Some Characteristics of sayings Main are its simple and easy to memorize language, its colloquial use and its anonymous origin, among others.
The saying is a popular phrase that expresses a teaching, a reflection, an experience or thought, as judgment and in the form of sentence.
It is known as paremiology to the study of sayings, proverbs and other statements. Sayings are anonymous creations that have been handed down from generation to generation, first spoken and then written.
As part of popular knowledge, have evolved and have been decreasing as they lose their validity, since they are related to the culture and general thinking of each age. Sayings of demeaning character towards women, as well as others that reflect violence, have fallen into disuse.
Knowledge of the popular refrain is considered an important part of learning a language. Lawyers say that for the native language, about 200 sayings must be known, while a foreign student should know at least 70.
You may be interested to know 100 short sayings with their meaning (for children and adults) .
Main Features of Sayings
Sayings can be of two types. Some reflect universal situations that are lived in the humanity and for that reason is similarity in the sayings in different languages and cultures.
Others are related to very specific situations, belonging to a locality. Therefore, even if the same themes are involved, each culture can mold its refranero to its customs and way of facing them.
1- They are composed of autonomous phrases
These phrases are usually brief and consist of two parts, sometimes up to three, expressing with the association of two ideas a unique meaning. The first part tells a fact and the second describes its consequences:
- "Whoever gets up early, God helps him."
- "Barking dog does not bite".
2- Simple language
They are composed of a very simple language, with a rhyme that facilitates their learning and diffusion, with words that relate things of daily life that facilitate their comprehension.
- "To the bread and wine came wine."
- "When the river sounds, stones bring."
3- Talk about real life
They reflect a sentence, which may well be a product of experience, or a teaching or behavioral norm.
- "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
- "Do good without looking at who".
4- Are of colloquial use
They are part of informal speech in daily life and are repeated in conversations to give proverbial character to an idea.
- "Water that you should not drink, let it run."
- "It never rains at everyone's taste".
5- Are in force
They refer to current situations even though they were conceived in very ancient times, using comparisons with observations of nature, trades or spiritual themes.
6- Origin anonymous
They are not made by any recognized author, but are part of the cultural heritage. Most were collected in the work of Cervantes: The Quijote .
7- They are transmitted from generation to generation
Apart from the studies and compilations that have been made of them, they are learned at home or at school in colloquial speech.
8- Easy to memorize
In its structure, use is made of rhyme, analogy or comparison and puns. In this way their memorization is strengthened.
- "To God praying and with the hammer giving".
- "In the absence of bread, good are cakes."
9- Produce a feeling of truth or falsehood
However, the saying actually only expresses an experience or a reality. The saying gives the reciter a sense of being the possessor of the truth and knowledge that wants to teach or prevent the possible consequences if they do not take the actions that are being recommended.
10- Summary facts that can be extended in more detail
11- Its content usually includes irony and humor
- "Morrocoy does not climb palo or cachicamo shaves"
- "Dog that smells butter, puts the tongue in tapara"
12- They form part of the culture
It is general knowledge that is inherited and forms part of the cultural identity Of the society to which it belongs.
Sayings in different languages and societies
Sayings are similar in different languages and cultures. It is believed that this is due to certain factors such as the diffusion of the Bible and other classics worldwide.
The fact that human society Interprets a situation similarly in different places is because the human mind processes in a similar way a given situation, and also by the contact between different societies through time.
In the Castilian language, as early as the sixteenth century, almost all the existing sayings had been collected, with very few being created after this time. At first, its objective was to impose a set of beliefs, rites and behaviors that favored the dominant classes to the detriment of vulgar people.
The subjects were religion, royalty, justice, army and women. These phrases, apart from indoctrination, had legal value. To soften the imposition of rules, there were other sayings with more humorous content, such as riddles and puns.
The Latin American countries inherited the popular refrain from Spain, while the Spanish refranero shares similarities with that of North Africa. The differences between them depend on the races, the geography , The fauna and the food of each region.
Although sayings touch common themes like love, friendship, work, good or bad administration, each society adapts to their customs the corresponding typical saying.
This is how sayings like"taking the bull by the curls", or"doing bullfights"(which although not a saying as such, has common origin) come from the Spanish culture of bullfighting and related tasks. Making bulls was the activity that young people did to acquire skills of the toreador, escaping to their duties in the school.
As for the different proverbs of each language, it is usual to find equivalences. This means that although a literal translation is not used, in both languages there are phrases that refer to the same situations, for example:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
[Spanish]"Better safe than sorry".
References
- What are the characteristics of the refrain? Retrieved from: refranymas.blogspot.com.
- Do you know what paremiology is? Retrieved from: docsity.com.
- Examples of sayings. Recovered from: Examples.
- Proverbs. Retrieved from: writingxmu.wikispaces.com.
- Refrain. Retrieved from: literarydevices.net.
- Proverbs and sayings in English. Recovered from: bristolenos.com.
- Rigat, M. Linguistic approach to the study of the saying as a communicative unit . Valencia, University of Valencia.