On THE CLASSIFICATION OF PROVERBS

Abstract

A proverb is a short, generally known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views in a metaphorical fixed form and which is handed down from generation to generation. The definition of a proverb has caused scholars from many disciplines a lot of debate over the centuries. Thus, many attempts at definition have been made from Aristotle to the present time, ranging from philosophical considerations to lexicographical definitions. Archer Taylor (1931) begins his analysis of proverbs with the claim that it is impossible to give a full definition of the genre. Furthermore, he goes on
explaining in much detail what proverbs are all about: ’’The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial. Those who do not speak a language can never recognize all its proverbs, and similarly much that is truly proverbial escapes us in Elizabethan and older English. Let us be content with recognizing that a proverb is a saying current among the folk. At least so much of a definition is indisputable’’. (Taylor 1931: 3)