188 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education Volume 02, Issue 04, 2024 ISSN (E): 2993-2769 Zoonyms in Euphemization of Proverbs and Sayings M. Yusupova Uzbekistan, Ferghana State University Abstract: Euphemism is the subject of the linguocultural studies. Nowadays euphemistic expressions are widely studied in all aspects of the language. The article reveals the feature of euphemisms in proverbs and sayings in Uzbek and English languages. The comparative analyses of the two languages’ euphemized proverbs and sayings showed that the negative characters of people are shown periphrastically by animals, which illustrate the Uzbek and English people’s mentality, world outlook, customs. Introduction "People are a great force that creates history and culture, material and spiritual wealth. Each nation accumulates a great deal of life experience over the centuries, and passes this experience on to future generations through various means"[6]. We think that proverbs and sayings are one of such spiritual and cultural heritages of the people. Proverbs and sayings exist in every nation, and they show the people's thinking, the development of culture and enlightenment, and the people's lifestyle. In today's linguistics, studying proverbs and sayings in different aspects, researching them as a separate genre is one of the most urgent issues. In proverbs and sayings, euphemisms are formed on the basis of periphrastic transference or shift of meaning; the negative characteristics, unspeakable, indecent, rude, various defects and ugly actions are given in a figurative sense. Therefore, the case of euphemism in proverbs and sayings is periphrastic euphemism. The process of tabooing is different in every society. And euphemization occurs because of not using the taboo notions in the society. The parmeological units are distinguished in every society. Along with it, proverbs and sayings euphemization occurs differently. This article is devoted to illustrating the classification of the euphemized proverbs and saying in two cultures as Uzbek and English. Literature review The state of euphemization of proverbs and sayings has not yet been widely studied in the world and Uzbek linguistics. In particular, Lun Zhichao paid attention to the study of stylistic devices in English and Chinese languages, including euphemisms[4]. E.K. Iskenderova analyzed euphemisms in the Kazakh language as a component of proverbs and sayings[2]. O. Tverdokhleb devoted his research to the phenomenon of euphemization in folklore, in particular proverbs and saying on the basis of Russian and English languages[5]. In the Uzbek language, Sh. Kalandarov comprehensively interpreted the linguistic and cultural aspects of euphemization in Uzbek proverbs and sayings[3]. In general, the study of the phenomenon of euphemization in proverbs and sayings has not been widely studied. In our research, the euphemistic status of proverbs and sayings used in Uzbek and English languages is studied. In doing so, we focused on the thematic classification of euphemisms in proverbs and sayings. 189 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us Results and discussions In every society, there are forbidden situations, events, and objects, which are considered inconvenient, inappropriate, indecent, or irreligious. Therefore, calling them by a different name ensures freedom from awkward and inappropriate situations. Euphemized proverbs and sayings, as creations of the people, can soften the forbidden situations and events through transfer of meaning in order to conceal the unpleasant situations so that the proverbs and sayings have a figurative meaning. We have grouped the euphemized proverbs and sayings below based on the prohibited notions, events we found in English and Uzbek. Euphemisms have been classified differently by various scholars and researchers. Most of the scientists and researchers have classified euphemisms based on the process, phenomenon and situation. In any society, euphemisms have become expressions of fear, death, marriage, theft, disease, pregnancy and birth, replacing and softening the words related to these concepts. Today, as society develops, the number of situations and phenomena is increasing, and because of this, euphemisms are also increasing in the language and enriching the system of the language. Euphemisms in proverbs and sayings are formed on the basis of the shift, formed in the form of periphrasis, softening the situations and events that are forbidden in society, but also the rules of life, interpersonal relations, which are uncomfortable to say. Euphemistic proverbs and sayings are used more in vernacular language; that is why they reflect the nation’s spirituality, people’s mind, thinking, mentality. Therefore, the classification of euphemized proverbs and sayings is wider than the classification of euphemisms. In the studies reviewed, the number of groups in the classification