2

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………..…3 – 5

Chapter 1. Proverbs in the English language…..…..6 - 16

1.1 . Phraseology: Phraseological units and their types………….…

4 – 11

1.2 . Proverbs as phraseological units……….……………………

12 - 16

Chapter 2. Structural and semantic peculiarities of

proverbs…………………………………………………17 - 34

2.1. Structure of the English proverbs………………………………….17 – 29

2.1.1 The Syntactic Structure of the English Proverbs………………....18 - 29

2.2. Semantic characteristics of the English proverbs...…………….….30 – 34

Conclusion……...…………………………………35 – 36

List of references……………………………………37 – 38

Summary…………………………………………………39

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INTRODUCTION

In folklore among all the variety and richness of its poetical significance

and form it is difficult to find more interesting and researchable genre than

proverbs. It was the subject of deep study of scientists in most different

ideological branches. Most of the scientists agree that the proverbs are folklore

speech where not only the person's point of view but also general people's

outlook is expressed. Proverbs play an important role in any language. They give

emotionality and expressiveness to the speech. They have certain pure linguistic

features that must always be taken into account in order to distinguish them from

ordinary sentences.

Proverbs are brief statements showing uncondensed form of the

accumulated life experience of the community and serving as conventional

practical symbols for abstract ideas. They are usually didactic and image bearing.

Many of them become very polished and there is no extra word in proverbs.

Summarizing above mentioned information the following definition can be given

to a proverb: it is a short, meaningful statement with the rhythmic organization

that people have been creating for centuries in their social and historical life.

The actuality of the study of the proverbs in English is that their usage in

speech is of great importance. The correct application of the proverbs is also

important. While translating any other work of art we should pay close attention

to this point. Without having any idea about the structural and semantic

peculiarities of the proverbs we will not be able to grasp its meaning and

therefore apply it in our everyday life.

The proverbs in their actual use are the object of this paper. The subject

of the paper is the peculiarity of their semantic and syntactic structure.

The tasks and aims of the course paper:

- to define proverbs and investigate their belonging to the

phraseology;

4

- to point out the structural characteristics of the English

proverbs and classify them according to the type of the syntactic

structure;

- to view the connection between the components of the proverb

and its meaning;

- to illustrate the peculiarities of the semantics of proverbs by

forming semantic groups.

The practical value of this paper lies in the fact that it will serve as a good

manual for those who want to master modern English language. The practical

result and all the given examples can be used in practical lessons, writing

compositions in colloquial and written speech.

We consider also that the topicality of the paper consists in the use of actual

materials on proverbs use and classification, which were mostly published in the

Internet. Quite a large number of scholars made a groundbreaking research in the

field of the English proverbs. In the course paper we used the works by V.A.

Koonin, V.V. Vinogradov, I.V. Arnold, N.N. Amosova, H.B. Antrushina. O.O.

Selivanova, A.I. Hensorsky, M.M. Pugachiv made an attempt to investigate the

problem of proverbs being phraseological units. Richard Nordquist in his work

Proverb used a number of definitions of proverb to better illustrate its meaning. A

great work was done by Dundes, Kimmerle and Milner. They tried to profoundly

analyze the structure of the proverbs. In addition, the systematization of the

semantic sphere of the proverbs can be found in the work by Professor V.N. Telia.

The results of these works and some other were included into the current

investigation.

The methods used in our paper are the methods of comparative analysis, the

method of semantico-syntactic analysis, contextual analysis, and the use of

dictionary definitions.

The paper consists of: introduction, two chapters, conclusion and the list of

references. The introduction presents brief description of the paper, its object,

subject, actuality, practical significance and fields of amplification.

5

Chapter 1 gives a general overview of the English proverbs, the

classification of phraseological units and their definitions. Focus is made on the

belonging of proverbs to phraseology.

Chapter 2 deals with the structural and semantic peculiarities of the English

proverbs. It demonstrates the semantic groups and syntactic classification of the

proverbs.

Conclusion presents the results of the research received in the process of

working on the paper. List of references covers nearly 30 sources of theoretical

materials.

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CHAPTER I. PROVERBS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1.1 PHRASEOLOGY: PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS AND THEIR

TYPES

By phraseology we mean the branch of linguistics dealing with stable word-

combinations characterized by certain transference of meaning.

