We define what is a proverb

Proverbs can be called without exaggeration the treasure of any people. They are formed historically, generalize everyday experience and folk wisdom. Regardless of the level of education and place of residence, each person regularly uses about 200-300 various jokes and winged expressions in spoken language. The definition of "What is a proverb?" Is interpreted in different ways, and many philologists and historians are trying to find the right answer. These apt words, which have an intelligible content, often consist of two rhymed parts. Sometimes we do not even notice how often we use different proverbs in everyday life. After all, they are able to revive a dry speech, add to it a national flavor and give a concise description of a particular situation.

As a rule, good proverbs have two meanings: literal and portable. With their help in a metaphorical form, any thought or life observation comes. These short sayings are a true national treasure and have not lost their relevance to this day.

How to define what is a proverb?

In order to understand the success of this morphological construction, one must know what it is. The definition of "what is a proverb?" You can give this. This is a certain genre of folklore, a logically finished, imaginative and capacious saying in rhythmic form, which has a great semantic load. This term is of Russian origin and implies that the proverb is used in a lively conversation. In it the following signs of popular dictum are most clearly manifested:

1. Collectivity of creativity (as a rule, the author has no sayings, they were created over a certain period of time and supplemented by different people).

2. Tradition, that is, sustainability. As a rule, the text of the proverb practically does not change.

3. Oral. These sayings are much more than others, related to direct and immediate speech.

In order to explain the proverb, you need to know the language on which it is pronounced in order to catch a figurative meaning. Such sayings necessarily carry in themselves any conclusions about what is good, what is bad, how to act correctly, and how - it is not necessary.

Proverbs in other countries

Of course, this folklore genre originated and developed not only in Russia. Such winged expressions exist in almost every country, because they are an indispensable companion of the historical progress of mankind. What is noteworthy, almost every proverb has its analogues in other nations. Of course, it is adapted to the conditions of life and the level of civilization of each ethnos, but the very fact of such a commonality of the idea forces scientists to puzzle over it. Most likely, this can be explained by the fact that the basic moral principles and ideas of social life are the same in all countries. This is an original set of rules, a historical heritage and a philosophical memory.

The most common proverbial themes

If you consider this folklore genre in more detail, you can see that there are areas of life, about which a lot of utterances and sayings are composed. Most often they talk about the need to work to ensure a decent life, about how negative laziness and lack of goals for a person. All of them are aimed to motivate people to a useful and functional way of being. For example, how to understand the proverb:

"Lazy hands are not related to an intelligent head" or "Does human labor feed, and laziness spoils"? The answer is obvious: people who do not want to do anything are doomed to a boring and useless life. Labor, on the other hand, gives people joy and understanding of their own need for society and loved ones.

Wolf - a popular image for proverbs

American philologists conducted interesting studies and found that in Russian sayings, animal images are often used. One of them is undoubtedly the wolf. In order to disclose the nature of this feature, it must be remembered that the Russian people have been inextricably linked with the environment for centuries. About wolves, they knew firsthand and thoroughly studied their habits and way of life.

It is not surprising that there are so many fairy tales, riddles and proverbs associated with this beast. He does not have compassion, he does not trust anyone and has no friends. It was these qualities of a forest animal that served as the impetus for playing the image of a wolf in Russian folk folklore.

Proverbs of the Soviet people

When the USSR arose, the government was to create an entirely new ideology. So there were such sayings as "The Soviet people are harder than stone rocks." They had a motivating meaning in themselves. These brief and capacious sayings should have made it clear to the citizens of the USSR and to the whole world how true the path of socialism chosen by this country is.

But folklore can not be subordinated to political goals. Proverbs, which were created by professional writers and poets, did not take root in ordinary life and remained to sound like slogans printed in newspapers and on banners. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, they instantly lost their significance and are of interest only to historians and philologists.

How to use proverbs in everyday speech?

Like any phraseological units, proverbs need to be able to be timely and appropriately added to the lexicon. If speech is oversaturated by them, the interlocutor will have the impression that a person does not have his own ideas, and he is able to think only with cliches. Everything should be in moderation.

Thus, having studied the peculiarities of this genre, one can define "what is a proverb" and understand its historical essence.