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DOI:10.29013/EJLL-23-4-62-66
USAGE OF MYTHOLOGIES AND MYTHOLOGISMS IN UZBEK AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES
Sapayeva Feruza Norbayevna1
1 Senior Teacher, Tashkent University of Information Technologies named after Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi, Uzbekistan
Cite: Kazem, A.E., Xiaohong, Z. (2023). Usage of Mythologies and Mythologisms in Uzbek and English Languages. European Journal of Literature and Linguistics 2023, No 4. https://doi. org/10.29013/EJLL-23-4-62-66
Abstract
Although mythological images come from separate linguistic continents and geographically distant continents, they are expressed in the same way in the English and Uzbek language, literature, and culture. Many images found in world folklore have their place in the literature of world languages with their own characteristics. Such images are characterized by flexibility and contain both negative and good features. This article provides a description of the terms myth, mythology, and mythological names, which have been studied by various researchers, as well as information about mythological words in English and Uzbek, and opinions about their classification. The mythological images of the dragon in both English and Uzbek literature are comparatively studied. Their similarities and differences in English and Uzbek literature are discussed.
Keywords: Myth, mythonym, theonym, demonym, mythoanthroponym, mythoponym, mythozoonym, mythophytonym.
I. Introduction
Mythology is one of the important terms in literary studies. This term is defined differently in sources. The term mythology is defined in the "Uzbek National Encyclopedia" as follows: "MYTHOLOGY (myth... and... logia) - 1) a coherent system of mythological imaginations created by a certain nation, a set of myths. 2) the science that researches and studies myths, myths" (UME, 2015; 649).
In this place, the mythology belonging to several nations can be cited, especially ancient Greek mythology, Celtic mytholo-
gy, Irish mythology, and Uzbek mythology. The basis of mythology goes back to the first-primitive period of the development of human intention, and it can be considered as the basis of the spiritual development of mankind. Mythology was considered the basis of primitive culture, the main means of understanding the world, and the beginning of artistic thinking.In the "Uzbek National Encyclopedia" there are also such opinions about mythology: "Mythology is based on the myths of the ancient man about the universe, nature, man, heavenly bodies, things and events" (UME, 2015; 648).As stated in this
definition, at first mythology consisted mainly of myths and legends about humanity and its universe, nature and natural phenomena. Based on this, ancient myths can be divided into the following groups:
a) divine, lunar and astral myths about the sun, moon and stars;
b) celestial myths about the origin of the universe;
c) anthropogenic myths about the creation of mankind;
d) totemistic, mystical and cult myths that express ancient religious views
In addition, myths can be divided into several types depending on the geographical location of countries. For example, in areas where farming and animal husbandry are developed, calendar myths based on symbolic and metaphorical interpretations of natural and climatic changes and myths about cults of nature that die and come back to life are widespread.Myths of this type are widespread mainly in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Central Asia. In this way, mythological plots about Osiris, Dionysus and Siovush were created. Later, as a result of the development of humanistic thinking, mythology became a complete system, including plots, mythological images and mythonyms about the world, society and nature.
II. Literature review
In the manual,"Introduction to Folklore" by M. Joraev and J. Eshonkulov myths are defined as follows: "A myth is a set of primitive ideas of an ancient man about existence, the creation of the universe, the emergence of man, plants and animals, the appearance of heavenly bodies, the causes and essence of natural phenomena, mythical heroes, gods and containing religious views about the gods" (M. Joraev and J. Eshonkulov, 2017; 26). In other words, because the human consciousness was not fully developed in the primitive community system, he explained the reason for the events happening around him through mythological imaginations. That is why myth is the oldest set of imaginations. A myth is an expression of an unconscious emotional attitude of an ancient person (M. Joraev and J. Eshonkulov, 2017; 27). The first attempts to understand the essence of mythological images and their scien-
tific interpretation were made by scientists of antiquity. In particular, Plato interpreted the myths from a philosophical-symbolic point of view, while the Greek philosopher Euge-mer (3rd BC) considered mythical images to be symbolic expressions of real historical figures who lived in the past. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the "Mythological School" appeared in Germany. The theoretical foundations of the mythological school are German philologists brothers Ya. and V. It is described in the book "German Mythology" by the Grimms. In the process of analyzing folk tales, they identified the remnants of ancient mythological imaginations in epic plots and came to an important scientific conclusion that the mythology of the Indo-European peoples goes back to a single foundation. A. Kuhn, V. Schwartz, V. Mannhardt (Germany), M. Breal (France), M. Muller (England), F. I. Buslaev, A. N. Afa-nasev, O. F. Mueller studied myths comparatively. Later, many new scientific directions appeared in world mythology.
