WOMAN, GIRL AND WIFE IN SWEDISH AND RUSSIAN COMPARATIVE PAREMIAS Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ

UDC 811.113+811.161.1

Aleksey Alyoshin

The Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications

Elena Zinovieva

St. Petersburg State University

WOMAN, GIRL AND WIFE IN SWEDISH AND RUSSIAN COMPARATIVE PAREMIAS

For citation: Alyoshin A., Zinovieva E. Woman, girl and wife in Swedish and Russian comparative paremias. Scandinavian Philology, 2021, vol. 19, issue 2, pp. 219235. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu21.2021.201

The article deals with Swedish and Russian proverbs about girl, woman, and wife, which have a comparative structure. We propose a classification of the paremias of two languages from the structural perspective, identify categories and productive models of the proverbial languages, and show general and national-culturally determined attitudes verbalized by paremiological units. This leads us to conclude that proverbs with an explicit comparison, with the help of formal linguistic means, opposition and metaphors, prevail in both Swedish and Russian. Structural differences lie in the presence of a large-scale category of paremias expressing the position of the subjects of comparison with the common predicate in the Swedish language; in the Russian language there are units expressing comparison through negation. Most Swedish paremias characterize a woman as opposed to a man, and the wife is presented diffusely and is rarely formally separated from the general idea of a woman; Russian units separately single out the wife as the leading woman's status in family life. A small number of paremias of both languages are dedicated to the unmarried girl. Both in Swedish and Russian proverbs the masculine view dominates, which is due to the time of origin of these linguistic units, in which a negative assessment of woman prevails. In both Swedish and Russian paremias, a woman is endowed with such qualities as talkativeness, quarrelsomeness, stupidity, and excessive emotionality. In the units of the two languages, an evil woman

is marked. The differences lie in the attitude verbalized in the proverbs of the two languages, to the physical impact on a woman by a man, in a negative assessment of the beautiful appearance of the wife in Russian paremias, as well as in the thematic areas of the images used. If Swedish proverbs use images of natural phenomena, then Russian units use household realities. Swedish proverbs less categorically declare that women are less valuable than men, unlike Russian proverbs.

Keywords: paremias, proverbs, comparative structure, model, Swedish, Russian, woman.

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, paremias about women have attracted the attention of linguists, who have studied various aspects of this material and material of different languages: from the perspective of cognitive linguistics [Nesterovich, 2020]; from an axiological perspective, the image of a woman in Russian and Portuguese proverbs and sayings was considered [Diaz Ferrero, Kero Jervilla, 2018]. On the reflection of gender stereotypes in paremias, an analysis of proverbs was carried out on material of the Tuvan, Russian, and English languages [Egorova, Kondakova, Kuzhuget, 2020; Khakimova, 2013]. Paremias about women served as material for an analysis of the concept of the same name [Sarsenbae-va, 2020], and material of paremias was used to examine the image of the woman in Russian and French linguocultures [Nesterovich, 2020]. Swedish and Russian paremias with a comparative structure have not been the object of the study until now.

Under the paremias with a comparative structure are meant proverbs and sayings explicitly or implicitly verbalizing a comparison — "a cognitive operation underlying judgments about the similarity or difference of objects" [PED, 1983, p. 650]. Comparison in paremias about women is represented mainly by proverbs. The aim of the work is to identify the general and culturally determined ideas about women in Swedish and Russian proverbs with a comparative structure. The set goal involves an analysis of structural models of comparative proverbs of the Swedish and Russian languages and the identification of cultural attitudes, verbalized by the proverbs under study.

Comparison is one of the leading ways of human cognition of the world. Models for constructing proverbs in each linguistic culture have their own characteristics, reflecting the specifics of the mentality of the native speaker.

The material for the study included Swedish and Russian proverbs selected using the continuous sampling method from the following sources: P. Holm, Ordspräk och talesätt medförklaringar (P. Holm, Proverbs and sayings with explanations [Holm, 1971]); P. Holm, 3530 ordspräk och talesätt (P. Holm, 3530 proverbs and sayings [Holm, 1984]); F. Ström, Svenska ordspräk (F. Ström, Swedish proverbs [Strom, 1929]); V. I. Dal, Proverbs of the Russian people [Dal, 1984]); V. M. Mokienko, T. G. Nikitina, and E. K. Nikolaeva, The Big Dictionary of Russian Proverbs [Mokienko, Nikitina, Nikolaeva, 2010].

