CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF WEALTH IN UZBEK, RUSSIAN, AND ENGLISH LINGUOCULTURES

Аннотация

This study examines the conceptual metaphors that structure the concept of wealth in Uzbek, Russian, and English proverbial and phraseological discourse. Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and a linguocultural approach, selected proverbs and idioms are analyzed according to their source domains, evaluative meanings, and culture-specific profiles. The comparison reveals several shared mappings: Money is a powerful agent, money is a self-reproducing resource, wealth is an abundant substance or possession, time is money, and non-material values are wealth. At the same time, the Uzbek material foregrounds unity, contentment, health, and moral legitimacy; Russian expressions display a marked ambivalence between money’s social power and the superiority of friendship, reputation, and happiness; English expressions emphasize time, thrift, investment, and individual agency while also limiting money through ethical models. The findings show that universal metaphorical patterns are not culturally identical but receive distinct axiological profiling in each linguoculture.