CONCEPTUALISATION OF LABOUR AND DILIGENCE IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK PROVERBS

Abstract

This article examines the conceptualisation of labour and diligence in English and Uzbek proverbs from the perspective of linguoculturology and comparative paremiology. Based on a selected mini-corpus of English and Uzbek proverbs, the paper investigates how the concepts of labour, diligence, perseverance, patience, and laziness are verbalised and axiologically structured in the two proverb traditions. The analysis shows that both languages share a stable universal core: labour is represented as necessary for sustenance, wealth, dignity, and moral legitimacy. At the same time, important differences emerge. Particular attention is paid to the symbolic load of recurrent images such as bread, land, hands, time, gold, and the path. The article argues that viewing proverbs as linguoculturemes enables a more precise account of national mentality and worldview than purely structural description allows. The findings are relevant for proverb studies, intercultural communication, translation, and the teaching of language through culture..