Cultural Linguistics as an investigative framework for paremiology: comparing time in English and Persian

Abstract

This paper introduces Cultural Linguistics to the analysis of proverbs using the three analytical tools of cultural metaphor, cultural schema, and cultural category, which are collectively referred to as cultural conceptualisations. To substantiate this, the paper reports on a study in which English and Persian cross-culturally equivalent proverbs related to the concept of time were scrutinised using this analytical framework. The results revealed a number of similar and different images of time in the proverbs investigated metaphorically and schematically but not categorically. The paper concludes that such analysis can assist paremiologists to deepen their understanding of proverbs especially in comparative paremiology from different languages with distinct cultural backgrounds.Cet article présente la linguistique culturelle à l'analyse des proverbes en utilisant les trois outils d'analyse de la métaphore culturelle, schéma culturel et catégorie culturelle, qui sont collectivement appelés conceptualisations culturelles. A l'appui de ce fait, les rapports de papier sur une étude dans laquelle anglais et persan proverbes inter culturellement équivalents liés à la notion de temps ont été examinés à l'aide de ce cadre analytique. Les résultats ont révélé un certain nombre d'images similaires et différentes des temps dans les proverbes étudiés métaphoriquement et schématiquement, mais pas catégoriquement. L'article conclut que cette analyse peut aider les paremiologists à approfondir leur compréhension de proverbes particulièrement dans le comparatif paremiologie de langues différentes.

Anthropological Linguistics

“…While our discussion so far reflects the situational and contextual significance of the meaning-making process of proverbs, another important and related aspect has been highlighted by authors such as Dabbagh (2016). This pertains to the importance of a cultural linguistic approach to the study of proverbs, which highlights the cognitive processes underlying cultural conceptualizations.…”

“…Using proverbs may enable speakers to convey a meaning in a polite or figurative way (especially when communicating a delicate or taboo topic), to spice up a conversation or make an illustrative point, to transmit social and moral values, to educate and also to convey cultural values. Moreover, proverbs provide insights into people's worldviews and the ways in which people reflect on society (see Dabbagh, 2016). This worldview and societal moral stance is also deeply inscribed in the proverb(s) presented in the epigraph: This string of related proverbs explicitly refers to the communal aspect of humanity in Kiswahili culture: it is utu that makes humans human; it is also what differentiates humans from things and it is only through other human beings that humans are human.…”

Unraveling the Human Characters Represented in Dutch Water Proverbs: A Cultural Linguistic Perspective

“…Linguistically, proverbs are groups of lexical components in the form of short and complete phrases or sentences, which are coded by speakers or writers and translated by listeners in certain language contexts, which express ideas and thoughts indirectly/impliedly (Akbar, 2019;AL-Mutalabi, 2019;Dabbagh, 2016). In a broad sense, proverbs are valuable products of the nation in the form of thoughts, realities, attitudes, feelings, experiences, or human knowledge, that produce wisdom passed down from generation to generation, as the nation's cultural heritage (AL-Mutalabi, 2019; Matindas et al, 2020;Solijonovich, 2022).…”

Applying Cultural Linguistics to Translation Studies: A New Model for Humour Translation

“…We further believe that such a cultural conceptualisation-based analysis of translation moves Translation Studies over and beyond the current still language-oriented analyses (cf. Dabbagh, 2017).…”