PROVERB INTERTEXTUALITY AND POWER RELATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO SLEEP IN TURKISH AND UZBEK CULTURES

156 PROVERB INTERTEXTUALITY AND POWER RELATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO SLEEP IN TURKISH AND UZBEK CULTURES Durdona Abdugʻofurova, Lecturer of The Higher School of Turkology, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies Abstract. The authors consider the intertextuality of Turkish and Uzbek proverbs of sleep as bearers of cultural memory and instruments for power relations. Applying a comparative linguistic method, shows how proverbs encode authority, obedience and resistance, and the spirit of many different cultures in which they circulate. Applying the paremiological approach and mixed qualitative–quantitative method, this study demonstrates how proverbs about sleep correspond to broader social change, as well as acting as a medium for cultural reiteration. At the same time they show both transcultural cognitive processing and culture-specific values, highlighting the role of proverb in forming collective identities and regulating social affairs over decades. Keywords: paremiology, intertextuality, sleep imagery, social hierarchy, cultural transmission. Annotatsiya. Muallif ushbu maqolada turk va oʻzbek uyqu maqollarining intertekstualligini madaniy xotira tashuvchisi va hokimiyat munosabatlari vositasi sifatida tahlilga tortgan. Qiyosiy lingvistik usulni qoʻllash orqali maqollarning hokimiyat, itoatkorlik va qarshilik koʻrsatish hamda ular tarqalgan koʻplab turli madaniyatlar ruhini qanday kodlashini koʻrsatadi. Paremiologik yondashuv va aralash sifat-miqdor usulini qoʻllagan holda, ushbu tadqiqot uyqu haqidagi maqollarning kengroq ijtimoiy oʻzgarishlarga mos kelishini, shuningdek, madaniy muloqot vositasi vazifasini bajarishini koʻrsatadi. Shu bilan birga, ular transmadaniy kognitiv qayta ishlashni ham, madaniyatga xos qadriyatlarni ham koʻrsatib, maqollarning jamoaviy oʻziga xoslikni shakllantirish va koʻplab yillar davomida ijtimoiy masalalarni tartibga solishdagi rolini taʼkidlaydi. Kalit soʻzlar: paremiologiya, intertekstuallik, uyqu tasviri, ijtimoiy iyerarxiya, madaniy muloqot. Proverbs, like many linguistic constructs, reflect a societyʼs attitudes, beliefs, and general perspective of the world and can serve as didactic devices to transmit cultural values and ideologies regarding interpersonal relationship dynamics and social hierarchy. This is the subject of study: the subtle ways in which proverbs inscribe and carry values about power relations, focusing on one particular area where this takes place – the realm of aphoristic sayings that use sleep imagery in order to communicate expectations about how power should be distributed and what peopleʼs powers/responsibilities are within specific cultures. Its focus is on the ways in which these proverbs power authority, command obedience, and tacitly or explicitly mark alternatives to resistance in the texture of Turkish and Uzbek life. Very often, these expressions represent the wisdom of yore and embed morality lessons and cultural beliefs that have been transmitted over thousands of years in an abbreviated form. In 157 this sense, paremiology (the study of proverbs) acts as a peculiar “ocular device” in which we can observe the ambiguous deployment of language, culture, and power that characterizes discourse. If we probe the metaphorical and literal representation of sleep in such proverbs, we can reveal assumptions about productivity, social arrangements, and power relations that underpin these communities. This cross-cultural comparative work will illustrate the common ground as well as culturally specific subtleties in these societiesʼ respective use of proverbial wisdom to express social hierarchy. This comparative inquiry therefore offers an insight into the extent to which we can rely on these linguistic phenomena as responsible for shaping general attitudes towards roles and responsibilities in a culture, with particular reference to power relations. Additionally, I want to explore what these proverbs say about maintaining social power or lifting up and undermining oppressive structures and how they each reflect cultural narratives in a contemporary world that changes for the better. The scholarly discipline that is engaged in researching proverbs, folk wit, and poetic aphorisms is called paremiology; its subject matter offers a wide field for exploration of the intricate relationship between language, culture, and human emotions, as such expressions usually comprise historical traditions of manʼs common past or folk wisdom that reflects traditional views peculiar to different people. This is reflected most clearly in the proverbs, which encapsulate core cognitive processes and rules of how we express shared human values across cultures. Besides, proverbs are images of