Images of animals in English proverbs and sayings

Content

Introduction    ……………………………………………………………..…2

Chapter 1……………………………………………………………………….3

Sayings and proverbs in English…………………………………….3

Sources of proverbs………………………………………………………..4

The use of proverbs and sayings…………………………………..5

The role of proverbs……………………………………………………….6

Chapter 2……………………………………………………………………….7

Pets and wild animals in English proverbs and sayings….7

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….12

Introduction

This work is devoted to English proverbs.  The topic of our research is: «Images of animals in English proverbs and sayings». In general, proverbs and sayings are based on national traditions of the people. Through comprehension of the realities of life is learned man’s inner world, as well as various meanings that a person invests in small genres of folklore. Consequently,  folklore, including proverbs and sayings as a reflection of a “living soul of the people ” is constantly in direct interaction with human consciousness. Wildlife always plays an important role in the life of English people. English people are known as «pet-lovers» in the whole world. It`s natural that many proverbs and sayings are connected with pets and animals. Proverbs contain humor, wisdom, sensible sense; they reflect soul of the people.

Chapter 1

Sayings and proverbs in English

There are different definitions of proverbs and sayings.

A proverb is a short, well-aimed, deep strength thoughts popular saying or judgment of the phenomena of life, expressed in artistic form.

– “Quick shaped finished saying, usually rhythmic forms with didactic sense.” (DN Ushakov. Dictionary of Russian language)

• According to the Explanatory dictionary of Russian by Dmitri Ushakov: A proverb is a short figurative finished saying, usually rhythmic by form with instructive sense. A saying is a trope in speech for emotional and expressional estimates.Most sayings are effective thanks to their shortness and directness. They use simple, vivid language, often based on everyday domestic situations, making them easy to understand and remember.A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity.Nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its language, and the element of language that best show us  society’s values and beliefs is its proverbs.

1.2.Sources of proverbs

 Proverbs come from a variety of sources. Some are the result of people crafting language, others are taken from such diverse sources as poetry, songs, commercials, advertisements, movies, literature, etc. A number of the well known sayings of Shakespeare and others have become proverbs . Many proverbs are also based on stories, often the end of a story. For example, the proverb “Who will bell the cat?” is from the end of a story about the mice planning how to be safe from the cat.

Proverbs come from life.

Borrowing.

Proverbs are often and easily translated and transferred from one language into another. Proverbs are often borrowed across lines of language, religion, and even time. For example, a proverb of the approximate form “No flies enter a mouth that is shut” is currently found in Spain, France, Ethiopia, and many countries in between.

Several  English proverbs have been borrowed from other languages

Proverbs come from the Bible.An example would be at least «As you sow, so you reap».

Famous quotes by famous people.

Indeed, from the sayings of famous people have been some proverbs.

To my mind, origin of proverbs can suggest ways of using them, we can find new options that are close to them in meaning. History proverbs original and interesting.

Summarizing all the above, I concluded that some proverbs were borrowed from different languages​​, although in English these options already exist, some proverbs come from the distant past, some sayings are sayings of famous people, a lot has been taken from the Bible.

Thus, I became convinced that knowledge of the origin of proverbs help us understand its meaning, which is essential for error-free use of it in our speech.

.

1.3.The use of proverbs and sayings.

Proverbs are used in conversation by adults more than children, partially because adults have learned more proverbs than children. Also, using proverbs well is a skill that is developed over years.

Many authors have used proverbs in their writings. Probably the most famous user of proverbs in novels is J. R. R. Tolkien in his The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series. Also, C. S. Lewis created a dozen proverbs in The Horse and His Boy.

Proverbs have been the inspiration for titles of books, other times, a proverb appears at the end of a story, summing up a moral to the story, (such as “Heaven helps those who help themselves”).

Proverbs have also been used by poets. Sometimes proverbs are used for titles, such as “A bird in the bush” by Lord Kennet and his stepson Peter Scott .

Proverbs have also been used as important units of language in drama and films. The use of proverbs in drama and film today is found in languages around the world. A film that makes rich use of proverbs is Forrest Gump.

Proverbs are often poetic in and of themselves, making them ideally suited for adapting into songs. Proverbs have been used in music from opera to country to hip-hop.

1.4.The role of proverbs.

 Do not underestimate the role of proverbs in our speech. In the tenth century proverbs used in England as a means of studying Latin. The most common proverbs are still a part of general education of every person, English speaking. They are also part of different methods of learning English, making learning more interesting, easy and efficient.

