Language and Its Message
Modern researchers have concluded that linguistic studies are possible only in conjunction with the world outlook, culture, and nature of a given community as the carrier of language. Ethnic world outlooks are invariably reflected in lexical, even syntactical, peculiarities. So special language studies prove very interesting even for laymen. One such study is I.O. Holubovska’s monograph Etnichni Osoblyvosti Movnykh Kartyn Svitu [Ethnic Peculiarities of Linguistic Pictures of the World, Logos Publ., Kyiv, 2004]. Among other things, the author compares similar linguistic structures in the Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Chinese languages, and arrives at certain cultural generalizations based on her findings.
For example, two syntactical constructions, I don’t feel like writing and I don’t want to write. Despite their outward similarity, the meaning of these two sentences is markedly different. In the first sentence, the subject is passive, whose condition does not seem to be dependent on him. In the second sentence (I don’t want to write...), the subject has made a decision. Even a non- linguist will realize that the subject is less independent in the first case, whereas the second one implies the presence of some inner will, or responsibility, on the subject’s part. Compare I should do this and I must do this.
The author’s analyses show that Ukrainian and Russian have considerably more passive structures than English and Chinese. So what, some readers may say. This distinction is syntactical, as well as a reflection of man’s perception of the surrounding world and his place in it. Scholars believe that the tendency toward passive syntactical structures indicates the presence of a tangible mythological element in the East Slavic mentality; their dependence on some mysterious factors or forces — in other words, the Slavs’ passive attitude to the world, compared to the Anglo-Saxons or Chinese. Therefore, gentlemen, beware of too many passive constructions, especially in politics!
Or take another age-old reference source for studying languages, as well as national character and world outlook, namely, proverbs and sayings as an inalienable component of any language. A large category of proverbs and sayings are common to many languages (e.g., A friend in need is a friend indeed; Making a mountain out of a molehill; Bad news comes in twos and threes). Other sayings have the same meaning, but are worded differently (e.g., A word is not a sparrow: once it flies away, you’ll never catch it in Ukrainian and Better the foot slip than the tongue in English).
However, a number of proverbs and sayings are individual — germane to a particular ethnic group or people, linked as they are to specific ethnic cultural values, life experience, and history. Thus, English expressions like Conversation makes one what he is; Politeness doesn’t take much of an effort, but is very useful; Chinese sayings, such as Among three passers-by there is always one person from whom you can learn, and If you do not want anyone to learn about your bad deeds, do not commit any, have no analogues in any East Slavic languages.
Suppose we take a closer look at a category of proverbs dealing with such important topics as life, death, work, and well-being. Eastern Slavs regard life as a series of trials and tribulations (e.g., Living one’s life is not like walking across a field; This world is bitter, but you have to live in it; I live and I can’t see the world; We live so well, we feel like hanging ourselves or sticking a knife in). There is, however, proof that Ukrainians are also optimistic (e.g., Living is torture, but you don’t feel like dying; Woe unto him who lies buried). English proverbs do not portray life as tragically as their Slavic counterparts (e.g., Life is sweet; Life is a bowl of cherries) — here the emphasis is on overcoming hardships.
A number of Ukrainian sayings are proof of a derisive, ironical attitude to death: You can only die once; If you’re scared of death, it’s not worth living in this world; He dove to the bottom to catch crawfish; Danylo didn’t die, but his sickness got the better of him. There are no such sayings in English. Meaning what? Some scholars believe that Ukrainians tend to show a more philosophical attitude to life (You’re dead today, I’ll die tomorrow); others say it is indifference (Pity won’t help when death comes).
The proverbs and sayings listed in the monograph are complemented by interesting comparisons reflecting different national attitudes. English examples indicate an ethnic-cultural approach to action: laziness and idleness are regarded as devilish temptations, ignorance, even mental retardation (e.g., A standing pond gathers silt; Idleness is the devil’s workshop; Idleness is the root of all evil). In other words, work has long been regarded as the highest virtue.
A somewhat different picture emerges from East Slavic proverbs. To begin with, in the Russian language honest work is never associated with well-being or making a fortune (e.g., Virtuous labor will not put you in splendor; Hard work will make you hunchbacked, not rich). Researchers attribute this to Russian history, a protracted period of serfdom, a people traditionally bereft of rights, and the obshchina, the tradition of common land ownership. Russian peasants were accustomed to doing their jobs as a form of punishment; they were not interested in the end result (A muzhik will plow a field by guesswork and with God; You plow and hope for a harvest). Take “classical” sayings, such as Work is not a bear, it won’t walk away into the woods; A hard-working horse won’t live long, etc. In Ukrainian folk culture, work is interpreted more as a source of well-being and success: You benefit from your work the way you work; He who cares, fares wells; Faring well takes handling your plow and field well.
Various cultures show noticeably differing attitudes to rich people and wealth. Thus, Protestants justify prosperity and compare a person’s unwillingness to become rich to an affliction. Few English sayings condemn wealth: in most cases poverty is linked to personal degradation (An empty sack cannot stand upright; Poverty is the mother of crime; The devil dances in an empty pocket). In the Ukrainian — and especially Russian — vernacular, rich men are more often than not portrayed negatively (e.g., A rich man will ruin his conscience rather than buy a new one; Let your soul enter hell, and you’ll get rich). Such sayings also reveal envy of people of means (e.g., My neighbor won’t let me sleep in peace, he lives so well; Oh God, destroy all those who live better than us). Experts believe that these are manifestations of an egalitarian mentality.
We can only arrive at a rhetorical here: it is high to make a radical change in the life of our people.
