Verbalisation of the image of man in the English and Lak languages

Abstract

The article analyses English and Lak proverbs describing a man. Proverbs have been chosen as a material of study due to the fact that they are the entities revealing the mentality of a certain ethnic group. The author was compelled to conduct this study owing to the current lack of research in the area of Lak proverbs. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time it has provided a psychological portrait of a man on the basis of the English and Lak languages. Isolated geographical position of Lak and English people was the cause of their inclination for conservative way of life which resulted in the formation of certain stereotypes of a Lak and an Englishman. The aim of the author was to discover those stereotypes by means of detecting universal and specific traits of Lak and English people. To reach that aim the author grouped the proverbs in thematic layers and provided them with linguocultural commentary. The image of man consists of such characteristics as reliability or unreliability, reserve or verbosity, valiancy or cowardice, ability or inability to fight, patience or impatience and love of food. The analysis showed that the ideal man in both Lak and English culture is the one who is patient, restrained and able to defend himself and his family, including the situation on the battlefield. The difference between the Lak and the English appeared in the degree of man’s readiness to fight. For the Laks whose life in the past was passing between wars the key factor was their ability to wage war while the English are more reserved and cautious in their actions.