STYLISTIC POTENTIAL OF PROVERBS CONTAINING HYDRONYMIC COMPONENTS IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK

Abstract

This article investigates the stylistic potential of English and Uzbek proverbs containing hydronymic components and water-related lexical elements. Particular attention is paid to the role of river, sea, ocean, and water imagery in the formation of figurative meanings, the expression of cultural values, and the achievement of communicative effects. The study adopts a comparative linguistic approach combining semantic, stylistic, and linguocultural analysis. It examines such stylistic devices as metaphor, symbolism, antithesis, parallelism, hyperbole, and personification, demonstrating how aquatic imagery contributes to the expressiveness and memorability of proverbial expressions. The article also distinguishes proper hydronyms, such as the names of rivers and seas, from common nouns denoting water and bodies of water. This distinction is essential for the accurate classification of proverbial material. The comparative analysis suggests that water-related imagery in English and Uzbek proverbs reflects both universal human experiences and culturally specific interpretations of nature, social relationships, and human behaviour. The findings may contribute to comparative phraseology, stylistics, paremiology, and linguocultural studies.