniyat ekologiyasi , o‘zi mansub
bo‘lgan millat qadriyatlarini asrashi va kelajakka
bezavol yetkazish madaniyati shakllanmog‘i zarur.
As a continuation of the proverb "A jeweler knows the
value of gold," we say "A nightingale knows the value
of a flower." It is clear that the phytomorphic code of
the flower, the zoomorphic linguocultural code of the
nightingale in the proverb "The nightingale knows the
value of a flower" represents a person. These two
codes are the artistic image of man. In short, as a logical
continuation of this proverb, it would not be a mistake
to say: "He who knows his worth will find his worth, He
who knows another's worth will know his worth"
(M.Z.).
Folk proverbs, concisely expressing the culture of the
people, occupy a leading place in expressing the
mentality of the people, showing their national-cultural
identity. For this reason, the implementation of
axiological research of proverbs is one of the urgent
problems of our linguistics.
The study of folk proverbs in connection with the living
conditions, cultural norms, and values of the nation
serves to illuminate the cultural features of these
linguistic units more deeply. Uzbek folk proverbs are
also an important means of conveying the national-
cultural knowledge of the Uzbek nation to future
generations.
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