Chapter 4 Comparing English and Russian Proverbs Containing “Family” Concept
The percentage of the Russian and British proverbs about family relations is sown in the following table:
| Nuclear family | Extended family | Family status/family bonds | ||||
| Parents and children | Brothers and sisters | Grandparents and grandchildren | In-laws | family | Husband and wife | |
| Russian | 25% | 29% | 46% | |||
| English | 38% | 6% | 56% | |||
In the Englishand Russian linguistic cultures, family bonds are highly valued, i.e. family members or relatives are more important than outsiders, those who are not related by blood: Blood is thicker than water. Кровь – невода. Like many other nations, for Englishmenand Russians the main thing in keeping and preserving a close-knit family is harmony. They believe that family with strong bonds and traditions is more likely to maintain close relations in the future. The following proverbs reflect the value of harmony and mutual-understanding in the family: Домсогреваетнепечь, алюбовьисогласие. The family that prays together – stays together.The close-knit family is formed when all family members stand together against difficulties: Согласнуюсемьюигоренеберет. На что клад, когда в семье лад. Не будет добра, коли в семье вражда. Семьясильна, когданаднейкрышаодна.The English languagehas no such proverbs. We found only one. In a united family, happiness springs up of itself. This does not mean that for British people family is not important, but it becomes clear how important it is for the Russian linguistic culture. If family for the Russian people stands foremost, Englishmen put family after career: First thrive – then wife. According to proverbs, Englishmen turned out to be more religious in this respect than Russians. They believe that marriages are arranged by God: Marriages are made in heaven. Each family is happy or unhappy in a certain way: There is a black sheep in every flock. Всемьенебезурода. Every family’s cooking pot has one black spot. There are also proverbs that advise to marry only for love: Слюбимымрайившалаше.Based on this, we can conclude that Russians are mainly motivated by emotions, and the British people appeal to common sense. The following proverb proves it: When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window. As for the relationship between spouses, the Russian people have proverbs saying that good wives make good husbands, thus, considering this process as one-sided:Отплохойженысостаришься, отхорошейпомолодеешь. However, in the English language, there is a proverb showing this phenomenon as a two-sided process: A good Jack makes a good Jill. A good wife makes a good husband. Englishmen prefer a husband as a head of the family to a wife: It’s a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock. The criterion for a good wife varies from culture to culture. If Englishmen value cheerful wife, the Russian would like to marry a kind woman: Добруюженувзять – нискуки, нигорянезнать. A cheerful wife is the joy of life.
The next group of proverbs reflects the peculiarities of brining up children. Large families were common to a patriarchal family in Russia. It was believed that the more children the family had the better, and a number of Russian proverbs were dedicated to this topic: Дети – благодать Божья. Татьяна хромонога, народила детей много. But they have proverbs about children bringing happiness:Семья без детей – что цветок без запаха. Children are poor men's riches. In England, children are impeccably mannered. It is believed that parents should be too strict than to be too soft. "In English families a child is aware from an early age that the world around him is a kingdom of adults. He is used to be on his own and as less as possible to remind parents of his existence. While children grow up at home, they should not be heard. And during their school-age, ideally, they should not be visible. This is a characteristic feature of the English way of life" [3]. Children should be seen and not heard. Spare the rod and spoil the child. Russian proverbs and sayings reflect bitter consequences of poor parenting, too: Настаростидверадости: одинсын – вор, другой – пьяница. The sex of children was important for the Russian societies since a son was treated as an heir and one who continues the family name. Daughters were to get married and continue the family name of their husbands: Сестра при брате не вотчинница (не наследница) As for the western culture, they did not mind to have both sons and daughters, but if the chance was given, they were willing to have a daughter rather than a son: A son is a son till he gets him a wife, but a daughter's a daughter the rest of your life. Both linguistic societies believe that children always resemble their parents in physical appearance, character traits, attitude to life, and particular abilities: The apple never falls far from the tree.