2. WOMAN, GIRL AND WIFE IN SWEDISH COMPARATIVE PAREMIAS

Sixty paremias with a comparative structure were selected from Swedish language dictionaries using a continuous sampling method. Of these, 41 units characterize a woman in general, 11 units describe a girl before marriage, and 4 units characterize a wife. Paremias dedicated to women use the nominations kvinna 'woman' and käring 'peasant woman.' A young unmarried girl is called flicka 'girl' or ungmö 'maiden.'

The following structural classification of the selected units can be proposed.

I. A formally expressed comparison (24 units)

— With the conjunction "som": Kvinnan är som skuggan: följ henne och hon flyr dig, fly henne och hon följer dig. 'A woman is like a shadow: if you follow it, it will run away from you; if you run away from it, it will follow you'; Kvinnan skall vara som snäckan. 'A woman should be like a shell' (closed and mysterious); Kvinnan har sitt ljus av mannen liksom mänen av solen. 'A woman reflects the light of a man like the moon reflects the light of the sun'; En dägelig kvinna utan tukt är som en so med ett gyllene spänne pä näsone. 'A beautiful woman without obedience is like a pig with a gold plaque on the snout'; Att slä hustrun är som att slä mjölsäcken: det goda flyger ut och det däliga stannar kvar. 'Beating a wife is like beating a sack of flour: the good will fly out, but the bad will remain.' A proverb that compares two situations — women living in the same house and cats hunting the same mouse — stands out in this category of paremias: Tvä kvinnor i ett hus är som tvä katter om en mus. 'Two women in one house are like two cats at one mouse,' En man av halm är lika mycket värd som en kvinna

av silver. A man of straw is worth the same as a woman of silver.' (A man is always rated higher than a woman)

— Using the comparative or superlative degree of an adjective: När en flicka blott är litet klokare än en gäs, fär hon säkert en man. 'If a girl is a little smarter than a goose, she will definitely find a husband.' Annans hustru är alltid vackrast. 'Someone else's wife is always the prettiest.'

— Using the comparative or superlative degree of an adverb: Kvin-nan kan i förklädet bära ut mer ur huset, än mannen kan köra in med en hästavagn. 'A woman in an apron can carry more out of the house than a man can bring in a wagon'; Kvinnan känner konsten bättre än djävulen. 'A woman knows her art better than the devil'; Lättare att koka järn än fä kvinna at ta reson. 'It's easier to weld iron than to reason with a woman'; Gammal kvinna och ny plog äro bäst i jorden. 'An old woman and a new plow are best for the soil'; Ett kvinnohjärta ser mer än tio mans ögon. 'One woman's heart sees more than ten men's eyes'; En god kvinna är förmer än stora rikedomar. A good woman is better than great wealth'; Arg kvinna och bitande hund vaktar huset bäst. 'An angry woman and a biting dog guard the house best'; Ond kvinna ska man hellre gä ur vägen för än slä henne. 'Better to get out of the way of a wicked woman than to beat her.'

— Paremias, built according to the model "Bättre ... än ..." ("Better ... than ..."): Bättre bo i öde skog än hos argan kvinna. 'Better to live in a deep forest than with an angry woman'; Bättre en god grannkvinna än syster i nästa by, men bäst en trogen hustru, som kan baka och sy. 'Better to have a good neighbor than a sister in another village, but a faithful wife who knows how to bake and sew is best.'

— Paremias, built according to the model "Ju ... dess ..." ("The more (better, etc) ..., the more (better, etc) ..."): Ju rejälare kvinna, dess större fä till man vill hon ha. 'The better a woman is, the more sleazebag of a man she wants for a husband.'

II. Metaphors (5 units): Kvinnan är för mannen den yttersta dagen. 'A woman is the day of judgment for a man'; Mannen är kvinnans hu-vud, men hon är nattmössan pä det. A man is a woman's head, but she's a nightcap on it'; Mannen är huvudet och kvinnan är hatten. 'The man is the head and the woman is the hat'; Trätosam kvinna är en ständig tak-dropp. A grumpy woman is constant dripping from the roof'; Drucken kvinna är en oläst kista. A drunk woman is an open chest.'