In particular, the "anthropological school" built on the basis of the achievements of English comparative ethnography (E. Taylor, E. Lang, G. Spencer, J. Frazer); "Ritualist School" of Cambridge mythologists who studied myths and rituals in their interrelationship - School of Ritual Studies (D.Harrison, F. M. Kornford, A. B. Cook, G. Murray); "Social school" of French ethnologists who studied the spiritual foundations of primitive culture (E. Durkheim, L. Levy-Bruhl); "Symbolic School" - "School of Symbolism" (E. Kassier, W. Wundt, K. G. Jung - Germany), which shed light on the uniqueness of mythological thinking as an intellectual phenomenon; In the works of the representatives of the "Structural School" (K. Lévi-Strauss -France), myths are analyzed from different perspectives. Uzbek mythology had been extensively researched by scientists such as G. Akramov, B. Sarimsakov, T. Haydarov, T. Rahmonov, M. Joraev, Sh. Turdimov, Sh. Shomusarov (UME, 2015; 650).
Myths are classified differently by different researchers. For example, M. Joraev and J. Eshonkulov group myths as follows:
1) myths about the beginning (myths about the creation of the universe and the emergence of life on earth);
2) heavenly myths (myths about the appearance of celestial bodies and natural phenomena);
3) anthropogenic myths (myths about mythical characters with unusual characteristics, for example, Heracles, Gilgamesh, Odami Od, Hubbi);
4) cult myths (myths related to certain religious beliefs, for example, myths about the cult of fertility, the cult of water, the cult of plants, the cult of fire);
5) totemistic myths (originating on the basis of ancient ideas about totem -ancestor);
6) calendar myths (myths related to the calculation of the year, month, day, for example, myths related to the calculation of ayamajuz, ahman-dahman, chilla, ninety);
7) resurrection myths (for example, mythological plots about Siovush);
8) animistic myths (myths embodying ancient ideas about the soul);
9) monistic myths (myths about the patronage of ancestors);
10) dualistic myths (myths that reflect mythological views of the struggle between the forces of good and evil);
III. Research methodology
Mythology is based on animating the forces of nature, depicting them in the form of emotional images, individual entities (people, animals). That is, in this definition, mythology refers to the depiction of forces that exist in real life in the form of living beings. In addition, in the mythology of antiquity, in the eyes of the people of that time, such images were seen not as supernatural, but as real, existing forces. The exploits of these heroes were considered real. According to world scientists, the lexeme "myth" comes in different meanings in modern Indo-European languages and emphasizes its large semantic volume. Including:
1. "Myth" in English 1. myth; 2. non-exis-
tent tissue image or thing.
2. "Mythe, Mythos, Mythus" in German
1. myth, fairy tale; 2. Myth, fiction, myth.
3. "Mythe" in French - 1) myth, legend;
2) fictitious; 3) story.
4. "Myth" in Russian: 1) ancient folk tales
about gods and heroic deities; 2) fiction, illusion, lie; 3) He gave comments such as a wrong interpretation of an event disconnected from reality.
5. "Myth" in Uzbek 1. The set of primitive ideas of the ancient people about the universe. 2. A set of views about the creation of the universe, the creation of man, plants and animals, the appearance of heavenly bodies, the causes and nature of natural phenomena. 3. Includes religious views about goddesses and gods.
IV. Research discussion
Russian researcher N. V. Shesterkina in his article "Myth as a cognitive paradigm " defined myths as follows: "Myth means "word" in Greek. However, it is known that the meaning of "word" is also given by the words "logos" and "epos", and each of them has its own field of application: "myth" means the "social and semantic tension" of the word, "epos" means the phonetic decoration of the word, " and logos" is used to denote the primary difference of elements" (N. V. Shesterkina, 201; 40). Mythonyms belong to the group of nouns, they are names of unreal, that is, fictional images. In a broad sense, mythonyms are the names of images or places used in myths, legends and fairy tales. The word myth comes from the Greek language, mythos - legend, fairy tale; onyma- represents the meaning of name, i. e. it is understood as the name of any type of textile images. Among them, mythonyms include noble or demonic characters, natural phenomena, abstract concepts, and place names. As a result of the researches, researchers present different classifications about the types of mythonyms. For example, theonyms are the names of gods, demonyms are the names of demonic figures, mytho-anthroponyms are the names of heroes of legends and fairy tales, mythoponyms are the names of mythical places, mythozo-onims are the names of mythical animals, mythophytonyms are the names of mythical plants. Theonyms, which are considered another type of mythonyms, are a comparative study by Russian scientists N. S. Solovev and O. V. Akimova. Theonyms are a type of
mythonyms, derived from the Greek words theo- god and nymos- name. That is, theonyms are the names of gods, godlike heroes. Depending on the name and etiology of the images, they can be divided into the following groups:
— mythonyms (names of gods, god-like heroes in the primary sense;
— mythoanthroponyms (names of people appearing in legends
— mythozoonyms (mythical animal names);
— mythophytonyms (names of plants associated with legends);
— mythomonadonyms (myphotop-onyms) (mythological names of geographical places).