The third group of proverbs and sayings are related to relationships with family members and other people. There are many Russian proverbs reflecting respectful attitude to the older: Родителейчти – несобьешьсясистинногопути. An important role in Russian families is given to grandparents. Children are seldom brought up by parents; they are usually raised by grandparents. In most cases, they look after children. This is reflected in the following proverbs and sayings: Была б моя бабуся, никого не боюся; бабушка – щиток, кулак – молоток. Grandparents usually liked their sons’ children because they were descendants of the tribe and would keep their family name. There is only one proverb in English reflecting the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren: Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. The absence of proverbs containing the concepts of “father-in-law”, “son-in-law”, “aunt”, “nephew”, “niece”, “grandmother”, “widower” suggests that distant relatives are not so important for Englishmen. Not only friends or relatives but even parents and children do not feel responsibility or affection to each other. English family is closed inside – each family member keeps his privacy” [3]. There are two concepts denoting a mother-in-law in Russian: “теща” – wife's mother and “свекровь” – husband’s mother. Nevertheless, most of the Russian proverbs are about “свекровь”. It was probably caused by the fact that sons lived together with parents: Свекровьнапечи, чтособаканацепи. Sisters-in-law and brothers-in law were reasons of family conflicts for Russian people: Золовка – змеинаяголовка. Золовки-колотовки, побейголовки. Золовкахитранауловки. In ancient Russia, a considerable role was given to godmothers. Godmothers were chosen carefully, for they were the models for children: Добраякумаприбавитума.
Thus, having analyzed the proverbs reflecting family values in both languages, we can draw the following conclusions. Firstly, regarding marriage, the Russian people prefer marrying for love guided only by feelings in choosing a partner. Englishmen marry with a common sense and at a later age. Russian and English linguistic cultures have proverbs advising not to rush with the choice of a life partner. In both cultures, in the marital relationship, love, harmony, and understanding are valued, but in the English phraseology, proverbs on this subject are fewer than in the Russian language. This is due, perhaps, to the fact that the British do not tend to make their personal affairs known to the public and do not publicly express their feelings as to their spouses and children. Secondly, in the Russian collectivistic culture where, in most cases, several generations live together, showing respect to the elders is important. Grandparents often play the role of nurses, so there are many proverbs and sayings on this topic. As for the English individualistic culture, children leave home early and start living on their own independent from their parents. Elderly people in England also value their independence preferring to spend time for themselves, their hobbies, traveling, and not to take care of children and grandchildren. Therefore, it is natural for the English language to have no sayings on this subject. Thirdly, there is a difference in attitudes and approaches to children and to their upbringing in the cultures. British are strict in raising children, physical punishments were popular. Children are aware that they live in the realm of adults; they are not pampered, and from an early age are taught to be independent. In the Russian culture, on the contrary, "all the best is for kids." Russian children are spoiled with attention and care. For parents, their children remain children forever, and they consider it as their duty to take care of them as long as possible.
Conclusion
A great way to improve understanding of the English culture, people and history is to study English proverbs and sayings. By memorizing them, yоu will nоt only learn sоmе cоmmоn English sayings; yоu will also help your brain tо bеcоmе better аt forming good English sentences.
D. Dubrovin wrote: "Wisdom and spirit of people manifest in proverbs, and knowledge of proverbs contributes better understanding the way of their thinking and the character of people". Having learnt and compared English and Russian proverbs I significantly expanded the knowledge of the English language, learnt some traditions and facts from history of England, understood the folk wisdom and joined the universal moral values. I made a conclusion, that the national character, spiritual qualities, standards of conduct and activities of the British, are reflected in the proverbs. [2]
The aimof the work (studying the “family” concept in English and Russian proverbs) was achieved. We found and studied 128 Russian and 62 English proverbs containing ‘family’ concept. We compared them and found out common features and peculiarities. We also showed the difference between the Russian and English proverb, as the consequence of differences in mentalities. We made lists of English, and Russian proverbs. We proved the hypothesesof the investigation: English and Russian proverbs and sayings reflect the attitude of the nation to the family and its problems. Awareness of features of proverbs and sayings in the Russian and English languages helps to understand language realities and family relations of native speakers.
Every person, regardless of age, needs a happy and supportive family. The concept of “a family” was of great importance for Russians and Englishmen from the ancient times. The family is believed to give a person life full of happiness and joy.
References
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2. Studying proverbs and sayings as a means of developing tolerance in young people (on the material of English and Russian proverbs) Алешина П , Юрченко А Екатеринбург 2016 XI всероссийскийконкурсисследовательских, практико-ориентированныхитворческихпроектовнаанглийскомязыкесредиучащихсяшколивузовold.uspu.ru/novosti/item/.../1910
3. https://lingvister.ru/blog/angliyskie-poslovitsy-o-semye-family-is-a-haven-in-a-heartless-world
4. http://ped-kopilka.ru/poslovicy-i-pogovorki/poslovicy-i-pogovorki-o-seme.html
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