Why Money Cannot Buy Happiness. The Painful Truth about Traditional Proverbs and Their Modifications
Journal Title: New Horizons in English Studies - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
Can one imagine language without proverbs? Do we really need these somewhat clichéd adages like An apple a day keeps a doctor away, Once bitten, twice shy, or Crime doesn’t pay? Are they still influential, or perhaps modern society should give them a new lease of life? This paper aims to reveal the “painful truth” behind traditional proverbs and especially their modified versions. Leading paremiologists (Wolfgang Mieder, Nihada Delibegović Džanic, Anna Litovkina) introduce a number of terms in reference to the latter, and so this study discusses the etymology and the semantic import of such labels as anti-proverbs, twisted proverbs, quasi-proverbs, and pseudo-proverbs. However, its basic aim is to propose a classification of modified proverbs based on a number of examples, such as Man proposes, mother-in-law opposes; A good beginning is half the bottle; Crime pays – be a lawyer; A new broom sweeps clean, but the old one knows the corners, and many others. Finally, based on Ronald Langacker’s conception of the profile-base distinction, deriving from the figure-ground alignment, this paper makes an attempt to prove the necessary link between traditional proverbs and their innovative modifications.
Authors and Affiliations
Justyna Mandziuk
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP421770
- DOI 10.17951/nh.2017.2.4
- Views 119
- Downloads 0
The Labyrinth as an Anti-Home in Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves
This paper examines the spatial model of a house as a labyrinth in Mark Z. Danielewski’s experimental novel House of Leaves in relation to Yuri M. Lotman’s concept of an anti-home. The aim of the paper is to analyze the...
Formulaic Sequences in First Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Learning
Formulaic sequences constitute a large part of the language we speak. This group contains, for example, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, mnemonics, or larger texts taught as a whole, like songs or prayers. They seem to b...
Aestheticization of Serial Killers in Contemporary Crime Literature and Film
Fictional serial killers often appear attractive, since the authors and film directors deliberately employ certain techniques to depict the villains as seductive and manipulate readers/spectators into forming a bond with...
The Translation Minefield On Specific Translation Challenges Posed by the Graphic Novel Form
The comic book genre, or, to be more precise, medium (Chute and Dekoven 2012), like any other, creates many formal elements which influence the interpretation of the story and set particular technical boundaries to the a...
The British Origins of The First American Cookbook: A Re-evaluation of Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1796)
In 1796, the first American cookbook American Cookery by Amelia Simmons was published in Hartford, Connecticut. Although many scholars referred to it as “the second declaration of American independence” the cooking patte...