ENGLISH AND UZBEK RIDDLES AS A BRANCH OF FOLKLORE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF SOMATIC RIDDLES)

Abstract

This thesis considers the riddle as a distinct branch of folklore in English and Uzbek and takes somatic riddles – those built on words for parts of the human body – as its illustrative material. It outlines the place of the riddle among the small genres of oral literature, its principal features (concealment, figurative description, the question-and-answer form), and its cultural functions, and then shows how somatic riddles concentrate these traits by measuring the world through the body. The comparison indicates that the riddle holds a similar generic position in both traditions, while its imagery, performance and thematic range carry national colouring. The topic is relevant for folklore studies, contrastive linguistics and linguoculturology