lifestyle, traditions, mentality, worldview, and peopleʼs appearance. In the course of studying the material on this topic, some pioneering scholarship on paremiological studies will be critically analyzed with special references that deal with the relationship among proverbs, culture, and power relations in general and within the Turkic linguistic area in particular. It will identify the literature that there is a lack of the specific investigation of sleep proverbs as social ranking and individual agency indicators. This critical review will lay a theoretical basis for interpreting how verbal phenomena (e.g., proverbs) codify and transport socio-cultural norms, the process with reference to which such use of language compartmentalizes hegemonic relationships and normative modes in a community 1 . In light of this, the present section will further examine ethnolinguistic approaches to proverbs, as such are seen as one of the main sources for understanding sociocultural valuations implicit in these small phrastic utterances 2 . It will also review research on symbolic language and imagery in proverbs, which are vital for analyzing the implicit cultural meanings of sleep within Turkish and Uzbek culture 3 . The review will also explore cross-cultural research, which helps to demonstrate how proverbs are channels for social control whereby expectations of obedience, production, and resistance are communicated 4 . 1 Lomotey B.A., Csajbok-Twerefou I. A pragmatic and sociolinguistic analysis of proverbs across languages and cultures // Journal of Pragmatics. 2021. (182). P. 86. 2 Ramlan M.N. Comparative Ethnolinguistics on Metaphorical Interpretations in Japanese Kotowaza and Malay Proverbs // IZUMI. 2021. № 2 (10). P. 221. 3 Toan L.N. Symbolic Language and Imagery in Formatting, Preserving, and Transmitting Cultural Values through Vietnamese Proverbs // International Journal of Religion. 2024. № 3 (5). P. 547. 4 Muxtarova M.F. Cross-Cultural Analysis: Representation of Some Aspects of a Parent-Child Relationship (on the Examples of English and Uzbek Proverbs) // SHS Web of Conferences. 2021. (100). P. 2008. 158 The theoretical basis for the study of phraseological equivalence of proverbs is developed on the basis of founding scientific research in the theory of phrases, and it will help to compare Turkish and Uzbek sleep proverbs 1 . Such basic concepts are crucial for us to be able to distinguish between the universal cognitive mechanisms responsible for creativity in proverbs and culture-specific interpretations, which in turn can distinguish proverbs across languages 2 . This article will address the methodological difficulties faced by a scholar in attempting to study proverbs crossculturally, including questions of translation, cultural context, and their subtleties of meaning that may be lost or altered because of linguistic and cultural boundaries. Nevertheless, a cautious methodological attitude, including the one proposed by Mieder, can help to reveal how proverbs mirror deeply rooted cultural values and the worldview of a society, going beyond language distinctions 3 . In fact, the complex nexus of language and culture makes proverbs often implicitly reflect core social expectations and power relations ascribed by society, even if the meaning is not stated explicitly 4 . Phraseological informants in general, and wise sayings or proverbs in particular, have been acknowledged as interesting subjects for linguistic analysis that reflect the history of a peopleʼs life, culture, and outlook, customs, and mental habits – it embodies the national character 5 . It is this broad view of things that reveals the proverbs as a valuable source to study collective memory and national identity. Furthermore, the importance of proverbs as essential components in preserving culture and passing on basic moral values from one generation to another demonstrates their role in shaping the collective consciousness of a community or society 6 . They contribute not only to the formation of world perception and conservation of way of life, but also they serve as the embodiment of the culture during their existing holidays 7 . In this view, proverbs are compressed representations of cultural knowledge that can provide information on social orders or intergroup relations 8 . Thus, it is consistent with interpretations observing proverbs as “cultural text” expressing a communityʼs worldview and value systems. This perspective is reinforced by those such as SchwarzFriesel who maintain that paremiology, the study of proverbs, must be in terms of culture so that proverbs themselves can serve as mirrors wherein cultural metaphors, schemas, and categories are reflected. For example, proverbs used by one generation 1 Torra A.P. Explorando la particularidad de los refranes: un análisis contrastivo entre español y catalán en el ámbito de la familia y la amistad // FRASEOLEX Revista Internacional de Fraseología y Lexicología. 