Proverbs and their synonyms make our speech better, give more colorful sound. But we also need to know the history of proverbs, its literal translation and use the place as a misnomer because you can get into ridiculous situations. Meaning of proverbs depends not only on their origin, but also on the particular area in which they are used, and the situation in which we can be.

It is also very important to understand that language is constantly evolving, some proverbs lose their relevance, while others are used more and more frequently. Although each has its own story saying, in different parts of England, it acquires its color slightly changing the value.

In conclusion, I want to note that the proverbs can change over time, manners and customs of the people, in them the wisdom of the nation is concentrated.

Chapter 2

Pets and wild animals in English proverbs and sayings.

Through comprehension of the realities of life is learned man’s inner world, as well as various meanings that a person invests in small genres of folklore. Consequently,  folklore, including proverbs and sayings as a reflection of a “living soul of the people ” is constantly in direct interaction with human consciousness.

We estimate the English proverbs and sayings, with mention of pets. Everyone knows that the British are very gentle pet, often find their family members. How do proverbs reflect these relationships?

Having considered the 1000 English proverbs and sayings, we found only 159 proverbs with animals.

Moreover we found out  that the most frequent mentioned animals are:  dog – 23, bird- 22, cat – 13, horses – 14, fish-13, , donkey (ass) – 8;and a few examples of the pig-3 , ox-3, sheep – 5, cow – 6, wolf-5, fox-3, goose,hen-9, mouse,rat-6, hare-5, bear-2, camel-3, lion-3, insects-8 .

According to our research we found out that domestic animals (pets) (90) prevail over wild animals (68).

A large part of proverbs and sayings related to the peculiarities of the pets`  habits, behavior, noticed by people or the person assigned to them. These images reflect a bright, distinctive, easily reinvents indication feature of the behavior of a representative of the animal world and tied with a personification of certain qualities.

Also we noticed an interesting fact, that the images of dogs, horses and cows  usually represent positive qualities.

Love me, love my dog.

The dog that trots about finds a bone.

Dog does not eat dog.

There is life in the old dog yet.

An old horse manes a straight furrow.

You can take a horse to water, but you can not make him drink.

The cow that is first up, get the first of the dew.

If you sell the cow, you will sell her milk too.

Cat, donkey, sheep often have a negative image.

1. There are more ways to kill a cat than choking her with cream
2. The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream.
3. There is a black sheep in every flock.
4. An old ass is never good.

In English proverbs and sayings pets endowed with human qualities. And according to our research we can make a conclusion:

– Pig represents dirtiness, untidiness .

– sheep represents such qualities as stupidity, humility.

Goat, ox – endowed with such features as a cunning, stubbornness, resourcefulness.

As for the cat, the English proverbs and sayings of its endowed qualities such as resourcefulness, cunning, agility,  the ability to adapt to the circumstances.

Dog in English  proverbs and sayings embodies both positive and negative qualities . People appreciate the dog’s loyalty, fidelity, and the fact that it protects the house.

Cow and also horse represents the positive qualities. People appreciated the horse for household help, it served as an indicator of wealth, prosperity.

Features of the national character are connected with proverbs and sayings – the concreteness of thinking Englishmen. As representatives of Western culture during its rational activity focused on nature and the world of which they are themselves. So each proverb has its own communicative task.

Conclusion

As a result of this very work we could come to some conclusions. It is also very important to understand that language is constantly evolving, some proverbs lose their relevance, while others are used more and more frequently. Although each has its own story saying, in different parts of England, it acquires its color slightly changing the value. The proverbs can change over time, manners and customs of the people, in them the wisdom of the nation is concentrated. Proverbs and their synonyms make our speech better, give more colorful sound. But we also need to know the history of proverbs, its literal translation because you can get into ridiculous situations. Meaning of proverbs depends not only on their origin, but also on the particular area in which they are used, and the situation in which we can be.

Speaking about the attitude towards pet, it should be noted that concreteness of Englishmen`s thinking is their main feature of their national character. We also noted that the images of pets are closely connected with human qualities.

I want to note that the images of pets and other animals in English  bear different emotional meaning, positive and negative as well. The basis of the most proverbs and sayings is directly connected with features of habits, appearance and behavior of the pets and animals, noticed by people and attributed to the person as they reflect different bright characteristics of this or that representative of fauna easily connected with these or those qualities of a person. In the majority of proverbs and sayings only the horse has a positive image in English language. Images of a sheep, a goat, a donkey (or an ass), a rabbit and a wolf in most cases bare negative meaning as people represent in them such qualities as stupidity, humility, curiosity, complacency, obstinacy, cowardice or slyness. As for the images of dogs and cats, they can bare either positive or negative meanings.