Stylistic Features of Antonyms in Proverbs (Based on the Concepts of Scarcity and Abundance)

Abstract

Antonyms play a significant role in shaping the semantic depth and expressive impact of proverbs. In particular, antonymic oppositions constructed on the basis of the concepts of scarcity and abundance hold special importance in proverbs from both structural-semantic and stylistic perspectives. Through oppositions such as little–much, singular–plural, and scarcity–abundance, folk wisdom is generalized in a concise and compact manner. This article examines the stylistic functions of antonyms expressing the concepts of scarcity and abundance in proverbs, their role in creating expressiveness, as well as their contribution to syntactic parallelism, antithesis, rhythmic harmony, and linguocultural nuances of meaning. The study demonstrates that scarcity–abundance relations are closely associated with such notions as power, unity, social superiority, and collective consciousness. The analysis of Azerbaijani proverbs has revealed that the concepts of scarcity and abundance play a crucial role in the national mentality and social behavioral patterns of the people.