An Analysis of Social Proverbs from the Perspective of Cultural Semiotics

Tehseem

2022

GRR

This research highlights the use of social proverbs as cultural signs in society that help in building hope and optimism expressed through language. Proverbs related to society represent social life, including life perspectives, experiences, and standards of behavior, and the purpose of this research paper is to build a relation of social proverbs as the language of hope to culture. For the present research, Bakhtinian semiotic theory is used as a theoretical framework opted from Voloshinov’s essay Marxism and the philosophy of language (1986), which deals with speech utterances and ideological signs that functions like language in society. In the Bakhtin Circle, ideology is defined as the entirety of social and natural truth refraction and reflection in the cognitive system, which is highly impacted by views, values, and belief systems originating from the mental process of culture. As ideological indicators contain the underlying structure's substance and ideological cues are social signals in this manner, and awareness emerges from the substance of ideological symbols. The complexity, which takes the form of social sayings, enters people's minds and shapes their thoughts; theoretical ethnic notions are turned into realistic perceptions and behaviors that allow civilization to survive.

Section: Ideology and Culture's Deep Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ideology and Culture's Deep Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bakhtinian Theory On Sign Ideology and Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Building Hope and Optimism Through Language: A Sociocultural Perspective

Tehseem

2022

GRR

“…The "social strategy" function though seemingly inherent in each proverb is probably more conspicuous in the so called "social proverbs", i.e. those which reveal "the social dimension of culture" (Wen Zhao, 2012Zhao, : 2076. Studying social proverbs Wen Zhao (p. 2076) states that being oriented towards an addressee, either an individual, or a social group, they "convey ideologies, views on society and nature, to the broader masses" (p. 2076).…”

Section: Pragmatics Of Proverb Quotingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pragmatics of Chinese Proverb Quoting in the English and the Russian-Language Mass Media of PRC

Николаева

Yakovleva

2015

ASS

Mass media of PRC in languages others than Chinese native (in the present research English and Russian) are a form of cross-cultural communication between China and the rest of the world. In other-language mass media China not only presents its views and attitude to the events described, but also reveals China "the whole self" by employing the fragments of its traditional verbal culture, proverbs in particular being the ways of self-expression. However, the research provided evidence that the foreign-language press of China carefully considers the appropriateness of proverb quotations, and thoroughly estimates the degree of transmitted by them informal and indirect culture-based information, which the target audience is capable or incapable to grasp, share, and abide by. Proverbs generally being among the most indirect strategies of reasoning and persuasion in some contextual use may convey straightforward and strict judgments. The paper studies significant theoretical issues and application aspects of proverb quoting in the foreign-language press of PRC which depends on crucial questions of cross-cultural pragmatics: first, the addressor's natural urge for culture-based self-expression alongside with striving for intelligibility to the foreign target audience, and second, the addressor's choice of higher / lower context in communication with different cultures-addressees. This accounts for the discrepancy between presentation of information in the English-language press of PRC and the Russian-language periodical of China. Both questions suggest a wide range of options in proverb quoting (preserving/omitting a proverb, original proverb with glossing / loan translation, meaning / connotation modulation of a proverb, etc).

Ideological representations of women in Jordanian folk proverbs from the perspective of cultural semiotics

Al-Khawaldeh,

Banikalef,

Rababah

et al. 2024

Humanit Soc Sci Commun

This study analyses the semiotics of proverbs by presenting the ideological portrayals of women in Jordanian folk proverbs. The content analysis of the proverbs shows that women are represented both positively and negatively, though they are preponderantly depicted negatively in the majority of the analysed proverbs. They are represented negatively as a symbol of feebleness, foolishness, disgrace, cunning, deception, jealousy and reproduction. Few are the proverbs that elevate the status of women, and if they do, it is on the condition that they are confined to particular restricted gender roles, such as mothers, sisters, wives and daughters providing kindness, help, motivation, and comfort to others. The findings uncover how socially dominant ideologies can influence the way power is practiced in the context of gender relations. They also show the immense significance of such proverbs as a social discourse that has been long used for perpetuating gendered roles and constructing and interpreting related realities, thus affecting social structures and relationships. The inferiority of women constitutes the basis of their assigned roles and responsibilities in various life domains. The proverbs have the ideological indexicals of underestimating women, showing their position in society and also reminding them of their roles.