Conceptualizing the Phenomenon "Laziness" in the Russian and Anglophone Folklore



3.Methodology

3.1 Outline of the Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how laziness finds its reflection in the proverbs in the Russian and English languages. Therefore, in this chapter the notion of English “laziness” will be correlated with the notion of Russian “len`”. As it has already been underlined, special emphasis is also placed on such notions as English “idleness” and its Russian equivalent “prazdnost`”. Therefore, they will also be compared and then assessed. It was decided that the best method for this investigation was the analysis of both Russian and English proverbs. This study uses qualitative comparative analysis in order to gain insights into how these notions gained their meanings, in which they are used in contemporary languages. Through the analysis of proverbs we will be able to detect it.

At the beginning of the study, we selected several Russian-English and English-Russian dictionaries of proverbs and sayings (Bodrova, 2007; Komarov, 2017; Kuskovskaya, 1987; Margulis & Kholodnaya, 2000; Simpson & Speake, 1992). Throughout this investigation we have also repeatedly consulted “The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs” (Simpson & Speake, 1992) that helped us to enlarge the list of English proverbs.

Firstly, for the basis of this research we extracted proverbs that contained such words as “laziness”/ “len`” and “idleness”/“prazdnost`” and then we wrote out the rest of the proverbs that could possibly relate to the topic of laziness. Further, they were then dividing into several groups in accordance with their meaning, the scope of use and the range of words used to denote the previously mentioned notions that we analyze in our current research. The results obtained from the examination of proverbs in both languages were then analyzed and thoroughly described (see Section 4.2 “Analysis”).

As soon as these steps have been carried out, we will be able to detect what distinguishes English “laziness” from the Russian notion “len`” together with the correlation of such notions as “idleness” and its equivalent “prazdnost`”, which in turn will help us to find out what distinguishes Russian culture from Anglophone culture with regard to their attitude to laziness and work in general.

3.2 Analysis

To begin with, it was decided to start with analyzing Russian proverbs first. As it was already pointed out in one of the previous sections, work, namely manual work, had to be done by peasants, the representatives of the lowest stratum of the Russian society. Peasants worked in rural areas and in the countryside; they were engaged in agriculture, livestock breeding as well as production of handicrafts items. The quality of their life was directly dependent on the way they worked. If peasants, for example, did not take care of their crops and cattle, then he had nothing to eat in winter. Therefore, laziness was regarded as a vice that could directly lead society towards poverty. This has consequently found its reflection in Russian folklore, including proverbs, for instance

* воду в ступе толочь - вода и будет

* доплясались, что без хлеба остались

* у ленивого что на дворе, то и на столе

* не бравшись за топор, избы не срубишь

* земля дармоедов не кормит

* баснями закрома не заполняются

* где работают, там и густо, а в ленивом доме пусто

* леность наводит на бедность

It can thus be suggested that if people did not get their job done or were not able to perform it properly, then such way of conduct could indeed have very harmful effects on a person' life. Among them were lack of food and hence hunger, poverty, neglected housing, and lack of money and so on and so forth. Furthermore, some proverbs clearly show which type of behavior may lead to poverty. Basically it stems from passivity, sleeping and chattering rather than working hard. It is especially eloquently expressed in such Russian proverbs as

* языком-то легче шевелить, чем руками

* на печи по дрова поехал

* лежа не справишь одёжи

* у ленивой пряхи и для себя нет рубахи

* люди пахать, а он руками махать

* ест за вола, а работает за комара

* долго спать - с долгом вставать

* и поедим, и спляшем, только пашни не вспашем

* работать не горазд, а поесть - как раз

* борода по колено, а дров ни полена

Based on the evidence obtained, we can now move on to the notion of “laziness”. If we turn to the English proverbs we will notice that in the English language “laziness” is also interconnected with such words as “poverty”, “beggary”, “dressed in rags”, etc. Let us now take a look at a few examples