III. Comparison through the alignment of the subjects of comparison (19 units)

— For several subjects (which the speaker considers it possible to match), including a female person, one predicate is attached: Applet, nöten och flickan har mask i kärnan. 'The apple, the nut and the girl have a worm inside'; Tre kvinnor, tre gäss och tre grodor gör en ärs-marknad. 'Three women, three geese, and three frogs will make a fair' (women are talkative and make a lot of noise); Klar ättika och vack-er flicka gör ingen skada i huset. 'Clear vinegar and a pretty girl won't harm the house'; Gamla hus och unga flickor fattar lätt eld. 'Old houses and young girls are flammable'; Kvinnans sinn och vinterns vind växla ofta. 'The temper of a woman and the winter wind are often changeable'; Storkar och kvinnor bygga sina nästen högt upp. 'Storks and women build their nests high'; Östanväder och kvinnoträta börja med storm och sluta med väta. 'Thunderstorms and women's quarrels begin with storms and end with rain'; Kvinnan och kakelugnen höra till huset. 'The woman and the tiled stove belong in the house'; Arg kvinna och bitande hund vaktar huset bäst. 'An angry woman and a biting dog guard the house best'; Ett halt ben och en elak hustru gör tung färd. 'A limp leg and a wicked wife make the journey difficult'; Vitt bröd och fager mö är söndagsspis. 'White bread and a pretty maiden are Sunday food.'

— Juxtaposition of the compared phenomena that act as additions in a sentence: Värens snö, kvinnor och nattgammal is ska man aldrig lita pä. 'You can never rely on spring snow, women, and ice that got up at night'; Kvinnor och fästningar ska erövras med storm. 'Women and fortresses must be taken by storm'; Flickor och ägg ska man icke gömma pä. 'Girls and eggs don't have to be hidden'; Kvinnor och linne skall ej köpas vid talgljus. 'Women and linen cannot be bought by the light of a tallow candle'; Klar himmel och leende kvinna är inte att lita pä. 'You can't hope for a clear sky and a smiling woman.'

— Proximity of subjects with the preposition "utan" and the formal indicator of comparison (the conjunction 'som') in the predication of the proverb: En jungfru utan friare, en marknad utan skriare, en luden päls utan löss, ett gammalt hus utan möss, en bock utan skägg sällsynt är som tuppeägg. 'A virgin without a groom, a market without a vendor, hair without lice, an old house without mice, a goat without a beard is as rare as cock eggs.'

— The proximity of the subjects of comparison, expressed by homogeneous subordinate clauses: När hundarna halta, kvinnorna gräta och krämarna svärja, sä har det inte sä mycket att betyda. 'When dogs limp, women cry, and hucksters swear, it does not mean anything.'

— The proximity of the subjects of comparison in the presence of the negative pronoun ingen and the preposition utan: Ingen flicka utan kärlek, ingen marknad utan tjuvar, ingen tiggare utan löss. 'There is no girl without love, there is no market without thieves, there is no beggar without lice.'

IV. Comparison through opposition (9 units)

— Comparison through lexically expressed opposition: Ibland kan en liten kvinna ha tio stora mäns vett. 'Sometimes a little woman has the mind of ten big men.'

— Comparison through opposition, expressed with the help of opposing conjunctions och ("while") and men ("but"): Kvinna, vind och lycka växla ofta, men Gud förblir den han är. 'A girl, wind, and happiness are changeable, but God remains who He is'; Fiskar fängar man med krokar, män med ord och kvinnor med grannlätar. 'They catch fish with hooks, men with words, and women with beautiful songs'; Styr häst med betsel och ond kvinna med käpp. 'Control a horse with a bridle, and an evil woman with a stick'; Kvinnfolk är svära att ha men värre att mista. 'Women are hard to have, but even harder to lose'; Man kan tämja ett vilt djur men icke en ond kvinna. 'You can tame a wild animal, but not an evil woman'; Den som tar älen om stjärten och kvinnan pä orden, han vinner inte mycket. 'Whoever catches an eel by the tail, and a woman at her word, does not get much.'

— Comparison through conjunctionless opposition: En brand kan icke länge brinna, en käring kan icke länge skälla. 'A fire cannot burn for a long time, a woman cannot swear for a long time.'

— Comparison through opposition in the composition of a complex sentence, the two parts of which are simple sentences with the adversative conjunction men ("but"), and are connected with each other by a conjunctionless connection: Applet är rött, men masken är därinne, flickan är skön, men har ett elakt sinne. 'The apple is red, but a worm is inside, the girl is beautiful, but has an evil disposition.' This paremia acquires a four-part structure, which is especially emphasized by the presence of the rhyme.