2023. (2). P. 40. 2 Manakin V. Proverb commonalities in different languages and its application to Asian Pacific communication // Journal of Asian Pacific Communication. 2015. № 1 (25). P. 97.; Mohammed T.M.Q., Abdullah I.H. Universality and Language Specificity: Evidence from Arab and English Proverbs // International journal of comparative literature and translation studies. 2021. № 1 (9). P. 24. 3 Kuchkinov K.K., Kurbanova D.B., Shoinazarova V.K. Linguocultural Peculiarities of English Proverbs and Their Uzbek Equivalents. // Theoretical & Applied Science. 2020. № 10 (90). P. 38. 4 Ratushnaya E.R., Zhaparkulova N.N., Kazachuk I.G., et al. Linguoculturological Specific Features Of Phraseological Units And Paremias In Multi-Structural Languages // The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences. 2022. 5 Chulanova H.V., Vnuchkova V. English Phraseological Units as Representatives of National and Cultural Specificity // Fìlologìčnì traktati. 2023. № 2 (15). P. 39. 6 Kuchkinov K.K., Kurbanova D.B., Shoinazarova V.K. Linguocultural Peculiarities of English Proverbs and Their Uzbek Equivalents. // Theoretical & Applied Science. 2020. № 10 (90). P. 38. 7 Muxtarova M.F. Cross-Cultural Analysis: Representation of Some Aspects of a Parent-Child Relationship (on the Examples of English and Uzbek Proverbs) // SHS Web of Conferences. 2021. (100). P. 2008. 8 Sarsenbaeva Z.J., Utebaev T.T. Role of Phraseology in Developing Communicative Competence. // EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR). 2020. P. 47. 159 can be quite different than those employed by another within the same culture, thus transferring complex, abstract ideas that are not always directly expressed in contemporary conversation 1 . This continuity of the intergenerational transfer underscores its sustained utility in transmitting nuanced cultural wisdom 2 . On the basis of above, I describe the results of a systemic analysis of Turkish and Uzbek sleep proverbs by focusing particularly on thematic clusters, lexical patterns, and semantic schema. These findings will then be critically assessed, followed by a debate about authority and obedience and resistance as represented in the proverbial sayings from both cultures. This comparison highlights the way cultural values and social dynamics are embedded in them, affording insights into their influence on how people perceive sleep on a societal level. Moreover, the study will consider differences in proverb structure and thematic focus as expressive of cultural understanding of sleep hygiene and its societal stakes. Additionally, the analysis will consider the linguistic and structural features of these proverbs to explore how rhetorical devices and stylistic features work together to lend their persuasive force and significance within oneʼs culture 3 . In particular, a thematic analysis will highlight or reveal underlying patterns and recurring images from the gathered folklore in order to help better understand their cultural/historical significance of such figurative speech 4 . This will include an analysis of how sleep-related sayings in Turkish and Uzbek cultures express implicitly or explicitly social hierarchy and individual submission or rebellion 5 . The findings are reported on detailed thematic maps and in the form of lexical frequency analyses indicating how often certain themes within each cultural context were found as recurrent or related to one another 6 . This quantitative method, when read through qualitative hermeneutics, will yield an understanding of the stealth operation of proverbs as archiving reservoirs for cultural norms – guiding forces in society regarding authority and behavior – and channels determining the course for individual life. This examination has demonstrated, through its variety of methods and its thoughtfully juxtaposed analyses, how sleep proverbs in Turkish and Uzbek are condensed repositories not just of cultural knowledge but also of the social norms that surround authority, obedience, and resistance. The results demonstrate that such linguistic constructs, beyond their superficial simplicity, index deep-seated sociocultural dynamics in which universal human experiences and culture-specific power notions are reflected. More specifically, thematic analyses indicate that there are clear patterns in the way sleep-as-human-experience is used to both support and call into 1 Singh R. Niedzwiedzia Przysluga?Bear’s Favor? Hidden Garden behind the Concrete Proverbs: Cognitive-Semantic Analysis of Proverbs in Persian, Polish and Spanish // English Linguistics Research. 2019. № 1 (8). P. 20. 2 Ismail K.B.K. The Use of Proverbs and Idiomatic Expressions in Chinua Achebe’s ‘No Longer at Ease’ and ‘Arrow of God’ // Sumerianz Journal of Education Linguistics and Literature. 