Реферат: The Proverbs Are Children Of Experience (Пословицы - Дети Опыта)

Tanya YevichProfessor PetersonEnglish I

17 April 2001

Research Paper

The Proverbs Are Children of Experience

Some scholars and popular writers haveclaimed repeatedly that proverbial language has passed from usage;  however, it remains an easily proven factthat proverbs are not passe<span PMingLiU",«serif»">´

anddefinitely not dead.

I.<span Times New Roman"">                  

Introduction

A.<span Times New Roman"">   

Definition of a proverb

B.<span Times New Roman"">    

History

C.<span Times New Roman"">    

Who uses proverbs

II.<span Times New Roman"">               

Why are proverbs still popular

A.<span Times New Roman"">   

Provides wisdom in short form

1.<span Times New Roman"">     

Saying without thinking, shootingwithout aiming

2.<span Times New Roman"">     

It is a hard thing to have a greatestate, and not fall in love with it

B.<span Times New Roman"">    

Provides humor through words

1.<span Times New Roman"">     

Wise men make proverbs and foolsrepeat them

2.<span Times New Roman"">     

Not worth a fly

3.<span Times New Roman"">     

There’s no fool like an old fool

C.<span Times New Roman"">    

 Helps one learn the language

1.<span Times New Roman"">     

Construction  “there is”, “there are”

2.<span Times New Roman"">     

Gerund

3.<span Times New Roman"">     

Degrees of comparison of adjectives

III.  Conclusion

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                                                                                                                                                Tatiana Yevich

                                                                                                            English101

                                                                                                            ResearchPaper

                                                                                                            4.17.01

                                                                                                            RickPederson

                                   

                                       TheProverbs Are Children Of Experience.

            Itwould appear that nothing could be easier than writing down the definition of aproverb. Where did a proverb come from? Where can it be used? Proverbs arewidely used in the society on the regular basis. Some scholars and popularwriters have claimed repeatedly that proverbial language has passed from usage;however it remains an easily proven fact that proverbs are not “passe´” and definitely not dead. This form oflanguage helps to express our thoughts more exactly and vividly.  Proverbs contain wisdom, humor, and usuallyfit many purports.

            The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs definesa proverb as a sentence that has been developed orally and is still used by thepeople of a region. It has usually come about from experience, and it is astatement that teaches learning within an experience. The World BookEncyclopedia gives a different explanation of the word: Proverb is a briefsaying that presents a truth of some bit of useful wisdom. It is usually basedon common sense or practical experience. The effect of a proverb is to make thewisdom it tells seem to be self-evident. The same proverb often occurs amongseveral different peoples, True proverbs are sayings that have been passed fromgeneration to generation, primarily by word of mouth. They may also have beenput into written form. The Book of Proverbs In the Hebrew Bible, or OldTestament, is the most notable collection of such sayings. They include:

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Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

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A good name is rather to be chosenthan great riches.

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A soft answer turnethaway wrath.

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Pride goethbefore destriction, and a haughty spirit before afall.

            In ancient <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>, children were educatedprimarily at home, and proverbs were used to teach them to become successfuland responsible adults. Proverbs have not lost their well-establishedpopularity, and they continue to be ever present, even in a moderntechnological society like that of the <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>United States of America</st1:country-region></st1:place>. This hasrecently been made abundantly clear by the thousands of proverbs registered in ADictionary of American Proverbs ( New York: Oxford University Press, 1992)edited by S.A. Kingsbury, K.B. Harder.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Early to bed, and early torise, make a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

This is an oldproverb well known in many countries that has not passed from its usage.  Proverbs both old and new, continue to serveus well as concise statements of apparent truths. In everyday life proverbsname social situations, that is, they are used to communicate our general humanconcerns in traditional language. By employing proverbs in our speech we wishto strengthen argument, express certain generalizations, influence ormanipulate other people, rationalize our own shortcomings, question certainbehavior patterns, satirize social ills, and poke fun at ridiculous situations.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Saying without thinking is shootingwithout aiming.

