The antonymic paradigm of the color lexemes "huzh – Fiyce" (white – black) in the Adyghe language culture

Ezaova Madina Yurievna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Kabardino-Circassian Language and Literature, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov 360004, Russia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik, Chernyshevsky str., 173 madinaezaova@mail.ru

Shugusheva Dzhuleta Nabasovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Kabardino-Circassian Language and Literature, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov 360004, Russia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik, Chernyshevsky str., 173 shugushd@mail.ru

The transmission of information perceived by the senses, in particular visual, is one of the main tasks of language. In any language, this lexical layer is quite developed. First of all, this concerns color perceptions. The problem of studying color has remained relevant for many years. Why? The relationship of a person with color, visual perception of the world, cannot but raise questions. Moreover, color is always studied from different aspects, in different spheres of cognition. Let's say astrology tends to fetishize color, talking about the harmony of color and personality, about successful and unlucky colors for each zodiac sign. This has its real justification. Indeed, laboratory studies have established the nature of the psychophysiological effects of individual colors and their combinations on a person. Psychology asserts that according to a person's individual reaction to color, one can judge his character and problem. It is also known that color is a powerful means of manipulating public consciousness. It is often used in political and commercial advertising. The aesthetic role of color in the national speech, folklore and poetic traditions is obvious. Colors, of course, are also connected with the national picture of the world (the colors of the coat of arms, flag).

The Adyghe linguoculture, following the prescriptions of the universally strict use of the Adyghe habze "Adyghe Etiquette", is characterized by a high degree of taboo speech behavior and this phenomenon is clearly manifested in discourse. Modern linguistics understands taboo as a prohibition extended to the use in discourse of units correlated with important information within a certain linguistic culture. Such a ban is focused on the organization of a certain society within the framework of its unwritten or established laws ^{[4, p. 27]}. This correlates in the analysis of proverbs and sayings with color components, revealing the text-forming role of color nominations, which are components of Adyghe paroemias. This analysis testifies to the relevance and timely formulation and resolution of the issue

The purpose of the study is to study the patterns and specifics of the use of color words in the context of paremias and to identify the features of the semantic structure of paremias with components of color designation.

The works of I.M. Balova, L.H. Kharaeva, Z.H. Bizheva and others are devoted to the research of color designation in the Adyghe languages, but many aspects remain unexplored. In the linguistic literature of recent years, there has been a clear tendency to study the cognitive aspect of language activity, to conduct a conceptual analysis of linguistic phenomena (A. Vezhbitskaya, E.I. Dibrova, S.V. Ionova, V.B. Kasevich, E.V. Rakhilina, V.M. Shaklein, etc.). Researchers pay attention not only to the "conceptual core" of the word, but also to additional meanings manifested at all levels of the language system. Color designations become the subject of interest in ethnopsycholinguistics. But in associative connections, the national-cultural specificity of perception is manifested, and not the conceptual features of color meanings. The description of words with the meaning of color at the syntactic and phraseological level (L.G. Vinichenko, V.G. Gak, A.N. Kazeikina, V.V. Krasnyansky) also turned out to be unproductive, since it did not give an objective holistic picture with an ethnocentric approach. In order to identify the conceptual features of color designations, it is necessary to study the implementation of the concept of "color" in the linguistic picture of the world. With an anthropocentric approach, when paroemias act as the object of research, it becomes possible not only to identify the subject-conceptual or denotative meaning of words-color meanings, but also to trace the factors of formation of additional meanings, or connotation. Connotation is an emotional, evaluative or stylistic coloring of a linguistic unit of a casual or occasional nature. 

Paremias are the main source of information about the culture and mentality of the people. They reflect the stereotypes of popular consciousness. Laconic proverbs and sayings clearly absorb the sum of moral and ethical norms and people's ideas about the outside world, carry an educational burden, adapting native speakers to the outside world. The paremias contain cultural concepts that are nuclear for the Adyghe spiritual culture. Resorting to the conceptual analysis of paroemias, one can see the value orientations, stereotypes of the behavior of an ethnic group. An in-depth study of the structural and semantic properties of paremias with components of color designation, their etymological analysis reveals the specifics of the often lost conceptual content, including a cultural component, and "universal elements of human experience" ^{[2, p. 283]}. In folklore, "language preserves much of the prehistoric antiquity." Its units (including color designations) verbalize the meanings associated with the mentality of the people, with culture, worldview, traditions. It is no accident that N.D. Arutyunova concludes that "simplicity is the origins, beginnings, elements, axioms. Their place is in the depths. They contain the genetic code of the phenomenon, its fate." ^{[1, p. 19]}

