The image of a mountain in Tuvan paroemias as a manifestation of ethno-marked mentality (as compared to Altai, Khakas, Buryat and Kalmyk proverbs); [Образ горы в тувинской паремике как проявление этномаркированной ментальности (на фоне алтайских, хакасских, бурятских и калмыцких пословиц)]

The significance of natural landscape phenomena in people’s life is reflected in linguistic units that reinforce their notions about the world around them. The article analyzes Tuvan paroemias that include components “mountain” and “cliff / rock”. They were selected from lexicographic sources by using the method of continuous sample and compared to examples in the Altai and Buryat languages. The interlanguage comparative study of paroemias in the ethnic and linguoculturological aspect was carried out using the historical and etymological, the descriptive and analytical as well as the linguoculturological methods. As the analysis of Tuvan paroemias in comparison with units of the languages of the Central Asian region has shown, one of the most frequent units belonging to the natural cultural code is the component “mountain”. The vivid image of a mountain is the basis of Tuvan proverbs. Their semantics is formed through comprehension and verbalization of various features (solidity, steadfastness, steepness and height of a mountain) as well as of related ideas about an inaccessible peak, a pass that is difficult to cross, stability and immutability of various objects. The authors also highlight some features of a cliff / rock (strength, hardness, steepness) that coincide with the characteristics of a mountain. The ideas realized in proverbs with the image of a mountain serve to express beliefs about humans, their capabilities, character traits and emotions, their goal commitment and applied efforts. The comparison of Tuvan paroemias with units of other languages containing the image of a mountain shows differences in quantitative data: there are significantly more Tuvan and Altaic proverbs with the image of a mountain than there are such paroemias in the other languages. The analysis of the spectrum of features actualized in proverbs demonstrates the same attitude in the perception of the size of a mountain among representatives of different cultures. This leads to the use of its image as a benchmark of a large number and size. Some features of mountains and cliffs / rocks that have turned out to be significant for people of one or two cultures appear to be irrelevant in worldviews of other peoples. Both the real natural conditions and the system of axiologically ethno-marked images are reflected in this fact. © 2023 New Reaearch of Tuva. All rights reserved.