Thus, in Swedish paremias the expressioon of an explicit comparison prevail quantitatively. In addition, a fairly voluminous category of Swedish proverbs stands out, in which there is a series of comparison subjects with other objects or phenomena. It is precisely this side-by-side arrangement that is the main generator of the imagery of the Swedish paremias in the considered thematic field. Most often, a woman is compared with natural phenomena (wind, clear sky, spring snow, ice that rose at night, thunderstorm, winter wind), animals (dog, stork, goose, frog), and household objects (house, tiled stove, linen fabric, plow, chest, vinegar). The analyzed units clearly express the pejorative assessment of a woman. Most of the considered paremias belong to a very ancient layer of the Swedish linguistic culture and were formed in the Middle Ages, with its characteristic misogyny. For this reason, ideas about such feminine qualities as stupidity, quarrelsomeness, cunningness, and fickleness are enshrined. Separately, in the Swedish paremias, an evil woman stands out, representing a great danger to a man and hindering him in all his affairs: Bättre bo i öde skog än hos argan kvinna. 'Better to live in a deep forest than with an angry woman.' An evil woman is compared to a wild beast that cannot be tamed: Man kan tämja ett vilt djur men icke en ond kvinna. 'You can tame a wild animal, but not an evil woman.' The image of the woman in Swedish proverbs is given through the prism of masculine perception; therefore an important setting is the need to conquer a woman like a fortress in battle: Kvinnor och fästningar ska erövras med storm. 'Women and fortresses must be taken by storm.' With a general negative attitude towards women, expressed in paremias, the importance and value of a good and kind woman is separately nominated: En god kvinna är förmer än stora rikedomar. 'A good woman is better than great wealth.' The wife in Swedish proverbs is presented diffusely, often dissolving into the general concept of a woman. Separately, only the evil wife who harms her husband is marked: Ett halt ben och en elak hustru gör tung färd. 'A limp leg and a wicked wife make the journey difficult'. However, it is important to note that even in the paremias, representing an ancient layer of linguistic culture, the use of violence by a husband against his wife is assessed negatively: Att slä hustrun är som att slä mjölsäcken: det goda flyger ut och det däliga stannar kvar. 'Beating a wife is like beating a sack of flour: the good will fly out, but the bad will remain.' The image of a girl in Swedish paremias is inextricably linked with the theme of love and matchmaking: En jungfru utanfriare,

en marknad utan skriare, en luden pals utan loss, ett gammalt hus utan moss, en bock utan skagg sallsynt ar som tuppeagg; Ingen flicka utan kar-lek, ingen marknad utan tjuvar, ingen tiggare utan loss. 'A virgin without a groom, a market without a vendor, hair without lice, an old house without mice, a goat without a beard is as rare as cock eggs.'

However, even in young girls there is a negative principle inherent in all women: Applet, noten och flickan har mask i karnan. 'The apple, the nut, and the girl have a worm inside.' (Every woman has a flaw). Of particular interest are multicomponent comparative pairs that unfold in entire scenarios: Nar hundarna halta, kvinnorna grata och kramarna svarja, sa har det inte sa mycket att betyda. 'When dogs limp, women cry, and hucksters swear, it does not mean anything.'

As in the paremias of other thematic groups, the numerical component of the Swedish units under consideration is noteworthy: Ibland kan en liten kvinna ha tio stora mans vett. 'Sometimes a little woman has the mind of ten big men'; Ett kvinnohjarta ser mer an tio mans ogon. 'One woman's heart sees more than ten men's eyes'; Tre kvinnor, tre gass och tre grodor gor en arsmarknad. 'Three women, three geese, and three frogs will make a fair.'

3. WOMAN, GIRL AND WIFE IN RUSSIAN COMPARATIVE PAREMIAS

In the lexicographic sources of the Russian language, 71 paremias with a comparative structure were identified, of which 20 units characterize a woman in general, 46 a woman as a wife, highlighting this very role as leading in family life, and only 3 units characterize an unmarried girl. Paremias characterizing a woman use the nomination of "a (peasant) woman." In some cases, a woman is not called so directly, but only implied, while indirect designations are used through typical tools of traditional female labor, e.g. a spinning wheel or a spindle: Семь топоров вместе лежат, а две прялки врознь. 'Seven axes lie together, and two spinning wheels are apart'; Смирен топор, да веретено бодливо. 'The ax is meek, but the spindle is butting.' Such paremias are based on the presupposition that exists in the linguistic consciousness of native speakers, their common cognitive base. A woman may not be named at all in a proverb; the end of the feminine verb of the past tense indicates the feminine person: Как худая трава, только ноги оплела. '[The bad wife] is like a weed, [she] only ties [her husband's] legs.'

For the paremia models, the following classification of the selected units can be proposed.

I. Formally expressed comparison (25 units)

With the conjunction как ("as, like"): Как худая трава, только ноги оплела. '[The bad wife] is like a weed, [she] only ties [her husband's] legs'; Женино добро, как зимнее тепло. 'A wife's kindness is like a winter's warmth'; Умная жена, как нищему сума (все сбережет). 'A clever wife is like a bag to a beggar (will save everything)'; Люби жену, как душу, тряси ее, как грушу (бей, как шубу)! 'Love your wife like a soul, shake her like a pear (beat her like a fur coat)!'