Noting the peculiarities of paroemias in color semantics, scientists talk about the peculiarities of the folklore format, which consists in the unconscious coding of meanings developed over centuries. The refraction of the color picture of the world in them is due to the impossibility of "talking about the color picture of the world in isolation from the mentality that perceives it. For every native speaker, the perception of a particular color is associated with life experience, psychophysical state, is determined by a number of objective and subjective factors, therefore it is quite individual and is part of a naive picture of the world" ^{[9, p. 30]}. The color is saturated with symbolic meaning by deepening into the history of color meanings, as well as by layering various cultural traditions, where stable values are fixed for one or another color shade. The history, the way of life of the people influences the symbolism created by them, including the color symbolism. Although the color spectrum is quite extensive in the Adyghe language, classical, natural colors have always been the most acceptable for the people. By the way, gray, brown, and black shades were used in traditional men's national clothing. Regardless of social status, origin, a man should not stand out from the general mass. It was considered shameful. But the reason for such education, of course, is the military past of the Adygs, when no warrior should have stood out on the battlefield, everyone should conform to the standard: l I y f I yts I e gushch I une – lit.: swarthy wiry (like a nail).

…kjuelenpsch?elenu, kybzhehelydeu halai schy?ekym. And sakui and pay picavet, and care Arat, hasir Upegui bile facet, and Khama Apsari of upgraded, museumcare meta Shariputra shamra of tayri of Kypshak e gyushi chihaia, digiuni cyhawk hyomi, miladin shake, Saude sagairt. – letters.:   There was nothing bright, colorful in their (Circassian) clothes. Both the burka and the cap were black, so was the Circassian, the white-lipped gazyrs had a blackish barrel, the hilt of the sword, too, the darts and buttons on the belt and saddle were made of bone or iron, and if they were made of silver, they were covered with black so as not to shine. ^{[6, p. 5]}

The ability of color to act as a symbol is related to the consciousness and feelings of a person. At the origins of culture, color was equivalent to a word, i.e. it served as a symbol of various things and concepts. The simplest, i.e. basic, colors turned out to be the most stable color symbols. The most common in everyday life, and, accordingly, in speech, are the so–called achromatic colors – black and white. Less commonly used colors, many researchers call "other".

  The initial value of the white color is light. It is a symbol of purity, purity, virtue, joy, complete peace, serenity, peace, silence, purity. V.V. Kolesov in his book "The History of the Russian language in stories" writes that in ancient times people did not distinguish colors at all ^[8]. The white color represented generally a number of colors of light tones, as well as a large color intensity or its absence. In the paremias, the lexemes huzh (white) and nekhu (light) are used with synonymous meaning. A number of phraselogisms that are a confirmation of what has been said:

n ape Huzhkieh – lit.: with a white face – with a clear conscience, with infallibility;

Jegual 'e yashch, and nape huzhyr trahash Iuashkhemahue, udekIynu Iemal Iiekym Zhyhuaieu schytam. – They made a place of play, they disgraced Elbrus, because they said that it was impossible to climb there. ^{[10, p. 84]}

ahshe huzh – lit.: white money, pure money; banknotes;

kyupshkhye huzh – lit.: white bone; blue blood, know;

cIihu nehu – lit.: a bright, kind person;

si dunei nehu (about man) – lit.: my earthly light; but this expression can also be used in the meaning of 'earthly paradise';

I epe huzh shkheh mysh I e – white hands do not know tired.

Mazegue schysch is a bright, bright moon.

Gathe dygem fiamyschyps euthri, bzhyhe dygem sehuseplyps euth. – lit.: The spring sun splashes water from under the coal, the autumn sun splashes ruddy water, that is, the autumn sun is softer, it saturates, the tan does not blacken, but ennobles.

Uesym huedeu huzh – snow-white, lit.: white as snow.

Kuarg huzh is a white crow.

Kuargere pet, and shyrim "huzh qIikIukIe" yoje. – lit.: even a raven calls his chick white, that is, loved ones seem beautiful and bright contrary to reality. ^{[3, p. 126]}

The white color is a symbol of honesty, the exposure of evil:

PCIR Iudane Huzhkieh dashch – lit.: the lie is sewn with white threads, the truth will come out sometime anyway.

In most cases, the white color is used as something positive, but you can find negatively colored semantics expressing old age, fatigue:

 ZhakIer huzh khume Fiytsie huzhynukym – lit.: if the beard turns white, it will no longer turn black; youth will not return.

White color, as a symbolic one, is often used in folk signs:

Shym and natIem huzhyshkhue isme, natIe gujesh, huzh Machie isme, natIe vaguesh – lit.: if a horse has a large white spot, it is a mirror forehead, and if a small white spot is small, it is a forehead with an asterisk.

The positive symbolism of the white color is tracked, paradoxically, and in stable expressions associated with the funeral rite. The belief in the transformation of a loved one, the expectation of his return in another incarnation lead to the fact that death is considered not as the end of existence, but the transition to the next stage, and the send–off is trying to formalize into something bright, pure: jabin huzh - lit.: white shroud. The expression has become stable, it is used in the meanings of "last garment", "clean garment".

It should be noted that in the Adyghe language there are paroemias-tracing papers from the Russian language. And, since white is a universal color and its symbolism is also the same, these expressions have successfully taken root in the language. For example, kyupshkhye huzh – lit.: know, white bone.