A. Koonin says that “phraseology is the science of phraseological units, i.e. of

stable combinations of words with complicated semantics. Phraseological units

are word-groups that cannot be made in the process of speech. They exist in the

language as ready-made units. Just like words phraseological units express a single

notion. [9]

There is a certain divergence of opinion as to the essential features of

phraseological units as distinguished from other word-groups and the nature of

phrases that can be properly termed “phraseological units”. The terms “set-

expressions”, “set-phrases”, “phrases”, “idioms”, “word-equivalents”, “fixed

word-groups”, “collocations” denote more or less the same linguistic phenomenon

[1, p. 87], but are sometimes treated differently by linguists.

The term “set expression” implies that the basic criterion of differentiation

is stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure of word-groups.

The term “word-equivalent” stresses not only semantic but also functional

inseparability of certain word-groups, their aptness to function in speech as single

words.

The term “idioms” generally implies that the essential feature of the

linguistic units under consideration is idiomaticity or lack of motivation. Uriel

Weinreich expresses his view that an idiom is a complex phrase, the meaning of

which cannot be derived from the meanings of its elements. He developed a more

truthful supposition, claiming that an idiom is a subset of a phraseological unit.

[23, p.31 - 34] Ray Jackendoff and Charles Fillmore offered a fairly broad

definition of the idiom, which, in Fillmore’s words, reads as follows: «…an

idiomatic expression or construction is something a language user could fail to

know while knowing everything else in the language» [15, p.501 – 538].

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Unlike components of free word-groups which may vary according to the

needs of communication, member-words of phraseological units are always

reproduced as single unchangeable collocations. E.g., in a red flower (a free

phrase) the adjective red may be substituted by another adjective denoting colour,

and the word-group will retain the meaning: «the flower of a certain colour».

In the phraseological unit red tape (excessive bureaucracy or adherence to

official rules and formalities [27, p. 1221]) no such substitution is possible, as a

change of the adjective would cause a complete change in the meaning of the

group: it would then mean «tape of a certain colour». It follows that the

phraseological unit red tape is semantically non-motivated, i.e. its meaning cannot

be deduced from the meaning of its components, and that it exists as a ready-made

linguistic unit which does not allow any change of its lexical components and its

grammatical structure.

Grammatical structure of phraseological units is to a certain degree also

stable:

red tape – a phraseological unit;

red tapes – a free word-group;

Still the basic criterion is comparative lack of motivation, or idiomaticity of

the phraseological units. Semantic motivation is based on the coexistence of direct

and figurative meaning.

Many scientists devoted their works to investigation of phraseology. They

gave their definitions to the science and elaborated the classification of

phraseological units.

Taking into consideration mainly the degree of idiomaticity phraseological

units may be classified into three big groups. This classification was first suggested

by Academician V.V. Vinogradov. These groups are:

– phraseological fusions,

– phraseological unities,

– phraseological collocations, or habitual collocations. [4]

8

Phraseological fusions are completely non-motivated word-groups. The

meaning of the components has no connection at least synchronically with the

meaning of the whole group. Idiomaticity is combined with complete stability of

the lexical components and the grammatical structure of the fusion.

Phraseological unities are partially demotivated word-groups as their

meaning can usually be understood through the metaphoric meaning of the whole

phraseological unit.

Phraseological unities are usually marked by a comparatively high degree of

stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure. Phraseological

unities can have homonymous free phrases, used in direct meanings.

to skate on thin ice – to skate on thin ice (to risk);

to play the first role in the theatre – to play the first role (to dominate).

There must be not less than two notional words in metaphorical meanings.

Phraseological collocations are word-groups with a partially changed

meaning. They may be said to be clearly motivated, that is the meaning of the unit

can be easily deduced from the meanings of its constituents. In phraseological

collocations variability of components is strictly limited. They differ from

phraseological unities by the fact that one of the components in them is used in its

direct meaning, the other – in indirect meaning, and the meaning of the whole

group dominates over the meaning of its components. As figurativeness is

expressed only in one component of the phrase it is hardly felt. [4]

to break a promise, a rule, news, silence;

to meet demands, requirement, necessity;

to set free; to set at liberty;

to make money, journey;

The vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by words, but also by

phraseological units. Phraseological units are word-groups that cannot be made in

the process of speech. They are compiled in special dictionaries. The same as

words, phraseological units express a single notion and are used in a sentence as

one part of it. American and British lexicographers call such units «idioms». We

9

can mention such dictionaries as: L. Smith «Words and Idioms», V. H. Collins «A

Book of English Idioms» etc. In these dictionaries we can find words, peculiar in

their semantics (idiomatic), side by side with word-groups and sentences. V.H.