— With the conjunction что ("as, like"): Больная жена мужу, что убогая сестра брату. 'A sick wife to her husband is like a poor sister to her brother'; Красна девка в хороводе, что маков цвет в огороде. 'A girl is beautiful in a round dance as poppies are in the garden.'

— With the conjunction что ("as, like") with an explanation of the motivation for the comparison in the second part of the paremia: Баба, что глиняный горшок: вынь из печи, он пуще шипит. 'A woman is like an earthen pot: you take it out of the oven, it hisses more'; Баба, что мешок: что положишь, то и несет. 'A woman is like a bag: it carries whatever you put in it'; Баба, что горшок: что ни влей — все кипит. 'A woman is like a pot: whatever you pour in, everything boils'; Женское сердце, что котел, кипит. 'A woman's heart, like a cauldron, is boiling'; Женский обычай — что вперед забежать. 'The female custom is to run ahead'; Женское слово, что клей, пристает. 'A woman's word is like glue, it sticks.'

— Using the comparative degree of an adjective: Собака умней бабы: на хозяина не лает (о брани). 'A dog is smarter than a woman: it does not bark at the owner (about verbal abuse)'; Всякому мужу своя жена милее. 'Every husband has his own wife dearer'; Жена честнее — мужу милее. 'An honest wife is loved by the husband'; Шубу бей — теплее, жену бей — милее. 'Beat your fur coat — warmer, beat your wife — sweeter'; Утро вечера мудренее, жена мужа удалее. 'The morning is wiser than the evening; the wife is bolder than the husband.'

— With the help of the comparative degree of an adverb: Глупому мужу красная жена дороже красного яйца. 'For a stupid husband, a beautiful wife is dearer than a beautiful egg'; Нужа, нужа! нет ее хуже, а лучше худого мужа. Need, need! There is nothing worse except a bad

husband'; Стужа да нужа, а лучше худого мужа. 'Cold and need are still better than a bad husband.'

— Paremias, which follow the model "better...than....": Лучше раздразнить собаку, нежели бабу. 'It is better to tease a dog than a woman'; Лучше раз в году родить, чем день-деньской бороду брить. 'It is better to give birth once a year than to shave a beard every day'; Лучше жить со змеею, чем со злою женою. 'It is better to live with a snake than with an evil wife.'

— Paremias, which follow the model "the more ... the more .. ": Чем больше жену бьешь, тем щи вкуснее (тем наварней щи). 'The more you beat your wife, the tastier the cabbage soup gets (the richer the cabbage soup gets).'

— Paremias, which follow the model "not so much ... as": Не столько муж мешком, сколько жена горшком (сберегает, приносит в дом). 'Not so much a husband with a sack, as a wife with a pot (saves, brings to the house).'

II. Metaphors (10 units): Жена мужу пластырь, муж жене пастырь. 'A wife to her husband is a plaster, a husband to his wife is a shepherd'; Муж — голова, жена — душа. 'The husband is the head, the wife is the soul'; Ключница чужому отцу, ларешница чужой матери (молодая жена). 'Housekeeper for another's father, treasurer for another's mother (young wife)'; Бабьи сборы — гусиный век. 'A woman's preparations are [as long as] a goose's life', Три бабы — базар, а семь — ярмарка. 'Three women are a market, and seven are a fair'; Хорошая (пригожая) жена — лишняя сухота. 'A good-looking wife creates extra problems'; Жена красавица — безочному (слепому) радость. 'A beautiful wife is joy to the blind'; Жена да муж — змея да уж. 'A wife and a husband are a snake and a grass snake'; Без мужа жена — всегда сирота (кругом сирота). 'Without a husband, the wife is always an orphan (an orphan all around)'; Хорошая жена — метла, и худая — метла [та в дом, эта из дома метет]. 'A good wife is a broom, and a bad one is a broom [the former sweeps into the house, the latter sweeps out of the house].'