2021. № 41. P. 10. 3 Ismaili J.K. Problematic Areas in the Translation of Proverbs // Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies. 2018. № 11 (6). 4 Eslit E.R. Resilience of Philippine Folklore: An Enduring Heritage and Legacy for the 21st Century // International Journal of Education Language and Religion. 2023. № 1 (5). P. 9. 5 Tursunova D.A. The Meaning and Usage of Family Related Quotes in English Language // Current Research Journal of Philological Sciences. 2022. № 5 (3). P. 16. 6 Baunvig K.F. From Numbers to Narratives: Word Embeddings and Semantic Graphs as Hermeneutic Strategies in Textual Analysis // Research Portal Denmark. 2025. P. 32. 160 question hierarchical orders and individual agency within these societies. This comparative approach also illustrated how these proverbs constitute an interesting tool for addressing the past and present development of the Greek social model in general (sources of knowledge between generations on behavior and social roles). Furthermore, this study shows that proverbs are elements of intangible cultural heritage and testify to a peopleʼs long-term collective memory and embed the culture/language specificities from one generation to another. They further contribute an interesting perspective on the dichotomy in conceptualization strategies between universal and relative by showing that even within a uniform (cultural) context variation is found. Further research might investigate the pragmatic uses and functions of such proverbs and how they are used in discourse to make suggestions, persuade, or even criticize indirectly to shed light on their use as a means of interpersonal communication and social control. References 1. Lomotey B.A., Csajbok-Twerefou I. A pragmatic and sociolinguistic analysis of proverbs across languages and cultures // Journal of Pragmatics. 2021. (182). P. 86. 2. Ramlan M.N. Comparative Ethnolinguistics on Metaphorical Interpretations in Japanese Kotowaza and Malay Proverbs // IZUMI. 2021. № 2 (10). P. 221. 3. Toan L.N. Symbolic Language and Imagery in Formatting, Preserving, and Transmitting Cultural Values through Vietnamese Proverbs // International Journal of Religion. 2024. № 3 (5). P. 547. 4. Muxtarova M.F. Cross-Cultural Analysis: Representation of Some Aspects of a Parent-Child Relationship (on the Examples of English and Uzbek Proverbs) // SHS Web of Conferences. 2021. (100). P. 2008. 5. Torra A.P. Explorando la particularidad de los refranes: un análisis contrastivo entre español y catalán en el ámbito de la familia y la amistad // FRASEOLEX Revista Internacional de Fraseología y Lexicología. 2023. (2). P. 40. 6. Manakin V. Proverb commonalities in different languages and its application to Asian Pacific communication // Journal of Asian Pacific Communication. 2015. № 1 (25). P. 97. 7. Mohammed T.M.Q., Abdullah I.H. Universality and Language Specificity: Evidence from Arab and English Proverbs // International journal of comparative literature and translation studies. 2021. № 1 (9). P. 24. 8. Kuchkinov K.K., Kurbanova D.B., Shoinazarova V.K. Linguocultural Peculiarities of English Proverbs and Their Uzbek Equivalents. // Theoretical & Applied Science. 2020. № 10 (90). P. 38. 9. Ratushnaya E.R., Zhaparkulova N.N., Kazachuk I.G., et al. Linguoculturological Specific Features Of Phraseological Units And Paremias In Multi-Structural Languages // The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences. 2022. 10. Chulanova H.V., Vnuchkova V. English Phraseological Units as Representatives of National and Cultural Specificity // Fìlologìčnì traktati. 2023. № 2 (15). P. 39. 161 11. Sarsenbaeva Z.J., Utebaev T.T. Role of Phraseology in Developing Communicative Competence. // EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR). 2020. P. 47. 12. Singh R. Niedzwiedzia Przysluga?Bearʼs Favor? Hidden Garden behind the Concrete Proverbs: Cognitive-Semantic Analysis of Proverbs in Persian, Polish and Spanish // English Linguistics Research. 2019. № 1 (8). P. 20. 13. Ismail K.B.K. The Use of Proverbs and Idiomatic Expressions in Chinua Achebeʼs ʼNo Longer at Easeʼ and ʼArrow of Godʼ // Sumerianz Journal of Education Linguistics and Literature. 2021. № 41. P. 10. 14. Ismaili J.K. Problematic Areas in the Translation of Proverbs // Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies. 2018. № 11 (6). 15. Eslit E.R. Resilience of Philippine Folklore: An Enduring Heritage and Legacy for the 21st Century // International Journal of Education Language and Religion. 2023. № 1 (5). P. 9. 16. Tursunova D.A. The Meaning and Usage of Family Related Quotes in English Language // Current Research Journal of Philological Sciences. 2022. № 5 (3). P. 16. 17. Baunvig K.F. From Numbers to Narratives: Word Embeddings and Semantic Graphs as Hermeneutic Strategies in Textual Analysis // Research Portal Denmark. 2025. P. 32.