  Another important color in people's lives is black. If white means light, then black means darkness, if white means life, then black means death, white means purity and order, black means dirt and chaos. Accordingly, black is the antipode of white. Optically, the contrast of white and black is the strongest; the symbolic meanings of these two colors are also contrasting. White and black belong to dual symbols and, as noted by H.E. Kerlot ^[7], like all dual formulas have a direct connection with the great myth of Gemini. The members of the dual pair (people, animals, plants, etc.) have the opposite color, this reflects the opposition of the two worlds.

So, the black color is associated with evil, with the earth, with the "kingdom of darkness", with darkness. The attitude to white and black is universal. This is understandable: white is the color of the day, black is the color of the night. This is how the connection of white with good is formulated, and black with evil. But black is also associated with mystery, it is the most mysterious color in the color and achromatic palette of colors. In some paroemias related to the description of a person's appearance, the opposition of black and white is expressed quite clearly:

And fair Fiyce Schhekie, and Kiuetsiyr dagesh – lit.: although black from the outside, it is oily inside (it is said to not very attractive, but kind people).

Ezyr f I ycIemi and Kiuetsiyr kabzesh – lit.: although black on the outside, but clean inside (we are also talking about kind, pure-hearted people).

Hye kyare kIape zhedel huede – buvk.: as if holding the tail of a bay dog in his mouth (they say about those who have a swarthy face and white teeth).

To I yf I zehat – in complete darkness.

Vyndym huedeu f I yts I esch– black as a rook.

Hye hujri hiesh, hye f I yts I eri hiesh – lit.: a white dog is a dog, a black dog is also a dog (color does not matter).

In the Adyghe language environment, black, of course, is also the color of mourning, death, fatigue:

Ieleschi (tepxue) Fiyce – lit.: black handkerchief (as evidence of mourning);

Schiy Fiytsiem Schiyhen – lit.: enter the black earth;

fIytSyagem (Kiyfiygem) hyhezhashch – lit.: went into blackness (darkness);  

guauem Igeufiyciasch – lit.: turned black with grief. 

The color of Fiyce "black" in the Adyghe language serves as a lexical nomination of negative emotions and various negative phenomena, cf.: Kiyce "darkness, blackness" (lit.: black day); people from the negative side are characterized by phraseological turns and proverbs with the lexeme Fiyce (black):

and for example fIytSch aby – lit.: he has a black conscience;

jedu f I yts I e yaku dezhashch – quarreled, lit.: a black cat ran between them;

and gur, and napem huedeu, fIytSch – lit.: his heart, like his conscience, is black;

Schiy Fiytsiem Schiemyhzhyn Schyiekym – letters.: There is no one who will not go to the black earth;

Schiale fIycIe nekIufIe, ahshe fIycIe gufIakIe – lit.: a guy with a dark broad face, and black money in his bosom;

zi sharez bzajer ble fIytSch – lit.: the black snake has a vicious sting; you will not achieve a kind word;

schai f I yts I ezh and uasekym – not worth a penny, lit.: not worth the old, black nickel;

si gur uv I yts I asch – my heart was stale, lit.: my heart turned black;

ze f I yts I em huede – lit.: like a black army;

biy f I yts I e – enemy, lit.: black enemy.

Shuher ze f I yts I eu kak I worth – the horsemen were approaching like a black wave, lit.: the horsemen were coming in our direction like a black army.

Fyz f I yts I e naschkhue ueri kyumyshe, f I yue plagumi kyumygashe – letters.: don't marry a dark-skinned, gray-eyed woman, and don't let a friend marry such a woman ^{[5, p. 492]}.

Fyz f I yts I e ne kjuelen ui dzih yomygez – do not trust a dark-skinned blue-eyed woman.

The study of the specifics of the functioning of color meanings in the context of paremias is also closely related to the consideration of the symbolism of color in literary texts, in the idiosyncrasies of writers and poets who use paremias as a basis for creating symbolic characteristics that acquire a generalizing conceptual meaning.

The analyzed material leads us to the following conclusion. In the studied paroemias, color performs the function of a verbal-figurative leitmotif, creating not only a semantic background, but also ensuring the unity of emotional and evaluative perception. Being one of the lexical means, color performs the most important function – creating a holistic perception of the world picture. This happens with the help of a color scheme, a certain set of colors. Paremias with the presence of color tokens in a certain speech context realize their artistic and conceptual position. The most commonly used set is white - black. This gamut evokes various emotions.

We also determined the semantic spectrum of the lexemes of the studied colors in the Adyghe paroemias. So, white is the colors of snow, milk, chalk, light, light, as opposed to black, cold, purity, innocence, contrast with black, space, freedom, holiday, angel, ghost, another world, death, pain, illness, desert. And black is the color of soot, coal, dark, no color, mourning, sadness, darkness, gloom, dirt, confusion, danger, evil, devil, death, threat, orphanhood, loneliness, worries, longing, clarity, contour, grace.