* a lazy man is a beggar's brother

* sloth is a mother of poverty

* idleness goes in rags

* laziness travels so slow that poverty overtakes him

* you cannot make bricks without straw

* he who does not work, neither should he eat

* the hardest work is to do nothing

* no sweet, no sweat

* no mill, no meal

As illustrated in the given examples that we have examined above, we can infer that in both Russian and English languages a special emphasis is placed on hard work of people who belong to the lower social classes and who had to work for their living. In this context, the similarity between two cultures is obvious. Hence, it could conceivably be hypothesized that since both the Russians and the British were divided into classes, the lowest classes had very little money in comparison with the representatives of the upper classes. Therefore, they had to work in such spheres as, for instance, agriculture and farming, where no one could let him or herself be lazy. Consequently, as can be noted from the analyzed proverbs, in both cultures a lazy person is severely criticized and because of their unwillingness to work may even receive a public censure for such dishonorable behavior. Here are some of the most salient examples of both Russian and English proverbs

* не пеняй на соседа, когда спишь до обеда

* ленивый пищи не добудет

* работаешь добросовестно, так и в глаза людям глядеть не совестно

* на людей не уповай, сам без дела не бывай

* an idle youth, a needy age

* idleness in youth makes way for a painful and miserable old age

* as good be an addled egg as an idle bird

* if a man will not work, he shall not eat

* he that would eat fruit, must climb the tree

From the course of history we know that Russian peasants were emancipated only in 1861. It means that Russian society was primarily a collectivistic society because these peasants comprised the majority of the total population in Russia, over 80%, as was noted earlier in this research. And if we then look at the British history, we will notice that in the United Kingdom already in the 17th century there was a class of British merchants. Those were the people who traded with either their countrymen or foreigners. This in turn could not but affect Anglophone culture and then found its reflection in the English language, especially in folklore. Many merchants traded alone and therefore, they had to depend on themselves

* business is the salt of life

* don't mix business with pleasure

* two of a trade never agree

* idleness leads to failure

* be not idle and you shall not be longing

* all's fish that comes to the net

* heaven helps those who help themselves

* keep your shop and your shop will keep you

This finding, while preliminary, suggests that individuality started to play a much more significant role in lives of British people. They were mainly interested in their own success and therefore people had to be very careful with everything they did whether they had make a decision or initiate a deal, for example. Special emphasis here is placed on punctuality and time in general

* punctuality is the soul of business

* first come, first served

* the early bird catches the worm

* opportunity only knocks once

* time hangs heavy on idle hands

* today is yesterday's tomorrow

* time is money

Another important feature of merchants was to work hard regardless of circumstances. It means that they could not let themselves to procrastinate because procrastination could easily ruin their business

* delays are dangerous

* you snooze, you loose

* procrastination is the thief of time

* never put off until tomorrow what you can do today

Even in contemporary Britain people tend to avoid procrastination since it can seriously affect their business and its consequences may turn out to be extremely adverse.

Having outlined people's attitude to the importance of their work and business at large enables us to examine which role leisure time played in their life. Here the notions of “idleness” and “prazdnost`” need to be addressed. Let us now look at some of the examples of English proverbs

* work done, have your fun

* all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

* idle folks have the least leisure

* business before pleasure

Based on this evidence, we can state that leisure time is considered to be appropriate and is even encourage only in case if a person is done with their work. Free time is perceived as a reward for hard work. On the one hand, an individual should work assiduously in order to earn enough money and make their business flourish. On the other hand, this perception of hard work does not preclude a person from having a rest from time to time since having leisure time or being idle for a short period of time is regarded as a reward for good performance. It is also suggested to sometimes slow down and take a breath in order to take a moment to appreciate life. We can easily trace it with the example of such English proverb as

* stop and smell the roses

It can therefore be assumed that people were allowed to have very little time on being idle. The more time a person spends on leading an idle life, the more likely it is that this person eventually becomes lazy. As for the Russian attitude to leisure time, things happen differently. As was already pointed out, peasants in Russia existed for a much longer period of time than in any other European country, including the United Kingdom. Peasants were responsible for all the work, in the view of the fact that they could not change their social class in which they were born