of euphemisms was up to twenty. But in the process of classifying the euphemism in proverbs and sayings, we divided them into forty eight groups. The outlook, history and customs of the people who created these parmeological units are embedded in the essence of proverbs and sayings. As long as this is the case, it is important to reveal the thematic content of proverbs. Based on the opinion of Sh.Shomahmudov and Sh.Shorahmedov, we think that the classification of proverbs and sayings involves a detailed study of their inner essence and the perifrastic meaning of proverbs and sayings. Especially the wisdom and intelligence of the people, in order not to offend others with inappropriate words or obscene expressions, learning the metaphorical meaning of proverbs and sayings is equal to revealing the view of the national world picture of the people. Euphemized proverbs and sayings have a special place in the language. The process of euphemization is not the same in Uzbek and English languages. Some groups have more euphemized proverbs and sayings in one language than in another. We concluded from this that the euphemization process is related to the national world picture, and the identity of this nation, takes place not only in the language system, but also in various aspects of life, traditions, customs, and history. Language and culture are interconnected phenomena. The consciousness of the nation is expressed through language. The parmeological system of any language is the "echo" of the nation. Therefore, the parmeological world picture is created and reflects the nation's thinking, consciousness, mentality and worldview. In the study of the euphemization of parmeological units, a national-cultural feature emerges. D.U.Ashurova claims that it is effective to study linguistic phenomena in a comparative-contrastive manner in order to reveal the national and cultural characteristics[1]. The classification comprises over 200 proverbs and sayings in both languages: 1. the feeling of fear; 2: laziness; 3. greediness; 4.toadying; 5. (not) keeping secrets; 6. boasting; 7. vanity, social climbing, careerism; 8. the notion of haram (Islamic religion). The notion of haram is expressed in English as the notion of the sin, which included different actions as theft, bribery. 9. poverty; 10. marriage, married couple or husband and wife; 11. gossiping; 12. defiance, mockery; 13. punishment; 14. misfortune; 15.hostile; 16. gluttony; 17.egoism; 18. stupidity, muddle-headedness, tasteless; 19.hypocrisy, lie; 20. manslaughter, killing; 21. trouble, obstacles; 22. shame; 23. impatience; 24. ignorance; 25. flippancy; 26. wick- willedness; 27. the notion of evil, badness; 28. the event/situation, which never comes; 29. scoundrel; 30. betrayal; 31.hunger; 33. anger; 34.unjustice; 35. risk; 36. envy; 37. danger; 38.death; 39.the notion of insufficiency; 40. urging; 41. stubbornness; 42.fault; 43. an old age; 44.revenge; 45. disappointment. 190 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us Also, there are forbidden situations and events in both societies, which are expressed in euphemized proverbs and sayings. However, there are some concepts which are euphemized only in one nation, in particular, the concept of an old age, death, marriage were not found in the Uzbek proverbs and saying. Of course, proverbs and sayings related to these concepts exist in the Uzbek language and are expressed in the direct sense, do not possess a figurative meaning and are distinguished by morals. In the English language, there are no euphemized proverbs and sayings expressing the concepts of greed, theft, discrimination, dishonor, and immorality. According to the classification of proverbs and sayings, it is possible to observe what concepts, situations or events may be prohibited in English and Uzbek societies. The classification of euphemized proverbs and sayings shows the specific features of the parmeological world view of nations. For the Uzbek people, the concepts of impurity, selfishness, arrogance, bad luck, uncivilization, lack of spirituality, fear, laziness, and ignorance are negative and are manifested in the parmeological world picture through their figurative meanings. The Uzbek people are good at conveying their thoughts implicitly, this implicitness can also be seen in proverbs and sayings, and prohibited situations are softened and given in a figurative sense. As in every society, various situations and events, concepts are given in a figurative meaning. Here, we have illustrated the euphemized proverbs and sayings through zoonyms, as the different tabooed notions in the languages are illustrated figuratively through animals. For example, the expression of fear is euphemized in the Uzbek language by wolf and lion and in English by the tiger, while the concept of a coward is shown by the sheep: бўрида Азроилнинг туки бор/the wolf has an appearance of the angel of death; шернинг ўлиги