VERBALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT WEALTH
IN MARI AND AMERICAN PROVERBS AND SAYINGS:
UNIVERSAL AND SPECIFIC FEATURES

Svetlana L. Yakovleva¹, Tatyana A. Soldatkina²*, Ekaterina E. Fliginskikh³*, 
Galina N. Kazyro⁴* and Ksenia Y. Badyina⁵*
¹Associate Prof., Mari State University, Russia, zavkaf1@gmail.com
²Associate Prof., Mari State University, Russia, stata@rambler.ru
³Senior Lecturer, Mari State University, Russia, katenasmile@mail.ru
⁴Associate Prof., Mari State University, Russia, galinarfa@yahoo.com
⁵Associate Prof., Mari State University, Russia, vuk_2004@mail.ru
*Corresponding author

Abstract
The article considers verbalization of the concept wealth reflected in the paroemiological view of the world of the Mari language and American English. Wealth as the possession of material and nonmaterial things: money, finance, personal properties or spiritual values is distributed among different layers of society unequally. The study of the proverbial view of the world allows describing peoples’ attitude to wealth and reconstructing a part of the linguistic view of the world which conceptualizes the phenomenon of wealth in different languages. The objective of the research is a comparative cognitive analysis of the Mari and American paroemiae verbalizing the concept of wealth aiming at revealing their universal and specific features. In the Mari language 35 units reflecting the concept of wealth either implicitly or explicitly have been found. American English contains 115 paroemiae with the verbalizers rich, riches and wealth. The words ????, ???????,  ?????, ????? serve as verbalizers in the Mari language and rich, riches, wealth – in American English. The analysis of the paroemae selected with the help of continuous sampling method from significant Mari and American dictionaries of proverbs and sayings allowed performing a semantic and contextual analysis of lexical units verbalizing the concept wealth. All the paroemiae were divided into four groups. As a result, common, universal and specific features of conceptualization in both linguocultures were revealed. The research shows common, partially common and specific dominant ideas where specific features prevail, which proves that peoples are unique in the perception and conceptualization of the world due to their own experience.      
 
Keywords: proverb, paroemiological view of the world, concept, wealth, the Mari language, American English.