Collins writes in his Book of English Idioms: "In standard spoken and written

English today idiom is an established and essential element that, used with care,

ornaments enriches the language.” [26]

Phraseological units represent what can probably be described as the most

picturesque, colourful and expressive part of the language’s vocabulary [1, p. 86]

A.V. Koonin [9] classified phraseological units according to the way they

are formed. He suggested the classification system of phraseological units based on

the combined structural-semantic principle. He also considered the stability of

phraseological units.

According to him, phraseological units are subdivided into the following

four classes depending on their function in communication determined by their

structural-semantic characteristics.

1. Nominative phraseological units are represented by word-groups,

including the ones with one meaningful word, and coordinative phrases

of the type wear and tear, well and good.

The first class also includes word-groups with a predicative structure, such

as as the crow flies, and predictive phrases of the type see how the land lies,

ships that pass in the night.

2. Nominative-communicative phraseological units include word-groups of

the type to break the ice – the ice is broken, that is, verbal word-groups

which are transformed into a sentence when the verb is used in the

Passive Voice.

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3. Phraseological units which are neither nominative nor communicative

include interjectional word-groups (e.g. pretty kettle of fish, not for all the

tea in China).

4. Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and

sayings (e.g. he who lives by the sword dies by the sword, honesty is the

best policy, let the dead bury their dead). [9]

Dubrovska I.B. in her work “Biblical and Christian metaphor in the German

language: nominative aspect” analyzed the biblical and Christian metaphorical

units according to their structure and found out that 72,1% of the total number of

metaphorical language signs belong to phraseological BCMU (Biblical and

Christian metaphorical units). She considers phraseological BCM as a special

subclass of language metaphor having non-autonomous character of metaphorical

nomination. Biblical phraseological units are, in her words, not only “the emotive

colouring of language”, but also means of nomination. [7]

Professor A.I. Smirnitsky offered a classification system in which he tried to

combine the structural and the semantic principles. [11] He points out the

following structural types:

a) attributive-nominal such as: a month of Sundays, grey matter, a millstone

round one’s neck and many others. Units of this type are noun equivalents and can

be partly or perfectly idiomatic. In partly idiomatic units sometimes the first

component is idiomatic, e.g. high road, in other cases the second component is

idiomatic, e.g. first night. In many cases both components are idiomatic, e.g. red

tape, blind alley, bed of nail, shot in the arm and many others.

b) verb-nominal phraseological units, e.g. to read between the lines, to speak

BBC, to sweep under the carpet etc. The grammar centre of such units is the verb,

the semantic centre in many cases is the nominal component, e.g. to fall in love. In

some units the verb is both the grammar and the semantic centre, e.g. not to know

the ropes. These units can be perfectly idiomatic as well, e.g. to burn one’s boats,

to vote with one’s feet, to take to the cleaners’ etc.

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Very close to such units are word-groups of the type to have a glance, to

have a smoke. These units are not idiomatic and are treated in grammar as a special

syntactical combination, a kind of aspect.

c) phraseological repetitions, such as: now or never, part and parcel,

country and western etc. Such units can be built on antonyms, e.g. ups and downs,

back and forth; often they are formed by means of alliteration, e.g. cakes and ale,

as busy as a bee. Components in repetitions are joined by means of conjunctions.

These units are equivalents of adverbs or adjectives and have no grammar centre.

They can also be partly or perfectly idiomatic, e.g. cool as a cucumber (partly),

bread and butter (perfectly). [11]

Phraseological units can be classified as parts of speech. This classification

was suggested by I.V. Arnold. Here we have the following groups:

a) noun phraseological units denoting an object, a person, a living being, e.g.

bullet train, latchkey child, redbrick university, Green Berets;

b) verb phraseological units denoting an action, a state, a feeling, e.g. to

break the log-jam, to get on somebody’s coattails, to be on the beam, to nose out,

to make headlines;

c) adjective phraseological units denoting a quality, e.g. loose as a goose,

dull as lead;

d) adverb phraseological units, such as: with a bump, in the soup, like a

dream, like a dog with two tails;

e) preposition phraseological units, e.g. in the course of, on the stroke of;

f) interjection phraseological units, e.g. Catch me!, Well, I never! etc.[3]

In I.V. Arnold’s classification there are also sentence equivalents, proverbs,

sayings and quotations, e.g. The sky is the limit, What makes him tick, I am easy.