III. Comparison through negation (19 units)

— With the negative particle не ("not"): Баба — не квашня: встала да и пошла. 'A woman is not dough to rise and go'; Курица

не птица, а баба не человек. A hen is not a bird, a woman is not a person'; Курице не быть петухом, а бабе мужиком. A hen cannot be a rooster, and a woman cannot be a man'; Кобыла не лошадь, баба не человек. A mare is not a horse, a woman is not a person'; Жена не сапог (не лапоть), с ноги не скинешь. 'The wife is not a boot (a bast shoe), you cannot throw her off your feet'; Жена не рукавица, с руки не сбросишь (за пояс не заткнешь). 'The wife is not a mitten, you cannot throw her off your hand (you cannot put her under your belt)'; Жена не гусли: поиграв, на стенку не повесишь. 'The wife is not a gusli: after playing, you cannot hang her on the wall'; Жена не седло: со спины не сымешь. 'The wife is not a saddle: you can't get her off your back'; Жена не горшок, не расшибешь (а расшибешь — берестой не перевьешь). 'The wife is not a pot, you cannot break her (but if you break her you cannot put her together with birch bark)'; Девка — не лошадь: без сбруи не сбудешь. 'A girl is not a horse: you can't sell her without harness'; Девка — не мак: в один день не облетит. 'The girl is not a poppy: she will not become bare in one day.'

Negation can be found in the first part of the proverb, provided that the husband and wife are compared: Муж возом не навозит, что жена горшком наносит. A husband will not bring as much in a cart as a wife in a pot.'

— With the preposition без ("without"): Без мужа голова не покрыта; без жены дом не крыт. 'Without a husband the head is not covered; the house is not covered without a wife.'

— Paremias, built according to the model "without ... like without ...": Без мужа, что без головы; без жены, что без ума. 'Without a husband is like without a head; without a wife is like without a brain'; Женщина без разговора, что двор без забора. 'A woman without a chat is like a yard without a fence.'

— Paremias, which follow the model "someone without something as somebody without something": Что гусь без воды, то мужик без жены. 'A man without a wife is a goose without water.'

— Paremias, which follow the model: the preposition without + a comparative degree of an adverb: Жена без грозы — хуже козы. 'A wife without a thunderstorm is worse than a goat'; Жена без мужа — всего хуже. 'A wife without a husband is the worst'; Жена без мужа — вдовы хуже. A wife without a husband is worse than a widow.'

IV. Comparison through opposition (16 units)

— With an adversarial conjunction а or и ("but, while"): Семь топоров вместе лежат, а две прялки врознь. 'Seven axes lie together, and two spinning wheels are apart'; Смирен топор, да веретено бодливо. 'The ax is meek, but the spindle is butting'; Муж задурит, половина двора горит; а жена задурит, и весь сгорит. 'The husband will fool, half of the yard is on fire; but the wife will fool the whole yard will burn'; Чужая жена — лебедушка, а своя — полынь горькая. 'Another's wife is a swan, and his own is bitter wormwood'; Мужнин грех за порогом остается, а жена все домой несет. 'The husband's sin remains beyond the threshold, but the wife takes everything home'; На костях мясо слаще, а под старость жена милее. 'On the bones, the meat is sweeter, and in old age the wife is nicer'; Жена мелет, а муж спит. 'The wife grinds, and the husband sleeps'; Жена прядет, а муж пляшет. 'The wife spins, and the husband dances'; С ним горе, а без него вдвое. 'With him grief, but without him twice'; Родители берегут дочь до венца, а муж жену до конца. 'Parents take care of their daughter till marriage, and the husband takes care of his wife till the end'; Красна пава перьем, а жена мужем. 'A peahen is beautiful with a feather, and a wife is with a husband'; У плохой бабы муж на печи лежит, а хорошая сгонит. 'A bad woman's husband lies on the stove, but a good woman will not let him'; Мужик да собака всегда на дворе, а баба да кошка завсегда в избе. 'A man and a dog are always in the yard, and a woman and a cat are always in the hut.' In the last unit, there is a parallel position of subjects and objects of comparison, as in the Swedish language, but with the difference that there is a pair opposition in two parts of the paremia: мужик да собака — баба да кошка 'a man and a dog' vs 'a woman and a cat.'

— Conjunctionless opposition: Псовая болезнь до поля, женская до постели. 'A dog's sickness to the field, a woman's to the bed.' (The dog is sad and doesn't feel well until it is released to run in the wild; women's whims and illnesses end when she is in bed with a man.)

— Paremias, which follow the model "there is something for someone in something is something else in something for someone else": В чем деду стыд, в том бабе смех. 'An old man's shame is a woman's laughter.' (Men and women have different perceptions of the same life situations.)

— Paremias, which follow the model "before someone someone else is something": Перед злой женою сатана — младенец непорочный. 'Before a wicked wife, Satan is an innocent baby.'