* дело учит, и мучит, и кормит

* руки не протянешь, так и с полки не достанешь

* лень мужика не кормит

* руки не протянешь, так и с полки не достанешь

* мужика не шуба греет, а топор

* мужику в августе три заботы: и косить, и пахать, и сеять

* станешь лениться, будешь с сумой волочиться

* лень голодом изгоняют

* гляденьем пива не выпьешь

What we can observe here is that in Russian culture the representatives of the lower classes had to dedicate their entire life to work. It was either work for living (this included agriculture, spinning wool, making handicraft items for themselves and for sale, raising livestock, etc.) or work for the owner (doing household chores, cleaning, helping the nobles with everyday matters). Consequently, they were not supposed to spend time in idleness by doing nothing

* жнем рано, а сеем поздно

* не бравшись за топор, избы не срубишь

* хочется есть, да не хочется лезть

* борода по колено, а дров ни полена

* за дело - не мы, за работу - не мы, а поесть да поспать - против нас не сыскать

* люди на поле жать, а ему бы на меже лежать

* кто косить, а мы сена просить

These proverbs vividly show that being lazy or idle was an example of inappropriate behavior because without hard work a person could not achieve anything. In this case leisure time, as well as idleness was allowed only to the aristocracy. Everything was done by peasants for comfort and convenience of their owners

* белые ручки чужие труды любят / поедают

* барин за барина, мужик за мужика

* барской работы не переработаешь

* мужицкими мозолями баре сыты живут

* живут - не жнут, а хлеб жуют

* красны боярские палаты, а у мужиков избы на боку

* барину - телятина жарена, а мужику - хлебушка краюха да в ухо

But at the same time there are proverbs that portray a positive attitude to laziness. Some of the notable examples are

* работа не волк, в лес не убежит

* от работы не будешь богат, а будешь горбат

* потеха делу не помеха

* всех дел не переделаешь

* будни прогулял, а в праздник и работать некстати

* послал Бог работу, да отнял черт охоту

These examples offer indisputable evidence that proves our hypothesis that in Russian culture “len`” is not always presented as a negative personality trait. In some cases Russian people tend to treat “len`” as something that cannot be completely eradicated from human nature and consequently it should be admitted. As already mentioned in Section 3.3 “Perception of Laziness in the Russian culture”, in the famous Russian novel “Oblomov” laziness was portrayed as something people can be proud of. The findings from the study of proverbs suggest that this is undoubtedly true and in general people in Russia had an ambivalent attitude to such notion as “len`”. Although because of laziness a person could become poor, people still believed that laziness like any other work should be acknowledged and accepted as a matter of fact

* лень прежде нас родилась

If we then draw a parallel between Russian and English proverbs that revolve around possible differences in attitude to laziness between the representatives of both upper and lower classes, we will instantly note that in the English language the majority of proverbs relates equally to all social classes. As was stated earlier in this chapter, in the context of British culture people, especially the aristocracy, could allow themselves to be idle. However, they was not allowed to abuse idleness since it could lead to pernicious effects and was compared to evil deeds, for example

* the devil finds work for idle hands

* Satan finds mischief for idle hands to do

* an idle brain is the devil's workshop

* idleness is the root (mother) of (all) evil (of mischief, of sin, of vice)

* trouble springs from idleness

* of idleness comes no goodness

Taking into consideration all the given examples, it should be underscored that indeed idleness may sometimes do more harm than good for a man. According to the analyzed proverbs, an individual should never neglect their work or spend all their time in idleness, doing nothing. Therefore, idleness is only beneficial when used wisely.