Proverbs are usually metaphorical, e.g. Too many cooks spoil the broth, while

sayings are as a rule non-metaphorical, e.g. Where there is a will there is a way.

To sum up, the phenomenon of phraseological units is complicated. The

classifications of the reaserchers still have common features. However, the place of

proverbs, sayings and familiar quotations with respect to set-expressions is a

12

controversial issue. In the next chapter we will try to present different opinions

concerning this problem.

1.2. PROVERBS AS A PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

The nominative structure of phraseological units is diverse and complicated.

To phraseology belong word-combinations, sentences and even microtexts. That is

why some phraseologists suggest that a line should be drawn between idioms and

proverbs and sayings. Other scientists think that proverbs and sayings should be

removed from phraseology and taken to folklore. Ukrainian researcher O. O.

Selivanova assumes that such final differentiation is “…not justified, since

proverbs and idioms incorporate features of reproducing, stability, cultural

marking, as well as high level of cumulativeness and translatability” [10, p. 645].

The question about belonging of proverbs and sayings to phraseological

stock of languages under investigation was examined in the studies of scientists of

previous century, but also did not come to unanimous solution. Supporters of the

so called ‘broad understanding’ of phraseology stress that proverbs and sayings

should be regarded as peculiar communicative type of phraseological units. A.V.

Koonin pointed out that “proverbs should be studied in folklore as well as in

phraseology, but from different points of view. In phraseology they are learned as

the units of phraseological stock of language, which are endowed by particular

semantic, stylistic and structural peculiarities” [8, p.17]. Under proverbs we

usually understand “short aphoristic sayings of intstructive meaning in

rhythmically organized form.” [9, p. 176]

V.V. Vinogradov [4] think proverbs must be studied together with

phraseological unities. Others like A.I. Smirnitsky [11] and N.N. Amosova [2,

p.123-144] think that unless they regularly form parts of other sentences it is

wrong to include them into the system of language because they are independent

units of communication. N. N. Amosova even thinks that there is no more reason

to consider them as part of phraseology. This standpoint is hardly acceptable

13

especially if we do not agree with the narrow limits of phraseology offered by this

author.

In the preface to Тhe Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs its editor J. A.

Simpson indicated that “there is an opinion that proverbs and sayings go out of

fashion, or are simplified to clichés. However, it should be mentioned that

although the role of proverbs and sayings in English literature has changed, their

popularity is still unchangeable”. [28]

Learning proverbs as the source of phraseological derivation is of great

importance to phraseology. It is also necessary to mark out those features that

differentiate proverbs and sayings from the other phraseological units: 1) taking

into consideration the syntactic structure, the proverbs are accurately structured

sentences; for example: Boys will be men [29, p.27]; 2) they express judgement,

generalized thought, morality, unlike other phraseological units that usually

denote some concept or thing: A man at sixteen will prove a child at sixty [29,

p.27]; 3) The structure of proverbs and sayings is based on contrast: Young saint,

old devil [29, p.27]; 4) proverbs and sayings are word-combinations, in which the

meaning of every word doesn’t change when we do not use it in this combination,

but the combination itself is stable due to frequent use and rhythmic form:

Children and chicken must always be picking [29, p.28].

A. I. Hensorsky indicates that “from other word-combinations they differ: a)

semantically – on the completeness of self-sufficient limited thought in them; b)

structurally – on frequent two-syllable structure of the construction and quite

stable order of its components. [5, p.175]

Through proverbs and sayings opens natural ability of the folk – creator of its

language – to profound, detailed and objective reflection of the phenomena, which

are inherent in human society and nature. M.M. Pugachov defines proverbs as

“brief, concise, and sometimes rhymed expressions, which in aphoristic form

transmit the results of the observation by man their life, practical activities and

natural phenomena.” [25, p. 6]

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In my opinion, the proverbs should exist not only in folklore but also in

phraseology. As to the argument that in many proverbs the meaning of component

parts does not show any specific changes when compared to the meaning of the

same words in free combinations, it must be pointed out that in this respect they do

not differ from many set-expressions, especially from those which are emotionally

neutral. Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration together

with set-expressions is that they often form the basis of set-expressions. For

example; the last straw breaks the camel's back: the last straw; a drowning man

will clutch at a straw: to clutch at a straw; it is useless to lock the stable door when

the steed is stolen: to lock the stable door. Both set-expressions and proverbs are

sometimes split and changed for humorous purposes, as in the following quotation

where the proverb all is not gold that glitters combine with an allusion to the set-

expression golden age: it will be an age not perhaps of gold, but at least of glitter.