ҳам отни қўрқитади/ the dead body of the lion scares the horse; better to live one day as a tiger, than a thousand years as a sheep. In the euphemized proverbs and sayings expressing laziness, the symbol of laziness is represented by a donkey, a calf, a quail, a bear, and a frog: юки енгил эшак ётағон бўлади/the donkey with the light baggage is lazy; офтобда қолган эчкидай/ as the goat in the sun; туянинг териси – эшакка юк/the camel’s skin is the burden for donkey; боғланган този овга ярамас/the knotted goat cannot hunt; бузоқнинг югургани сомонхонагача/the calf can run only to the hayloft shows the inability of the person to do some work; бедананинг уйи йўқ, қаерга борса – битбилдиқ/quail has not home, where it goes it can sing. Бедана and битбилдиқ are synonymous words and denote quail, but they are differed in their connotations, the former shows the bird as the specie, the latter –the singing quail, which is kept in the special cage. The proverb is euphemistically used in order to characterize the lazy people. There is comparison of the industrious and lazy men with the horse and donkey: oт топади, эшак ейди/ the horse works, the donkey eats. In English, the concept of laziness was activated in the literal sense of proverbs and sayings, that is, periphrastic euphemisms were not observed. The process of keeping a secret and spreading a secret was shown in Uzbek by a hen, wolf and a cat: оқ товуқ сомон сочар, ўз кетини ўзи очар/the white hen spreads the straw and shows what it concealed; мушук ўзи ўйнаш топиб, ўзи жар солади/the cat finds the lover and tells to everybody demonstrate the nature of people when they cannot hide their secrets, mostly these proverbs show simultaneously the people who cannot be not trusted. In English, bragging and boasting were defined by a rooster, while in Uzbek, boasting was expressed not by one, but by several animals, including goat, rooster, goose, chicken, dog, fox and camel: хўроз қичқирмаса ҳам тонг отаверади/the morning will come even if the roost does not cry; чиранма ғоз, хунаринг оз/do not proud, goose, you have few trade; керилма товуқ, кетингдан урар совуқ/do not proud, hen, the cold will get you; аравани от тортар, қўланкасини ит тортар/ the horse will lead the cart, the dog –the shade of it; тулки ўз қуйруғини мақтар/ the fox praises its back; туя бўйига ишониб, йилдан қуруқ қолибди/ even if it is high, the camel has not gained the symbol of the year. All of these proverbs are related to the different situations, which happened in the past and survived in the forms of the proverbs. For example, the last proverb туя бўйига ишониб, йилдан қуруқ қолибди/ even if it is high, the 191 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us camel has not gained the symbol of the year concerned to the Chinese horoscope, where the 12 years were named after the animals, which show the character of people who were born these years, but there is not a symbol the camel, though it is a useful animal for Asian people. In the Uzbek language, goat, horse, frog, pig, and lion represent the concepts of arrogance, careerism, and ambition, and in English, a monkey and a dog: отдан тушса ҳам эгардан тушмайди/if he comes down of a horse, he will not come down of a saddle; эчки пастда бўлса марайди, тоққа чиқса тош юмалатади/ if the goat at the foothill, it bleats, if it on the top of the hill, it will roll down the stones; итбалиқдан тарқаган қурбақа улғайганда ўзини унутади/ the frog forgets that it appears from the tadpole; шер қутурса, ойга сапчир/if the lion is powerful, it will jump to the heaven; эшак юрар қатқоқда, маълум бўлар ботқоқдa/the donkey can walk, but not in the swamps; the higher the monkey climbs the more he shows his tail; if you are not leading dog, the view never changes. All of these proverbs show that the people in position or when they have their career, their characters can change, which is shown euphemistically by the animals. The concept of haram was broadly defined, and we included the concepts of theft and bribery. In English, the concept of the theft and bribery were not illustrated by animals, but in Uzbek, dog, tiger, crow, camel, cat, etc. expressed these concepts: ит теккан/the dog touches it; текинга мушук офтобга чиқмайди/the cat will not go to the sun for free; қуруқ қўлга қуш қўнмас/the bird will not sit on the empty palm; туяни чўмич билан суғориб бўлмайди/ it is impossible to water the camel with a ladle; ит қўрилган жойга ўч/the dog wishes the secured place; оқ дарёнинг ул юзида бир игнага – бир сигир/on the other side of the river the cow is changed for the needle. Ит теккан/the dog touches - the dog is not clean animal in Islam, that is why the Uzbek people use this proverb figuratively to the spoilt girls, who have relations with men before the wedding. In the next proverbs the bribetakers are euphemized by the cat and the bird or the thief is euphemized by the dog in this proverb: ит қўрилган жойга