As can be seen from the above classification, structurally, as in the Swedish language, Russian pairs prevail, in which the comparison is expressed explicitly with the help of formal linguistic means. Among the categories containing implicitly expressed comparisons, there is a large group of paremias containing negation.

Paremias of the Russian language characterize female behavior, speech, and emotionality. Such qualities of a woman are noted as talkativeness, a tendency to verbally abuse, mobility, and a tendency to take long to prepare to leave the house.

Most Russian proverbs about women, as in Swedish, reflect a masculine point of view. The paremias that took shape in the era of feudalism view women as second-class creatures, not equal to men. Only a small number of paremias about the wife verbalize women's judgments. However, popular wisdom says that it is difficult for a wife without a husband. Husband and wife are one: Жена да муж — змея да уж. 'A wife and a husband are a snake and a grass snake.' Paremias mark such positive qualities of a wife as kindness and intelligence. The wife is metaphorically likened to a plaster on the husband's wounds, the soul. A young wife in a husband's family is a housekeeper and a treasurer. Proverbs urge the husband to love his wife as a soul. At the same time, Russian paremias, unlike Swedish ones, approve of domestic violence and contain appeals to the husband to beat his wife. A sick wife is not needed. In proverbs, the opposition of one's own and another's wife is noted, and these proverbs are dual in terms of ideas expressed: on the one hand, Всякому мужу своя жена милее. 'Every husband has his own wife dearer' On the other hand, Чужая жена — лебедушка, а своя — полынь горькая. 'Someone else's wife is a swan, and his own is bitter wormwood.' With age, the husband begins to appreciate his wife more. The beauty of a wife is not welcome. Proverbs point out a husband's responsibility for his wife. But the wife's responsibility for preserving the hearth is higher. Especially marked in Russian proverbs, as well as in Swedish, is a wicked wife.

4. RESULTS

Our analysis suggests that, for paremias of the Swedish and Russian languages in the considered thematic field, formally expressed comparison, metaphor, and opposition are structurally common. The most important difference in this respect is comparison through order in the

Swedish paremias and the comparison through negation in the Russian units. The paremias built according to these models are distinguished by the most vivid imagery in these two linguocultures. At the same time, in Swedish paremias, a significant number of comparisons are drawn to themselves, built on the position of a woman and various natural conditions, e.g. rain, thunderstorm, snow, and ice. This phenomenon is completely absent in the considered Russian paremias. Apparently, this is due to the special closeness of Swedes to nature, which is an integral part of Swedish mentality, as noted by many researchers. Russian comparisons, built through negation and opposition, are based primarily on images associated with household phenomena. With regard to cultural attitudes, it should be noted that in both Swedish and Russian paremias, a woman is endowed with such qualities as talkativeness, quarrelsomeness, stupidity, and excessive emotionality. In both linguocultures, the idea of a woman in proverbs is given from a masculine point of view, and all a woman's qualities pass through the prism of male perception. For this reason, a kind and economical wife is nominated separately and in an emphatically ameliorative manner. At the same time, in Swedish paremias, the wife is presented diffusely and is rarely formally separated from the general idea of a woman, in contrast to Russian proverbs, where the wife appears much more often. Both Swedish and Russian paremias contain the idea that someone else's wife is always more beautiful than his own. In the Swedish paremias, in contrast to the Russian ones, there is no direct statement about the superiority of the husband over the wife and about the lesser value of a woman in comparison with a man. In addition, in the Swedish linguistic culture aggressive behavior of a husband towards his wife is condemned, the one who beats his wife deserves condemnation, while in Russian units the attitude "[If a man] beats [his wife it] means [he] loves [her]" is widely represented.

The results of the analysis can be used when teaching lecture courses on the phraseology and paremiology of the Swedish and Russian languages, in lexicographic research, as well as in teaching Swedish and Russian to foreign language speakers.

REFERENCES

Dal V. I. Proverbs of the Russian people. Collection in two volumes. Vol. 1. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaia literatura Publ., 1984. 383 p. (In Russian)

Diaz Ferrero A. M., Kero Jervilla E. F. Analysis of paremias expressing a negative assessment of women in Russian and Portuguese. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarst-vennogo universiteta. Filologiia, 54, 2018. P. 42-58. (In Russian) Egorova A. I., Kondakova A. P., Kuzhuget M. A. Gender stereotypes in Tuvan provers and sayings. The New Research of Tuva. 2020, no. 1. https://doi. org/10.25178/nit.2020.1.2 (In Russian) Holm P. Ordspräk och talesätt med förklaringar. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers för-lag, 1971. 385 s.