The problem of defining proverbs appears to be as old as man's interest in

them. People who consciously used them or began to collect them in antiquity

obviously needed to differentiate proverbs from other gnomic devices such as

apothegms, maxims, aphorisms, quotations, etc. Jan Fredrik Kindstrand [18]

reviewed some of these early definition attempts in his fascinating paper on “The

Greek Concept of Proverbs”.

Richard Nordquist [21] in his work Proverb considers a proverb to be “a

short, pithy statement of a general truth, one that condenses common experience

into memorable form.” [21] He used the definitions suggested by Miguel de

Cervantes, Paul Hernadi, Stefan Kanfer, Sydney J. Harris. As defined by

Cervantes, proverb is "a short sentence based on long experience." "[Proverbs are]

brief, memorable, and intuitively convincing formulations of socially sanctioned

advice." (Paul Hernadi, "The Tropical Landscape of Proverbia." Style, Spring

1999) "The aphorism is a personal observation inflated into a universal truth, a

private posing as a general. A proverb is anonymous human history compressed to

the size of a seed." (Stefan Kanfer, "Proverbs or Aphorisms?" Time, July 11, 1983)

15

"A proverb is a statement we enthusiastically embrace when we are unwilling to

examine the particulars in a general situation." (Sydney J. Harris)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2006) a proverb is “a well-

known phrase or sentence that gives advice or says something that is generally

true”[27].

Proverb is a brief saying that presents a truth or some bit of useful wisdom.

It is usually based on common sense or practical experience. The effect of a

proverb is to make the wisdom it tells seem to be self-evident. The same proverb

often occurs among several different peoples. True proverbs are sayings that have

been passed from generation to generation primarily by word of mouth. They may

also have been put into written form. The Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible,

or old Testament, is the most notable collection of such sayings. They include:

Hope deferred month the heartsick.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.

A soft answer turneth away.

Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. [13]

Proverbs often find their way into literature. Many of the lower-class

characters in the Canterbury tales by Geoffrey Chaucer refer to proverbs. Miguel

de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote contains many proverbs. Cervantes collected the

proverbs from the Spanish pea sands. The term itself was introduced by Soviet

linguists to denote a specific group of phrases and is generally accepted in our

country.

The Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible is also known as the Proverbs of

Solomon because according to tradition King Solomon wrote it. However,

scholars believe that the book's assortment of moral and religious sayings, poems

and warnings come from various periods of the history.

The Book of Proverbs has earned universal interest because it contains material

valuable to all people who hope to live a life of wisdom, honesty, responsibility.

Many of the book's sayings have become part of everyday speech.

16

Proverbs were always the most vivacious and at the same time the most stable

part of the national languages, suitable competing with the sayings and aphorisms

of outstanding thinkers. Picturesqueness of national thinking was more vividly

expressed as well as their features of national character in the proverbs and

sayings. The proverbs and sayings are the paper of folklore which is short but

deep in the meaning. They express the outlook of the amount of people by their

social and ideal functions. Proverbs and sayings include some certain features of

historical development and the culture of people.

Many scholars tried to do research to show the differences between proverbs

and sayings in order to point out their border of limit. As Dr. Panos Karagiorgos

writes, “proverb is a condensed but memorable saying embodying some

important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people. Saying is a

word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations.” [16]

However, the borderline between proverbs and sayings is not clearly

discernible. One of the outstanding Russian scholars the author of "Dictionary of

vivid Russian language" and "The proverbs of Russian nation" V.I. Dahl wrote:

“saying is the bud and proverb is the fruit” [6]. A pure proverb has a

metaphorical meaning. It says one thing and it means another. There has been

much discussion, and disagreement, among modern paroemiographers on the

subject, but Aristotle had already clarified the point by stating laconically: 'Some

of the proverbs are also sayings.'

So from this point of view we can see that proverbs express the full finite

meaning and saying is a phrase which expresses the fugitive meaning. The

sayings are considered to be the part of the proverbs. We can also add that

proverbs and sayings are separate genres which are different from each other. The

meaning and explanation of these terms show that semantically their meanings

are various and this fact confirms our above given ideas.

