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Proverbs: Languages
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Proverbs are expressed not only in words but ... in the language of the drums and the sound of the horns blown by the attendants of chiefs. Even patterns woven in cloth by weavers may express proverbial saying. One example is the Kente (kan'tay) pattern Tikoro nko agyina (tih koro nko ahg'yee'nah) "One head does not go into council (It is better if two heads make a decision)" which the Republic of Ghana presented to the United Nations. It may be seen hanging on one of the walls in the delegates' lounge in the United Nations Building in New York City.
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A common feature of the proverbs is the use of figurative language: �Like cold water to a weary soul / is good news from a distant land� (25:25). In ch. 25 alone there are 11 verses that begin with �like� or �as.� These similes make the proverbs more vivid and powerful. Occasionally the simile is used in a humorous or sarcastic way: �Like a gold ring in a pig�s snout / is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion� (11:22; cf. 26:9), or, �As a door turns on its hinges, / so a sluggard turns on his bed� (26:14). Equally effective is the use of metaphors: �The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life� (13:14), and �the tongue that brings healing is a tree of life� (15:4). According to 16:24, �pleasant words are a honeycomb.� The figure of sowing and reaping is used in both a positive and a negative way (cf.
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In the interest of serious scholars as well as amateur philologists, Yurtbaşı carefully documents both the sources of his Turkish proverbs and those matching them from other languages. The Turkish “If a goat escapes from a wolf...” he has found in the 19th century work by Ebüzziya, its English language counterpart “A serpent, unless it has devoured a serpent...” in the authoritative Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs.
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Not surprisingly, given the large variety of regional differences in the Italian language, there are ... proverbs in dialect. Proverbi siciliani, proverbi veneti, and proverbi del dialetto Milanese, for instance, reflect this diversity and show how a common idea may be given different local references. For example, here are two proverbs in Milanese dialect that show the similarities and differences in construction and pronunciation:
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