In addition to what has already been pointed out, it is now necessary to take a look at how a lazy person is called in both the Russian and the English languages. First of all, we will analyze the Russian language. As was previously highlighted in Section 2.4 “Russian National Identity”, one of the main features of Russian language is moral passion. Russian people tend to be very judgmental and because of that they tend to overload their speech with a huge amount of synonyms of one notion. Each word possess not just the main meaning but also add a certain emotional coloring to what is said. Let us first take a few Russian proverbs as an illustration of the variety of nouns used to de note a person who is not working

* лежебоке и солнце не в пору всходит

* с лодырем поведёшься - горя наберёшься

* лентяй да шалопай - два родных брата

* земля дармоедов не кормит

From the above mentioned examples of proverbs several synonyms can be instantly identified. They are the following:

* “лежебока” / “lezheboka” (a sluggard), it is a person who usually lies on the bed and does nothing

* “лодырь” / “lodyr`” (a loafer), it is a person who tend to avoid working (used when a person wants to show dismissive attitude to another person's behavior)

* “лентяй” / “lentyay” (a lazy person / an idler), it is a person who is being lazy (used when a person wants to blame another person for not working)

* “шалопай” / “shalopay” (a scapegrace), it is a person who is not working and who does not show any interest in any particular type of work

* “дармоед” / “darmoed” (a sponger), it is a person who lives on someone else's dime and does not work or earn money

As can be inferred from above, even though laziness is perceived as a negative feature that a person may possess, Russian people still use various synonyms that do not just provide a descriptions of one's behavior but also confer a special emotional coloring on the saying. However, what should also be stressed here is that all these descriptive words were used only in relation to the lower classes but never to the aristocracy.

If we then turn to the English language, we will notice that the nouns used to denote a lazy person are not as varied as in the Russian language. In order to demonstrate this divergence, we shall cite a few example, namely

* lazy man takes the most pain

* lazy man works the hardest

* a lazy man is beggar's brother

* idle folk (folks) have the least leisure

* idle youth, a needy age

* idle folk lack no excuses

As might have been expected, our findings demonstrate the limited number of English words used to describe an individual who is not engaged in working. Instead of using various nouns or synonym, a man is generally described with the help of two adjectives, namely “lazy” or “idle”. These findings suggest that again in Anglophone culture the emphasis is placed on the fact of a person being lazy. As it has already been highlighted, British people tend to condemn a person for not being productive or simply skipping work. Therefore, the notion of “laziness” in general is regarded as a negative feature and that is why people acknowledge it and hence do not feel the necessity to use a variety of other notions that could help them to better express their personal emotions.

3.3 Findings and Results

To sum up this section, we should outline the main differences that emerged from the conducted analysis of English and Russian proverbs. First of all, there is a discrepancy on the cultural level. The United Kingdom belongs to the individualistic cultures. Some of the characteristic features of this type of culture are independence that is most appreciated; individual achievements that are highly praised; personal time that is of particular value. Russia, on the contrary, is a collectivistic country. Collectivism is characterized by responsibility for each other actions; well-being of a group and harmony should always be preserved by the members of this very group. All these features find their place in the proverbs.

The second most obvious finding to emerge from this study is the distinction between the notions of “idleness” and “prazdnost`”. The research has shown that unlike the English language, the notion of “prazdnost`” is little used. Despite this, these notions are perceived in both cultures in rather similar ways. For British people “idleness” means having free time as a part of a break from work. In Russian culture “prazdnost`” means having leisure time. However, the context is different. In the Russian language “prazdnost`” is understood as having free time because a person does not work at all.

The third major finding was that there are notable differences in the representation and thus perception of laziness in proverbs in both languages. The notion of British “laziness” is primarily portrayed as a warning that needs to be heeded. Furthermore, laziness is condemned and a lazy person is shown as an unreliable person, for whom life in poverty is the only possible future. The results of examination of Russian proverbs mainly show that the perception of “len`” may vary. On the one hand, it may be described as a terrible vice due to the fact that it may result in poverty. According to this point of view, an individual may even miss an opportunity to become prosperous by not acting in an appropriate and objective manner. On the other hand, “len`” is often is taken for granted and considered to be a deliberate feature of any human being. Sometimes laziness is perceived as a good way to enjoy life. It is believed that work does not always makes a person happy.