            There are no limits to the use ofproverbs, and each individual proverb may be used in many ways depending on itscontext. There are hundreds of proverbs dealing with the body, work, love,friendship, death, weather and more. For example:

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Kiss and be friends.

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Two heads are better than one.

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Love is blind.

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One hand washes other.

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A good beginning makes a goodending.

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It is better to do well then to saywell.

These are the examples of proverbs thatare based on friendship and love. Some folklorists are now arguing that mostweather proverbs are not proverbs at all but rather superstitions couched inproverbial language (Mieder, Wolfgagng12). Nevertheless, we would still argue that such texts as:

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Lightning never strikes twice inthe same place.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Make hay while the sun shines.These are proverbs, especially since they are usually usedin a figurative and not in a literal sense. Medical proverbs are also widelyused by people all over the world. Here are some proverbs that are verypopular:

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An apple a day keeps a doctoraway.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

A disease known is half cured.

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The doctor is often more to befeared than the disease.

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Health is not valued till sicknesscomes.

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Bitter pills may have blessedeffects.

          Proverbs provide humor in a sarcasticway. Depending on the specific proverb a person can identify an action and itsconsequence.  For example:

Do not do all you can; spend not all you have; believe not all you hear; tell not all you know.

This proverb explains that one should usecommon sense as well as sensor ones speech in relationship to otherpeople.  Another example of sarcasticproverbs can be proverb:

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A man can work from sun to sun,but a woman’s work is never done.

Proverbs and their value systems give ussome basic structure, and if their worldview does not fit a particularsituation, they can be quickly changed into revealing and liberatinganti-proverbs. Proverbs are also used as idioms; every language has its own. Anidiom usually consists of a group of words, which is either meaningless orabsurd if the words are understood to mean what they usually do.

Mostly short proverbs can be used asidioms. For example:

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Die with one’s boots on.

This proverb (idiom) means expire whileworking, keep working to the end. I some languages proverbs may occur asclichés or old proverbs. Clichés are trite, worn out expressions.While they are acceptable in conversation, they should be avoided in writing.Here are some examples of such event:

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Off the wall. Means to be notwell reasoned.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Sound as a dollar. Meanssensible.

            Asmall sentence as proverb also contains grammar rules and tones of vocabularythat is why I would claim that proverbs could help a great deal to learn aforeign language like English and make the process of learning moreinteresting. Proverbs contain such grammar rules as: degrees of comparison ofadjectives, gerund construction, construction “there is”, “there are”,formation of noun plurals, formation of present, past and  future tenses, antonyms and synonyms, andmost of irregular verbs.

Proverbs help to remember gerundconstruction, which does not occur in any other language but English.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Saying without thinking isshooting without aiming.

·<span Times New Roman"">        

Seeing is believing.

 Constructions “there is”,  “there are” are also do not exist in most ofthe languages they are not very hard to remember but it is more interesting tolearn it with the help of the proverbs. For example:

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There is no place like home.

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There are more ways to thewoods then one.

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There is no rose without athorn.

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There is no fool like an oldfool.

         Although many proverbs have been forgotten there still some that willforever be used.  With a new generation,new technology and new lingo there will be more proverbs to come and more to beforgotten. People will continue to use old and new proverbs, therefore theywill never die. They are an important part of learning and life in general.

             

 

    

                                                      WORKS CITED

The <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>Oxford</st1:City></st1:place> Dictionary of English Proverbs. <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:PlaceName w:st=«on»>Oxford</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st=«on»>University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>Press, Ely House,

            <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>London</st1:City></st1:place>1970.

The World Book Encyclopedia.<st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:State w:st=«on»>New York</st1:State></st1:place>1999.

A Dictionary of AmericanProverbs, <st1:State w:st=«on»>New York</st1:State>: <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:PlaceName w:st=«on»>Oxford</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st=«on»>University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>Press, 1992.

Mieder,Wolfgang. Proverbs are never out of season. <st1:State w:st=«on»>New York</st1:State>:<st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>Oxford</st1:City></st1:place>, 1993.

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