Читать диплом по английскому: "Semantic features of English proverbs" Страница 17

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Regional proverbs – In culturally related regions - on the pattern of loan-words - many loan-proverbs appear beside the indigenous ones. A considerable part ot them can be traced back to the classical literature of the region's past, in Europe the Greco-Roman classics, and in the Far East to the Sanskrit and Korean classics.

Local Proverbs – In a cultural region often internal differences appear, the classics (e.g. the Bible or the Confucian Analects) are not equally regarded as a source of proverbs in every language. Geographical vicinity gives also rise to another set of common local proverbs. These considerations are illustrated in several European and Far-Eastern languages, as English and Korean.

Proverbs were always the most vivacious and at the same time the most stable part of the national languages, suitable competing with the sayings and aphorisms pf outstanding thinkers. In the proverbs and sayings picturesqueness of national thinking was more vivid expressed as well as their features of national' character.

The proverbs and sayings are the paper of folklore which is short but deep in the meaning. They express the outlook of the amount of people by their social and ideal functions. Proverbs and sayings include themselves the some certain features of historical development and the culture of people.

The semantic sphere of proverbs is very wide and cannot limit them. The proverbs describe the every branch of people's life. The fact is that proverbs and sayings are similar in meaning in spite of their diversity in form and language.

While investigating on the given qualification theme we have analused proverbs on the semantic point of view. We have come across on the following noticeable themes, such as Friendship, Motherland, Time, Knowledge, Beauty, Health, Work, and a lot other different subjects. We have classified some example on the given topics:

Friendship

Afriendship in need is a friend indeed.Afriend's frown is better than a foe's smile.Amongfriends all things are common.Evenreckoning makes long friends.Whokeeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl.

Motherland

East or West home is best. Every bird likes its own nest. There is no place like home. Never cast dirt into that fountain if which you have sometimes drunk. Don't cut the bough you are standing on.

Time

Timeand tide wait for no man.Timecures all things.Timeflies.Timeis money.Timeis wondersCosttime is never found again.

Knowledge

Toeverything is to know nothing.Soonlearnt soon forgotten.Liveand learn.It'snever too late to learn.Alittle knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Beauty

Allthat glitters is not gold.

Appearances are deceptive Handsome is as handsome does. There is no rose without the thorn.

Health

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A sound mind in a sound body. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man health's, wealth's and wise. Good health is above wealth. Health is not valued till sickness comes.

Work

A bad workman always blames his tools. A good beginning is half the worn.

A good beginning makes a good ending.

An attempt is not tortue. AH is well that ends well. As you sow so you reap. Chickens are counted in autumn. Man proposes bad disposes. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today Nogain without plan. Speak less but do more.

2.3 PROVERBS AS THE WAY EXPRESSING PEOPLES WISDOM AND SPIRIT IN LITERARY WORKS A psychological method of analysis has been developed (Detje, 1996) and will be presented in order to show which psychological mechanisms the proverbs use to reach their goal of giving help (or advise) for human action regulation and human action organization. Some examples will be given to show which psychological insight there is inside the proverbs. Comer's theory of human action organization (e.g. Dorner, 1990, 1991) is used in this first analysis and compared with a lot of proverbs taken from Simrock, 1846. It can be shown that the proverbs have a much' differentiated "'knowledge" about human action organization and errors people make while planning and acting; even in complex and uncertain situations. Proverbs are "Guides to Right Behavior". This also means that a lot of psychologists' ideas of action organization are already included in "grandma's wisdom", although the proverbs use (of course) a quite different language.32 Since psychologists have used proverbs mainly for testing and differentiating groups of

persons it will be very interesting to have an exchange between paremiologists and psychologists about the psychological significance of the wisdom in the proverbs.

Many people have loved proverbs for the wisdom embedded in them. Others have treasured proverbs for the vividness or earthiness of their imagery. But students of the subject are impressed by still another characteristic of the proverb: its verbal economy. Proverbs are rarely wordy. The usual proverb is spare and austere in expression, and some are marvels of compactness.

"Wisdom" and "shortness" doubtlessly belong to the popular notion of what makes up a proverb. Even when a scholar such as Mario Pei wrote a short piece on "Parallel Proverbs" (1964)33 for the Saturday Review, he basically adhered to this general view of the proverb in his article

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