Holm P. 3530 ordspräk och talesätt. Stockholm: Bonnier fakta, 1984. 260 s. Khakimova G. Sh. The concept of "woman" in English and Russian paremias in the light of a gender: a comparative aspect. Philological sciences. Questions of theory and practice, 11, pt. 1, 2013. P. 192-195. (In Russian) Mokienko V. M., Nikitina T. G., Nikolaeva E. K. The big dictionary of Russian proverbs. Moscow: OLMA Media Group Publ., 2010. 1024 p. (In Russian) Nesterovich N. V. The image of a woman in French and Italian linguocultures. Anomaly in language, harmony in speech. Minsk: MGLU Publ., 2020. P. 114117. (In Russian)

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow: Sovetskaia entsiklopediia Publ.,

1983. 840 p. (In Russian) Sarsenbaeva Z. S. Conceptual sphere "woman" in Russian and Kazakh languages.

Russian humanitarian journal, 9(6), 2020. P. 425-433. (In Russian) Ström F. Svenska ordspräk. Stockholm: Bokförlaget Prisma Stockholm, 1929. 396 s.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

PED — Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow: Sovetskaia entsiklopediia Publ., 1983. 840 p. (In Russian)

Алексей Алёшин

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет телекоммуникаций им. проф. М. А. Бонч-Бруевича Елена Зиновьева

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет ЖЕНЩИНА, ДЕВУШКА И ЖЕНА В ПАРЕМИЯХ

КОМПАРАТИВНОЙ СТРУКТУРЫ ШВЕДСКОГО И РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКОВ

Для цитирования: Alyoshin A., Zinovieva E. Woman, girl and wife in Swedish and Russian comparative paremias // Скандинавская филология. 2021. Т. 19. Вып. 2. С. 219-235. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu21.2021.201

В статье анализируются шведские и русские пословицы о девушке, женщине и жене, имеющие компаративную структуру. Предлагается классификация паремий двух языков с точки зрения структуры, выделяются разряды и продуктивные модели построения пословиц, выявляются общие и национально-культур-

но обусловленные установки, вербализуемые паремиологическими единицами. В результате проведенного исследования авторы приходят к выводу о том, что и в шведском, и в русском языках преобладают пословицы с эксплицитно выраженным сравнением — при помощи формальных языковых средств, противопоставления и метафор. Отличия структурного плана заключаются в наличии в шведском языке большого по объему разряда паремий, выражающих рядо-положенность субъектов сравнения при общем предикате, а в русском языке выделяются единицы, выражающие сравнение через отрицание. Большинство шведских паремий характеризуют женщину в противопоставлении мужчине, жена представлена в них диффузно и редко формально отделяется от общего представления о женщине, а русские единицы отдельно выделяют жену как ведущий в семейной жизни статус женщины. Незамужней девушке посвящено небольшое количество паремий обоих языков. И в шведских, и в русских пословицах доминирует маскулинный взгляд, что обусловлено временем возникновения языковых единиц, преобладает отрицательная оценка женщины. И в шведских, и в русских паремиях женщина наделяется такими качествами, как болтливость, сварливость, глупость и излишняя эмоциональность. В единицах двух языков маркируется злая женщина. Различия заключаются в вербализуемом в пословицах двух языков отношении к физическому воздействию на женщину со стороны мужчины, в отрицательной оценке красивой внешности жены в русских паремиях, а также в тематических областях используемых образов: если шведские пословицы используют образы природных явлений, то русские — хозяйственно-бытовых реалий. Шведские паремии менее категорично заявляют о меньшей ценности женщины по сравнению с мужчиной, чем русские.

Ключевые слова: паремии, пословицы, компаративная структура, модель, шведский язык, русский язык, женщина.

Alexey Alyoshin

PhD in Philology, Associate Professor,

The Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications,

22, pr. Bolshevikov, St. Petersburg, 193232, Russian Federation

E-mail: cafedra24@mail.ru

Алёшин Алексей Сергеевич

кандидат филологических наук, доцент,

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет телекоммуникаций им. проф. М. А. Бонч-Бруевича,

Российская Федерация, 193232, Санкт-Петербург, пр. Большевиков, 22 E-mail: cafedra24@mail.ru

Elena Zinovieva

Dr. Sci. in Philology, Professor, St. Petersburg State University,

7-9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation E-mail: e.i.zinovieva@spbu.ru

Зиновьева Елена Иннокентьевна

доктор филологических наук, профессор, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет,

Российская Федерация, 199034, Санкт-Петербург, Университетская наб., 7-9 E-mail: e.i.zinovieva@spbu.ru

Received: June 22, 2021 Accepted: August 30, 2021