ANGL-212221Languages, Culture, Affairs

Proverbs

History from their origins

Old sayings and beliefin Asia

Their useful concepts

From Classical antiquity:The Book of Proverbs

Famous Biblical proverbs:

Do as you would be done by (Matt. 7:12)An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (38, Exod. 21-24)

Examples:

From heaven to earth The dog is worthy of his dinner To weigh anchor To grind one's teeth Nowhere near the mark Complete the circle In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king A cough for a fart No sooner said than done God helps those who help themselves The grass is greener over the fence The cart before the horse A necessary evil

Erasmus of Rotterdam

When there is smoke, there is fire – 54 languages

Barking dogs do not bite – 51

Walls have ears – 46

One hand washes the other – 46

Make haste slowly – 43

Children and fools tell the truth – 41

Still water runs deep – 38

Fish always begin to stink at the head – 33

etc.

A spread through the Latin language:

Omnes viae Romam ducunt (Latin) Tutte le strade portano a Roma (Italian)

Tous les chemins mènent a Rome (French) Todos los caminos llevan a Roma (Spanish)

Todos os caminhos levam a Roma (Portuguese) Toate drumurile duc la Roma (Romanian) Tut las vias mainan a Roma (Romansch)

Eis Rhomen pantes hai hodoi (Classical Greek) όλοι οι δρόμοι οδηγούν στη Ρώμη

(Modern Greek) Alle Wege führen nach Rom (German)

Alle wegen liede nei Rome (Frisian) Alle wegen leiden naar Rome (Dutch)

Alle paaie lei na Rome (Afrikaans) Allar leiðir liggja til Rómar (Icelandic)

Alle veje foerer til Rom (Danish) Alle veier fører til Roma (Norwegian)

Alla vägar bär till Rom (Swedish) Teann na boithre go leir go Roimh (Irish Gaelic)

Tha a h-uile rathad a dol don Ròimh (Scottish Gaelic)

An holl hentoù a gas da Roma (Breton) bütün yollar Roma yol (Turkish)

Dhe Rom e pub forth oll (Cornish) Y Mae Bob Ffordd Yn Arwain I Rufain (Welsh)

все дороги ведут в Ром(Russian) всі дороги ведуть в Ром(Ukrainian)

všechny cesty vedou k Romům (Czech) wszystkie drogi prowadzą do Roma (Polish)

Svi putovi vode u Rim (Croatian)  Сви путеви воде на Роме (Serbian)

сите патишта водат кон Рим(Macedonian) Vse poti vodijo v Rim (Slovenian)

visi keliai veda į Roma (Lithuanian) TË GJITHË RRUGËT ÇOJNË NË ROMË (Albanian)

Polor Djampanere Hrom gue danin (Armenian)  Minden út Rómába vezet (Hungarian) Kaikki tiet vievät Roomaan (Finnish)

すべての道路をローマにつながる (Japanese) 모든 기른 로마로 통하다 (Korean)

Khoulhain Ourhotho Mawbloan LRoomee (Aramaic) (Amarigna)

(Arabic) كل الطرق تؤدي الى روما (Hebrew(כל הדרכים מובילות אל רומא

Nimwit t/rou [i mwit erwm/ (Coptic) Indlela zonke zifika eRoma (Ndebele) सभ� सडक� Roma क� न�त�त (Hindi)

zote zinaelekea Roma(Swahili) semua jalan menuju Roma(Malay-Indonesian)

ถนน ท��งหมด น�� ไป ส�� โรม (Thai) Ella vazhikalum Romilekku (Malayalam)

条条大路通罗马 (Chinese) tất cả các con đường dẫn đến Roma (Vietnamese)

…

Explanation:

Your action is just like drawing a cake to satisfy

hunger, which has no practical effect.

你这种做法只是画饼充饥，没有任何实际作用。

Chinese culture & its proverbs:A Chinese idiom story (1)

饼充 饥画Huà bĭng chōng jī

= to draw a cake to satisfy hunger

A Chinese idiom story (2)

悬梁 刺 股 Xuán liáng cì gŭ

= tiying one's hair to the beam and sticking an awl in one's calf or leg

• 龙神马壮 (long shen ma zhuang)

To have a vigorous spirit as a dragon and be as strong as a horse

A link with some Chinese symbols

• 茶饭无心 (cha fan wu xin)To have no appetite for food and tea

• 粗茶淡饭 (cu cha dan fan) A simple home-made food

The Chinese tea: The Dragon:

• 남의 떡이 더 커 보인다 . (Nameu-Dduki duh kuh bo-in-da)Someone else's rice cake looks always bigger.

Korean culture & its proverbs

• 국수 언제 먹지 . (Guksu onjei meokji) When will I have a chance to eat your noodles?

• 물 먹었다 . (Mul môgotta): I ate water

• 죽도 아니고 밥도 아니고 . (Juk-do anigo bab-do anigo ) It’s neither rice or porridge

Origins & examples

The symbol of the tiger

Tangun Myth:

The foundation

of Korea

호랑이 담배 피던 시절 (Horang-i dambae pideon shijeol)

A time when tigers smoked cigarettes

호랑이도 제 말 하면 온다 (Horang-ido jemal hamyun onda)

If you talk about the tiger, the tiger will appear

说曹操 曹操就到

When you speak of Cao cao, Cao cao arrives

Equivalence in Chinese:

Religion & belief

Buddhism has a great influence on chinese people

放下屠刀 ，立地成佛(fàng xià tú dāo, lì dì chéng fó)

A butcher becomes a Buddha the moment he drops his cleaver

in China:

Religion & belief

• 生死由命 富贵在天 (sheng si you ming fu gui zai tian)

Life and death are decreed by fate, and rank and richness are determined by heaven

• 天理不容 (tian li bu rong)Heaven will not tolerate injustice

• 自助者天助 (zi zhu zhe tian zhu)

God helps those help themselves(not heaven helps those help themselves)

To kick a bucket?

The real meaning:

From 1930 there is yet another British variant directed against the Germans:

"There's only one good Boche, and that's a dead one."

Proverbs turned into verbal weapons

• "To sing Indian" (1829, i.e., to act as one who defies death)

• "To play Indian" (1840, i.e. to not show any emotions)

• "To see Indians" (1850, i.e., to be in a delirium)

• "To be a regular Indian" (1925, i.e. to be an habitual drunkard)

• "To run like a wild Indian" (1860)

• "To stare (stand) like a wooden Indian“

• "Straight as an Indian's hair",

• "Red as an Indian“

…

Colonial America: German nazis:

"The only good Indian is a dead Indian"

Source: Wolfgang MIEDER, " The Only Good Indian is a Dead Indian: History and Meaning in a Proverbial Stereotype ",

Journal of American Folklore, vol. l 06, no 419, 1993, p. 38-60

“ What is good for General Motors is good for America ” - Chairman of GM, Charlie Wilson,

January 15,1953.

Proverbs turned into puns

“ What is good for Europe is good for the United States ”- German Politician, Willy Brandt,

November 18, 1971.

“ Handsome is as handsome does ”- Irish writer, Oliver Goldsmith, 1766

“ Stupid is as stupid does ”- American movie Forrest Gump, 1994

Proverbs turned into cartoons

The situation of Zimbabwe, March 2002

“ Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil ”

三猿 : The three wise monkeys, in Nikkō, Japan