Proverbs By Lydia Lane
General Proverb Definition: Cultures A brief, memorable saying that expresses a truth or belief Cultures 300 All around the world
Chinese Proverbs 4,000 years Any Situation Classifications Usage makes for good writing Classifications Chengyu: Accepted phrases Yanyu: Familiar Sayings Suyu: Popular sayings Xiehouyu: Two part Allegorical saying Contain vivid images and dramatic results
African Proverbs Survived the slave trade Adinkra Writing system developed by the Ashanti Craftsman of Ghana Philosophy, thought, cosmology, and world of the culture Sankofa “To go back and get” “It is not wrong to go back and get that which you have forgotten” A message for future generations
German Proverbs Short Punch line Brought over with German Immigrants Some are still used today Zeit ist Geld. Time is Money
Japanese Proverbs Combination Used commonly Often state things bluntly Old and New English to Chinese Used commonly Often state things bluntly Kotowaza- Proverb Dictionary
Examples of Proverbs Chinese: A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world, but very few real friends. African:When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers German: Time is money Japanese: Duty is heavy as a mountain, but death is light as a feather
Proverbs in Blindness “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king” Pg 98 “If the one who does the sharing out fails to get the better part, he’s either a fool or a dullard” 99 “When the spirit is willing, your feet are light” 167
Questions Do the proverbs work well in the story? If the book were reduced to a proverb, what would it be? What is your favorite proverb?
Resources The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 3rd edition Excerpt from Haiwang Yuan, The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese. Libraries Unlimited, 2006) http://ctl.du.edu/spirituals/Literature/sankofa.cfm http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/prov1.htm http://www.languagerealm.com/japanese/japaneseproverbs.php http://creativeproverbs.com/searchcp.htm www.quoteland.com