ўч/the dog wishes the secured place. Despite the fact that the concepts of marriage and married couple are euphemized in the Uzbek language, there are no euphemized proverbs and sayings representing these concepts have been found. In English, a woman is euphemized by cow or mare: why buy a cow when milk is so cheap - the argument against the marriage; the grey mare is the better horse - the house is ruled by a woman, the woman is a more leader. The concept of gossip and slander was activated by dog, frog in Uzbek, and dog in English: ит ҳурар, карвон ўтар/the dog barks, the caravan passes; қурбақа ҳам вақти билан вақиллайди/ the frog croaks, but in due time; a dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone. In Uzbek, dog, cat, wolf, and snake represented the concepts of enmity and disloyalty, and in English, flea: икки қўчқорнинг боши бир қозонда қайнамас/the heads of two rams will not boil in one boiler; ит-мушук бўлмоқ/as the dog and cat; ораларидан ола-мушук ўтган/the cat passes between them; бўрини қанча боқса ҳам, ўрмонга қараб қочади/if you even feed the wolf, it will run to forest; илон пўстини ташласа ҳам – илон/if the snake changes its skin, nevertheless it is snake; итнинг бошини лаганга солсанг, юмалаб ерга тушади/if you put the dog’s head into the dish, it will fall from the dish; шериклик ошни ит ичмас/the dog will never eat the food, which is cooked by partners; чақиниб турган чаёндан – буқиниб ётган илон ёмон/the snake is better than the scorpio; big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite them, and little fleas have lesser fleas. The concept of ignorance, bad behaviour is defined by different symbols in two languages, that is, in Uzbek, the symbol of ignorance is represented by a dog, donkey in proverbs and sayings, and in English it is a pig. Taking into account that the Uzbek people belong to the Muslim religion, the expression of a pig is almost never found in Uzbek proverbs and sayings: эчки элчи бўлолмас, тулки совчи бўлолмас/the goat will not be a messenger, the fox will not be a matchmaker; оғзидан оқ ит кириб, қора ит чиқди/the white dog comes into the mouth and the 192 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us black dog comes off it; ит иззатни, эшак тарбияни билмас/the dog does not know the respect, the donkey is not brought up; what can expect from a pig but a grunt. The concept of bad people, who bring the evil to the society or other people is expressed by camel, wolf, dog: оқ ит, қора ит – барибир ит/white dog, black dog - always dog; бўри еса ҳам, емаса ҳам – оғзи қон/ even if the wolf does not eat, its mouth is always in blood; туядан “нега бўйнинг эгри” деб сўрасалар, “қаерим тўғри?” деган экан/when the camel is asked why is your neck is not upright, it says where am I upright? These proverbs illustrate the bad, evil qualities of people figuratively, symbolized by animals. The concept of trickery, hypocricy was expressed in Uzbek by a fox, a goat, and in English by a falcon. In Uzbek, the concept of dishonor can be symbolized by animals such as a calf and a dog. In the Uzbek language, the symbol of lack of spirituality and culture is represented by a dog and a donkey; and in English by a pig and frogs. As it is seen from the proverbs and sayings, the animals substitute the different situations, events, peoples’ negative characters and traits, which are tabooed in Uzbek and English societies. The mild expressions of the taboos are shown by periphrastic euphemisms in proverbs and sayings. The proverbs and sayings are related to some historical events or situations, or even to some legends and tales, which show the cultural difference of these two nations. It can be also said that different animals substitute not only one negative character of the person. That is why, if we pretend that the dog in Uzbek language euphemistically demonstrates the thief or the camel shows the boaster, we will be wrong. Each proverb or saying appeared in different period and are related to the different occasions. Therefore, summarizing, we should distinguish the negative characters of people, which are mostly used figuratively in proverbs and saying, as it is impolite to speak directly about them: the donkey shows the laziness, stupidity, bad behavior; the frog – boasting, gossiping; the dog – enmity, bad people, sin, bad behavior, ignorance, shame; camel - boasting, bribery, lion shows the vanity; cat – the enmity, bribery, the fox –hypocrisy in Uzbek proverbs and sayings, while roost – boasting, the dog - an old age, arrogance, enmity, the pig – the ignorance, flea – enmity, cow and mare – the women in English proverbs and sayings. Conclusion The process of euphemization in proverbs and sayings worth special consideration. Every language has its own tabooed notions, so the Uzbek and English languages. The process of euphemization occurs on the bases of the taboos. 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