17

CHAPTER 2. STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC PECULIARITIES OF

PROVERBS

2.1. STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH PROVERBS

This part of the course paper is dedicated to structure of English proverbs, which

are considered paradigmatically. General characteristics of proverbs syntax and the

most widely used proverbial constructions are cleared out here.

Like all sentences proverbs possess a certain syntactic structure and belong to a

certain communicative type.

The structure of English proverbs was profoundly analyzed in the work of Alan

Dundes On the Structure of the Proverb. He cites the work of Kimmerle (1947) and

Milner (1969) in particular in his discussion “On the Structure of the Proverb”.

According to him, Kimmerle's analysis “was more of surface structure than deep

structure to employ the Chomsky metaphor” [14, p.104, 1987]. As he rightly points

out, “it is highly questionable whether parts of speech per se can significantly illumine

the structure of proverbs” [14, p.104, 1987]. He also criticizes Milner's definition of

proverbs as “traditional sayings consisting of quadripartite structure” [14, p.105,

1987]. A quadripartite analysis assigns four quarters (minor segments) to a proverb

and they are grouped into two halves (major segments) which match and balance each

other. The opening half is called the ‘head’ while the word or words in each quarter are

then assigned a plus or minus value as in:

+ - + -

soon ripe soon rotten

The second half is labelled the ‘tail’. According to Dundes [14, p.107, 1987]

“one cannot define any structural element in total isolation from the whole syntagmatic

sequence or the whole paradigm” which is what Milner's quadripartite analysis does.

18

Hence, it is rejected with the discussion of the proverb “England has mild winters but

hard summers “. In this proverb, the structural significance of ‘winters’ cannot

be understood without taking ‘summers’ into account. But clearly ‘winters’ and

‘summers’ are in opposition just as ‘mild’ and ‘hard’. Milner, however, “assigns plus

or minus values to each of the quarters as though the other three quarters were not

present” [14, p.107, 1987].

After rejecting Kimmerle (1947) and Milner (1969), he proposes his own

structural definition of a proverb as:

“a traditional propositional statement consisting of at least one

descriptive element, a descriptive element consisting of a topic and comment”

[14, p.115, 1987].

He arrives at this definition from Westermarck [24, p.5-6] by replacing his

‘subject’ and ‘predicate’ with ‘topic’ and ‘comment’.

The problem with this definition is that it is too broad, and so equally suffers

from the defect of the extension. Any sentence that is not a proverb can have a topic

and a comment. For example, both ‘topics’ and ‘comments’ are present as members of

contrastive pairs in a traditional statement, such as, “A good man helps but a bad man

harms” or “Good people are humble but bad people are arrogant” (A good man / Good

people, A bad man / bad people; helps / humble, harms / arrogant). This is not a

proverb whereas “Man proposes but God disposes” (Man/God; proposes/disposes) is a

proverb. So also “A proverb is a short sentence of wisdom” [19, p.109-143] can be

contested by saying that shortness is a relative term but it can be fixed to contain a

certain number of words and so can be taken as an essential textual characteristic of

proverbs but not “a short sentence of wisdom” because “all short sentences (of

wisdom) need not be proverbs. For example, ‘Honesty is the best policy’ is a proverb

while ‘Dishonesty is the worst policy’ is not. Therefore, we need a mixed uncommon

characteristic of a proverb. It is a common linguistic characteristic found in the

prototype - categorial instantiation property of proverbs.

2.1.1 The Syntactic Structure of the English Proverbs

19

A sentence occurs in two clause patterns: 1. simple; and 2. complex (which

includes both coordination and subordination) yielding four major syntactic classes: 1.

Statements (declaratives); 2. Questions (interrogatives); 3. Commands (directives);

4.Exclamations (exclamatory). Again, each major syntactic class is further divided into

different classes and types. In a similar way are also the clauses patterns. In addition,

each dependent clause performs various functions such as subject, object, complement,

or adverbial in the superordinate clause [22, p. 315].

A complete analysis of the structure of proverbs involving not only the simple

and complex sentence clause patterns but also such aspects as phrasal coordination,

apposition, phrase structure, etc. will be worthwhile to contrastively describe the

structure of proverbial and normal languages.

