Features of the verbalisation of the idea about the importance of the words’ balance in Russian proverbs against the background of Chinese ones

Abstract

All language users recognize the undeniable value of speech, which is widely reflected in the expression of national ancestry – proverbs and sayings. By briefly and expressively expressing their thoughts on different aspects, the speakers express various predicates related to these activities. In Russian, paremias that emphasise the importance of a reasonable approach to speech make up a large group. When analysing proverbs with the component “word”, where it most often appears in the meaning of “speech (a fragment of speech, phrase, remark)”, it is possible to identify stereotypical ideas about the importance of the manifestation of seriousness, discretion by the subject of speech, about a positive assessment of balanced, leisurely, thoughtful, concise speech, about the need to follow some rules for communication – such as respectful attitude towards the interlocutor, etc. Using the methods of semantics, language culture, and comparative analysis of 404 Russian paremias and 360 Chinese paremias, we can see universal attitudes that coincide among Russians and Chinese, as well as nationally coloured ideas expressed in paremics of only one of the languages. Russian and Chinese linguocultures reveal a lot of similar attitudes (the importance of the case, when comparing to the word; the impossibility of taking back what was said; the need to be careful when choosing words, etc.). However, the ways of their verbalisation may differ between Russians and Chinese. Chinese proverbs emphasise the importance of paying more attention to interlocutors.