Proverbs and Sayings

Proverbs and sayings are facts of language. They are collected in dictionaries. There are special dictionaries of proverbs and sayings. It is impossible to arrange proverbs and sayings in a form that would present a pattern even though they have some typical features by which it is possible to determine whether or not we are dealing with one. These typical features are: rhythm, rhyme, alliteration.

But the most characteristic feature of a proverb or a saying lies in the content-form of the utter­ance. A proverb or a saying is a peculiar mode of utterance which is mainly characterized by its brevity. The utterance itself presents a pattern which can be successfully used for other utterances. The peculiarity of the use of a proverb lies in the fact that the actual wording becomes a pattern which needs no new wording to suggest extensions of meaning which are contextual. A proverb presupposes a simultaneous application of two meanings: the face-value or primary meaning, and an extended meaning drawn from the context, but bridled by the face-value meaning. The actual wording of a proverb, its primary meaning, narrows the field of possible extensions of meaning, i.e. the filling up of the form. That is why we may regard the proverb as a pattern of thought.

Proverbs and sayings have certain purely linguistic features. Proverbs are brief statements showing in condensed form the accumulated life experience of the community and serving as conventional practical symbols for abstract ideas. They are usually didactic and image bearing. Many of them through frequency of repeti­tion have become polished and wrought into verse:

"to cut one's coat according to one's cloth."

"Early to bed and early to rise,

Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Brevity in proverbs manifests itself also in the omission of connec­tives, as in:

"First come, first served."

"Out of sight, out of mind."

But the main feature distinguishing proverbs and sayings from or­dinary utterances remains their semantic aspect. Their literal meaning is "suppressed by what may be termed their transferred meaning. One meaning (literal) is the form for another meaning (transferred) which contains the idea. Proverbs and sayings, if used appropriately, will never lose their freshness and vigour. Sayings, proverbs and catch-phrases may be handled not in their fixed form but with modifications. The use of such a unit in a modified form will always arrest our attention, causing a much closer examination of the wording of the utterance in order to get at the idea. Thus, the proverb 'all is not gold that glitters' appears in the following form and environment where at first the meaning may seem obscure:

The proverb Hell is paved with good intentions and the set expres­sion to mean well are used by Byron in a peculiar way, thus making the reader re-appraise the hackneyed phrases.

When the proverb is used in its unaltered form it can be qualified as an expressive means; when used in a modified variant it assumes the one of the features of an SD, it acquires a stylistic meaning not becoming an SD.

‘Come!’ he said, ‘milk’s split.’

‘You know which side the law’s buttered.’

‘The waters will remain sufficiently troubled for somebody’s fishing to be profitable.’

‘Proof of the Pudding’

‘Early to bed and early to rise

‘No use – unless you advertise.’

‘Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of them­selves.’

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11