Seminar Proverbs and sayings as culturally marked units

Never mix business with pleasure; One business begets another; Pay beforehand was never well served; Punctuality is the soul of business; There are tricks in every trade; trade follows the flag; The buyer needs a thousand eyes, the seller wants but one; Business is the salt of life; First come, first served; A bargain is a bargain; A penny saved is a penny gained; Don't throw good money after bad. It is of interest to note that the business vocabulary of the Russian and Uzbek languages include many English words (бизнес, супермаркет, банк, банкрот, дилер, депозит, фонд, инвестор, инвестиция, маклер, ордер, тендер)

Uzbekistan, on the contrary, has always been an agricultural country, cultivating grain, cotton, different types of fruit and vegetables, melons and watermelons, etc. Even today agriculture, especially cotton-growing remains the main pillar of Uzbekistan’s national economy; hence, in the Uzbek language there are many proverbs concerning agriculture: Арпага – ўрим, бўғдойга – кўрим; Бўғдой эксанг, кузда эк – яхши ҳайдаб, бўзга эк; Деҳқон ишлаб дон сочар – элга ризқ йўлин очар; Деҳқоннинг ҳазинаси – ер, калити – тер; Ер – дон, деҳқон – ҳазинабон; Пахтага соя ҳам керак эмас, ҳамсоя ҳам; Пахтадан эчки ўтсин, жўҳоридан – туя; Қовун эккан, қовоқ олмас.
Cattle breeding is also very important for Uzbeks agriculture. Many Uzbek proverbs evidence this fact: Деҳқон – ер султони, чўпон – яйлов султони; Саккиз сигир асрагунча, битта говмиш асра; Семиз қуйнинг умри калта; Сигири бор – оч қолмас; Туяли бой – дунёли бой; Қўзининг сараси, узоқдан билинар; Қўйни боқсанг, қўзилар; Молни боқсанг бузоқлар.
Due to the fact that there are many desert territories in Uzbekistan, water plays an exceptionally significant role in people’s life. Presumably, that is the reason why many Uzbek proverbs emphasize the role of water in people’s life: Сув – зар, сувчи – заргар; Сув келди – нур келди; Сув қатраси – дур қатраси; Сувсиз ер – жонсиз жасад; Сув бор жойда, ҳаёт бор; Кариз суви – жон суви; Сувсиз – ҳаёт бўлмас, меҳнатсиз роҳат.
In contrast, a great number of English proverbs about water are of negative character. In our opinion, it can be explained by the fact that England is an island surrounded by water where many accidents occur: It’s no safe wading in an unknown water; Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet; Don't go near the water until you learn how to swim; A small leak will sink a great ship; Fire and water are good servants, but bad masters; After a storm comes a calm; Beware of a silent dog and still water.
As it was mentioned, European cultures are greatly influenced by Christianity and therefore there are many English and Russian proverbs taken from the Bible (Engl.: Do not let the sun go down on your wrath; Let the dead bury the dead; The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; Take the plank out of your own eye first; There’s nothing new under the sun; Where there is no vision, the people perish; Rus.: Не судите, да не судимы будете; Бездна бездну призывает; Возлюби ближнего твоего, как самого себя; Всему своё время; Нет ничего тайного, что не сделалось бы явным).
In Uzbekistan the main religion is Islam. Consequently, in the Uzbek language there are proverbs associated with the sacred book of Muslims – the