English Versus Arabic Proverbs
English Versus Arabic Proverbs
English Versus Arabic Proverbs
Proverbs
According to Oxford
Concise Dictionary Proverb
is a short saying in general
use, held to embody a
general truthwhereas,
Idiom is: a group of words
established by usage and
having a meaning not
deducible from those of the
individual words.
:Borrowings
Another important source of English
proverbs is these of other languages. Here
again it is difficult to be certain. If a proverb
existed in Latin, French, or Spanish before
it appeared in English, there is no proof
that it was borrowed from the other
language. It may very well be that it
developed concurrently in English but
happened never to have been recorded.
:Biblical proverbs
Proverbs deriving from the Bible are in a sense
another kind of borrowing. In earlier times the
English Bible was so widely read that many of
its sayings have become so much part of
popular wisdom that few users today are aware
of their biblical origin, and the hardiest free
thinker will show no hesitation in drawing upon
them to illustrate a rational point. Nevertheless,
a good many English proverbs come straight
from the Authorized Version:
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
:Interpretation
How are proverbs to be interpreted? What is their full
meaning?
This is clearly bound up with their use and goes right
to the heart of the problem. The Dutch call proverbs
the daughters of experience, and we have seen how
many of the oldest ones were originally a summary of
what experience had taught people in the
performance of everyday chores. They were, then, at
the outset interpreted literally.
A stitch in time saves nine was the literal truth the
busy housewife had learnt in looking after the family's
clothes.