In the major class of statements, in the clause pattern of complex sentence, in

the (sub-) class of nominal clause, in the that-clause type, the that – clause performs

five functions:

as the subject (e.g. That she is still alive (S) is a consolation.),

direct object (e.g. {I told him / I knew} that he was wrong (D.O.).),

subject complement (e.g. The assumption is that things will improve (S.C.).),

appositive (e.g. Your assumption, that things will improve, is unfounded.), and

adjectival complement (e.g. I’m sure that things will improve (Adj.C).

in normal language [22, p. 316 –17]. Whereas in proverbs, only three functions

are enumerated in the English examples. In spite of that, it does not mean the absence

of the remaining two functions in proverbs; it only means that so far they have not

been made use of, or not recorded, or not identified. That it is so is because of the

open-ended nature of the form of proverbs. For example, the syntactic structure of a

proverb is historically not found to be absolute as we see in different variations of the

same proverb starting from the Biblical Time

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”:

Do as you would be done by;

Do it to him before he does it to you;

Do others before they do you;

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Do unto others as others do unto you;

Do unto others as though you were the others;

Do unto others before they do to you;

Don’t do to others what you would not have done to you;

What you do not like done to yourself – do not do to others.

It appears that almost all the major structures up to the clause type are made use

of in the formation of proverbs. Owing to the constraints of space, only a few

representative samples are provided.

Simple Sentence Proverbs

According to Quirk and Greenbaum [22, p.166 – 67], simple sentences are

divided into seven clause types, based on the presence of the normally obligatory

elements in a clause:

1. SVA; 2. SVC ; 3. SVO; 4. SVOA; 5. SVOC; 6. SVOO; and 7. SV

[where S is subject; V verb; O object; A adverbial; and C complement].

In proverbs also, all these are used even though the frequency of their

occurrence may vary. For example, statements and commands are numerous while

questions are very few and exclamations rare – as can be noticed from a reading of the

two proverbial dictionaries ADAP (A Dictionary of American Proverbs by Mieder)

and ODEP (The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs by Wilson) – in the major

syntactic classes for simple sentence clause types. Possibly, even among the seven

clause types, some may be more, some may be less. For example, the incidence of

SVOO and SVOC type clauses is less while that of others is more. [14]

A few examples for simple sentence proverbs are given below.

a. Declaratives

SVA [e.g. Mary is in the house.]

A woman’s place is in the house; The absent are always in the wrong.

SVC [e.g. Mary is (kind / a nurse).]

Love is blind; No one is infallible; Ignorance is bliss.

SVO [e.g. somebody caught the ball.]

Familiarity breeds contempt; A stitch in time saves nine.

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SVOA [e.g. I put the plate on the table.]

You can’t put a round peg in a square hole; Dogs don’t kill the sheep at

home;

SVOC [e.g. we have proved him (wrong / a fool).]

Six feet under make all men equal; The pot calls the kettle black;

SVOO [e.g. she gives me expensive presents.]

Every man thinks his own geese swans; You can’t teach an old horse new

tricks.

SV [e.g. The child laughed.]

Money talks; Time flies; A barking dog never bites.

b. Interrogatives

Proverbs do not initiate an exchange in their basic form. A question is basically

a request for an answer – be it an yes/no question or Wh - question or Alternative

question – but proverbs are not requests for answers and hence they do not belong to

the major class of interrogatives. They are not even exclamatory questions in the

strictest sense but they are proper rhetorical questions implying positive or negative

assertion [22, p.191 – 200]. A few examples of interrogative proverbs are given below.

Rhetorical Questions

Who will bell the cat? ; What is a pound of butter among a kennel of

hounds?

Question / Answer Proverbs

There are some proverbs in English which have both a question and an answer

joined together as a set, i.e., the rhetorical question is provided with the positive or

negative assertion plus a comment as the answer – which will not be in rhetorical

question type proverbs.

Is a woman ever satisfied? No, if she were she wouldn’t be a woman; Avarice

and happiness never saw each other; How, then, should they be acquainted?

In a rare combination of a question with an answer to indicate refusal is listed as

a proverb in ODEP:

a) Which way to London? A poke full of plums.

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In another instance, an elicitation is given with an answer as part of the proverb:

b) What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppy dog’s tails that’s

what little boys are made of.

c. Imperatives

Commands are classified as:

Commands with / without a Subject

You must cut your coat according to the cloth; Every man should cultivate

his own garden;

Commands with Let

Let every cat cover up his own stink; Let one hat cover one face.