Uzbek researcher B. M. Mirsanov worked on myphonemes in the German and Uzbek languages, and did a comparative study of phytonyms and zoonyms, which are types of myphonemes in the two languages. In his opinion, in the secondary designations created on the basis of mythonyms found in the composition of phytonyms and zoo-nyms, a person finds similarities in the nature, shape and characteristics of plants and animals with the characteristics of mythological images. As a result, unnamed plants and creatures in real existence are given the name of mythological figures. For this reason, mythological names begin to be used as the name of the denotation (Mirsanov B. M., 2019; 34-43). For example, the willow tree is an ornamental tree belonging to the willow family. This phytonym is derived from the image ofmyphoneme, that is, Majnun. The mythophyton of the willow arose as a symbol of Majnu's sad and depressed appearance.
V. Discussion
One of the most common mythological figures in British folklore is giants, or giants. Such people have become famous as mythological figures in folklore around the world, but the most famous giants are the giants in British folklore. There are two types of them. According to legends, one of them is very huge, that is, giants with a very large appearance, and the other is a creature that is not very big compared to them. For example, in British myths, the giant known as Wilmington, belonging to the county of Sussex, is sev-
enty meters tall, while the fifty-meter giant of Cerne, in the county of Dorset, is smaller than that.
Goblins are one of the more famous and widespread mythological characters in English mythology. Although they look like humans, they are mythological creatures that are very ugly and full of rage. The habitat of goblins is mainly underground tunnels, caves, as well as cellars under human houses or hollows of trees.
Another famous character of British legends is hobbits. Many believe that the image of hobbits was created by the English writer John Tolkien. But hobbits, in fact, were popular as a mythological figure centuries ago, and they are considered the most benevolent angelic figure in English art.
One of the mythological characters that can change from animal to man or vice versa, from man to animal, is a werewolf, a person who can change shape with a spell. These images are common not only in English, but also in the folklore of other nations. In classic myths, they are depicted in the form of jackal.
In addition, the image of vampires is one of the most covered myths in Irish legends. Despite the fact that the image of vampires has lost its popularity by the XX-century, it is still preserved in the literature of many nations. Irish mythology has its own legends and tales about vampires, one of which is Dearg-Dew. Legend has it that Dearg-Dew was once a beautiful and graceful woman who fell in love with a peasant boy. But she committed suicide when she was forced to marry someone else. After the funeral, Dearg-Dew came out of the grave and took his revenge by killing the whole family one by one for putting himself in such a helpless situation. (https://listverse. com/2013/07/05/10-fascinating-creatures-from-british-isles-mythology/).
In English oral literature, a dragon is usually described as a giant lizard or serpent-like mythical creature with bat-like wings, a flame-breathing mouth, a saw-like tail, and a fleshy body. Belief in this mythology was formed in people even before the appearance of ancient huge dragon-like reptiles (Boulay R. A., 1999; 36-40).
The English word dragon comes from the Greek word drakon, originally used to
refer to any large snake-like creature. Later, it began to be used to refer to a mythological figure, that is, a dragon. Dragon mythology is one of the main images in the epic "Beowulf", which is considered the cornerstone of English literature. After discovering the treasure of a lost tribe, a fire-breathing dragon builds an underground chamber with a mysterious entrance to guard the gold and gems. Because of its greed, the dragon is always against the goodness and goodness inherent in people. When Beowulf approaches the dragon's lair, he is knocked unconscious by the dragon's spray of flames. Beowulf wins this fight and saves his country from the dragon. But Beowulf's neck swells up af-
ter being poisoned during a dragon attack, and he dies heroically.
VI. Conclusion.
Myths and mythologisms have a great place in the folklore and literature of the world. The mythological images classified above have been living in English myths, legends and fairy tales for several centuries. These characters are distinguished by their cheerfulness and extraordinary abilities. In conclusion, myths, mythonyms and mythologisms have a wide scope and have been used for many centuries in the literature of different peoples and embody the way of life and many other features of these peoples.
References.
Belesky, A.A. (1972). Lexicology And the theory of linguistic knowledge (onomastics). Kiev. 209 p.
Boulay, R.A. (1999). Flying Serpents and Dragons (pp. 36-40).The Book Tree. USA. Deane, L. Owls in Mythology and Culture.The Owl pages. https://www.owlpages.com/ owls/ articles.php?a=62
Ellis, D.H.R. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Heaney, S. (2007). Beowulf(pp. 222-228).Faber & Faber. England. https://www.scuc.txed. net/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=60219&dataid=104195&File-Name=Seamus%20Heaney%20Beowulf%20full%20text.pdf Jurayev, М., & Eshonkulov, J. (2017). Introduction to folklore studies. Barkamol fayz media. 26 p.
Mirsanov B. М. (2019). English and German secondary namings formed based on mythonyms. Foreign philology, 4, 34-43. Muryasov, R.Z. (2015). Mythonyms in the system of a language. Filology and art.Bulletin of the Bashkir University,3, 952 p.
submitted 03.10.2023;
accepted for publication 27.10.2023;
published 16.01.2024
© Sapayeva, F. N.
Contact: [email protected]
