The word proverb, which comes from the French ” refrain ” and whose meaning is “refrain”, are sayings that are commonly used among people. They are popular and anonymous sayings that seek to transmit a teaching or learning, or a message of a moral or instructive nature that provokes an intellectual or moral reflection in the other person. One of its main characteristics is its structure based on verses and with assonance or consonant rhyme.
The proverb is part of the group of paremias. They are used frequently both in literature and when speaking on a daily basis. The proverbs are used to classify by geographical area, language, language or theme and are transmitted from generation to generation.
Its origins go back to the Renaissance age, in addition to finding evidence of them in Greco-Roman literature and Middle Eastern culture. Likewise, in the main works of Spanish literature, such as the “Cantar del mio Cid”. sayings can be found, although the first collection of them is attributed to Don Iñigo López de Mendoza.
A proverb is timeless, that is, it is maintained over time despite the passing of the years and is used in different fields due to the large number of different topics that can be referred to through them. Proverbs are in charge of expressing truths about life and other basic concepts related to human beings and their tasks.
One of the largest and richest proverbs in the world is Spanish, which is made up of more than 100,000 different proverbs, which reflects their clear importance within the language.
Characteristics of a proverb
These short phrases, in charge of transmitting popular wisdom and knowledge, have a series of characteristics:
- A proverb is born from experience, having an instructive purpose.
- They are short phrases whose main social mission is to warn and advise other people, at the same time that they transmit learning or teaching.
- They can be applied to different situations that may take place in daily life.
- They are part of the popular culture of a country.
- They tend to be very easy to memorize and remember. This is because they use rhymes, as well as being simple and short sentences.
- They are used to being old and by unknown authors (anonymous).
- Elements that are part of popular wisdom are considered.
- They deal with various issues.
- There are sayings applicable to practically any type of situation that may occur in life.
- In some cases they rhyme.
- They are said that they are not created by a single person, but that they manage to build themselves and settle in society collectively.
- The collection of proverbs is known as a proverb.
Types of sayings
There are different types of proverbs, among which are the following:
Religious sayings
Many of the sayings that are used have an origin in religion. In fact, the book of proverbs, part of the old testament, collects different phrases with which it seeks to transmit education, advice and values, one of the objectives of sayings.
Foreign sayings
In some cases the sayings are used in different countries and cultures, while in other cases they are only used in a certain country or region.
Sayings and Idioms
Idiomatic expressions are parts of phrases that have a meaning that conveys their literal meaning, this being their main difference with proverbs, which are complete phrases used to convey a teaching.
Humor sayings
Within the different types of proverbs we can highlight the humorous or funny proverbs, which are very common within the Spanish proverb, and that in the vast majority of cases refer to matters related to day-to-day life and friendship.
In the same way, other classifications are admitted, and can be distinguished by their subject matter or the type of teaching in which they are treated. There are hundreds of thousands of sayings around the world, so a general classification is too complex.
Difference between a saying and a proverb
There are many people who doubt whether a proverb and a saying are the same. To begin with, it must be taken into account that the saying is a popular expression that is formalized by its habitual use and a saying is an expression that has a moral associated with it.
Although the proverb and the saying are used as synonyms, there are several differences. The sayings make references to daily situations, with advice that comes from popular knowledge. The proverb, for its part, shows a moral in a figurative sense. A moral is the teaching that can be obtained from a story or anecdote.
In addition, it can be determined that a saying becomes a proverb when its use becomes popular.