Functional and Pragmatic Features of Anaphoric Devices in Russian and Uzbek Proverbs

The article examines the functional and pragmatic properties of anaphoric devices in Russian and Uzbek proverbs from a comparative perspective. The term anaphora is used primarily in its referential and cohesive sense: an anaphoric expression is interpreted through a previously activated or structurally correlated element, while stylistic initial repetition is considered only when it contributes to referential continuity or pragmatic parallelism. The study focuses on pronominal and correlative constructions, demonstrative and locative reference, reflexive and possessive anaphora, lexical recurrence, and zero or elliptical anaphora. The analysis demonstrates that proverbial discourse makes especially productive use of compact correlation patterns such as Russian kto – tot, chto – to, gde – tam and Uzbek kim – u/o‘sha, nima – shu/shuni, qayerda – shu/o‘sha yerda. These patterns perform more than a cohesive function: they generalize the referent, convert an individual situation into a rule, intensify didactic force, organize cause–effect relations, and reduce the need for explicit nomination. Uzbek proverbs additionally exploit pro-drop and morphologically recoverable reference more freely, whereas Russian examples more often retain overt correlates for structural balance and rhythmic symmetry. The article argues that anaphoric devices constitute one of the mechanisms by which paremias achieve semantic compression, memorability, inferential economy and pragmatic universality.