For Russian people it is important to satisfy their Russian soul. For that reason, if a person is not satisfied with the work they do, laziness is accepted as a better alternative to work because it makes their soul fulfilled. These two viewpoints merged into one notion known as “Russian laziness” or “russkaya len`”.



Conclusion

At the present time, the systematic research of cross-cultural differences receives huge popularity around the world. Nevertheless, we can easily note that when it comes to dealing with the representatives of other countries, the majority of people tends to neglect the possibility of these cultural differences. That is why so many conflicts take place on the basis of cross-cultural misunderstanding. Additionally, the overwhelming majority of conflicts happen in the workplace in international and multinational companies.

The main objective of the current study was to determine how differently such phenomenon as laziness may be understood, depending on the culture a person belongs to. The study was conducted on the basis of comparison two countries, namely Great Britain and Russia. The study was built on the analysis of folklore, in particular proverbs. All the proverbs were extracted from Russian-English and English-Russian dictionaries of proverbs and sayings. This method was chosen to enable us to analyze from historical perspective how the contemporary understanding of laziness was formed. The results of the investigation have shown the clear discrepancy in understanding of the notions of English “laziness” and Russian “len`”. Although regardless of the language these notions denote the same thing, namely inactivity, these notions are perceived differently. Several conclusions have been drawn from the undertaken research.

One of the most significant findings to emerge from this study is that there is a difference in the notions in terms on their scope. In the English language “laziness” is a parallel to poverty and beggary. When it comes to Russian “len`”, it was observed that it is in the majority of cases “len`” is taken for granted. It is considered to be an inherent part of any human being and consequently should not be avoided.

In this research we have also analyzed the cultural difference between such notions as “laziness” and “len`” that are closely interconnected with the notions of “idleness” and “prazdnost`” respectively. The results of this examination support the idea that these notions also differ from each other on a cultural level. In British culture “idleness” is regarded as a short break that a person may allow themselves after a hard work. In Russian proverbs, as was pointed out, “prazdnost`” is portrayed as an inactivity when person spends time lying on bed and doing nothing. This perception of “prazdnost`” is deeply rooted in Russian history, when the representatives of the upper classes did not have to work and could allow themselves to spend time in idleness, since all the work and household chores were done by peasants, people from the lower social classes.

The findings of this study also suggest that the discrepancy between the notions of “laziness” and “len`” can also stem from the type of culture both Russian and the British belong too. According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory (2010), Russia belongs to the collectivistic type of culture, while Great Britain is a representative of an individualistic type of cultures. Therefore, in English proverbs a special emphasis is placed on personal achievements and self-development. Due to this, laziness is portrayed as a negative personality trait and should be criticized. On the contrary, in Russia people follow the norms of a collectivistic society. Hence, laziness as a trait of character can easily been tolerated by others.

Taking it into consideration, all the research tasks, which were outlined in the Introduction section were completed, main objectives were achieved and the results were delivered and clearly demonstrated through the analysis of proverbs.

As was pointed out in the Introduction section, the most important limitation lies in the fact that we analyzed the English language only on the basis of British history and mentality. We did not touch upon American mentality. However, we admit that although people in these two countries speak the same language, their mindsets are different. Therefore, further work needs to be done to establish how differently laziness as well as idleness are perceived in the United States of America and Great Britain.

The current research extends our knowledge of how cross-cultural differences may be traced through national languages. The conducted study may also be of particular value for specialists in corporate communication since the finding of this research will help them to analyze people's behavior in accordance with their attitudes, mentality and mindset, which in turn are formed by cultural values and norms. Moreover, the study of national folklore can be applied as one of the possible tools needed to detect cross-cultural differences and it may be further used as a teaching method for those who have to study both foreign languages and cross-cultural communication regardless of their initial purpose.



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