Negative Commands

Don’t cast your pearls before swine;

Persuasive Imperatives

Persuasive imperatives are created by the addition of ‘do’ before the main

verb in English and they are rare in English proverbs.

d. Exclamations

Exclamations in English proverbs are not common. However, ODEP gives a few

examples of exclamations in simple and complex sentences.

God bless the duke of Argyle! Farewell, Gentle Geoffrey!

Normally, proverbs in other syntactic classes can be converted into an

exclamation depending upon the context. For example, a declarative proverb

‘ A stitch in time saves nine!’ into: ‘ A stitch in time saves nine! ’to express the

emotional realization of the value of a stitch in time. Proverbs with what or how

introducing the initial phrase are rare.

Complex Sentence Proverbs

In Quirk and Greenbaum (1989), unlike earlier classifications, a complex

sentence which contains more than one clause consists of both coordinate and

subordinate clauses. It can be finite, non-finite and verbless. In addition, it can have

nominal, adverbial, comparative, and comment clauses. Moreover, each of these

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four clauses has its own sub-varieties. What is more, each sub-variety performs

different functions such as subject, object, etc. in a sentence.

Based on the above-mentioned classification, a clausal analysis of English

proverbs is done in order to know their syntactic structure at the complex sentence

level.

a. Coordination in Proverbs

In proverbial clausal coordination, the three (important) coordinators and, or,

and but are represented both syndetically (with coordinators present), and

asyndetically (without coordinators). Quasi – coordination is expressed by as well as,

as much as, rather than, and more than.

Syndetic Coordination by And, Or, and But

Give a beggar a horse and he’ll ride it to death; Look before or you’ll find

yourself behind; Eagles fly alone, but sheep flock together.

Asyndetic Coordination

You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours. [(and) I’ll…] Sink, swim or die. [ (or)

swim…] Beauty lasts only a day; ugly holds its own. [(but) ugly…]

Quasi – Coordination by

As Well As, As Much As, Rather Than, and More than

Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb;

You learn as much ripping as sewing;

There are few who would rather be hated than laughed at;

Keep no more cats than will catch mice;

In addition to clausal coordination, and and or also function as phrasal

coordinators in general while but is used to link adjective phrases and adverb phrases

only in simple and complex sentences [22, p. 267].

Phrasal Coordination in Complex Sentences

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me;

If you can’t go over or under, go through;

Whistling girls or crowing hens are neither fit for God nor men.

b. Subordination in Proverbs

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Subordination is a non-symmetrical relation, holding between two clauses in

such a way that one is a constituent or part of the other [22, p.309]. In English

proverbs, subordination occurs frequently and even with complexity of subordinate

clauses (SC) within main and subordinate clauses.

If you can’t beat them (1SC), join them; When you open a door (1SC) you do

not know how many rooms lie beyond (2SC); If you do(1SC) what you should not

(2SC), you must hear what you would not (3SC).

A few examples are given below for each main type of a subordinate clause.

b.1. Nominal Clause

UGE (A University Grammar of English by Quirk&Greenbaum, 1989) mentions

six types of nominal clauses. All these are used in the formation of English proverbs.

A few examples are given below for each type of a clause.

That – Clause

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change. [- subject complement] ;

It is not good that the man should be alone. [- adjectival complement];

If you fear that people will know, don’t do it. [- direct object]

Interrogative Clause

It all depends on whose ox is gored;

Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are;

You can’t tell what a man can do.

Nominal Relative Clauses

Whoever steals the neighbour’s shirt usually dies without his own;

Home is where the heart is;

To-infinitive Nominal Clauses

It is hard to carry a full cup;

The easiest way to lose ground in an argument is to throw mud.

Nominal – ing Clauses

God never helps those who are caught helping themselves.

Bare Infinitive and Verbless Clauses

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Bare infinitive and verbless clauses are rare in proverbs. However, on common

structure in which the to of the infinitive is optionally omitted is in the comparative

constructions with better. For example;

Better cut the shoe than pinch the foot.

Such constructions are the elliptical forms of [It is better to … than to ….] type.

b. Adverbial Clause

According to UGE [22, p.322 – 330], adverbial clauses can be divided into

twelve important types. They are illustrated below with proverbial examples.

Clauses of Time (with Subordinators after, before, until, till, when,

etc.)

It is too late to close the well after the goat has fallen in;

Clauses of Place (where, wherever)

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread;

Clauses of condition and concession

a. Condition

a. If you want to dance, you must pay the fiddler;

b. Concession

Though most be players, some must be spectators;

Clauses of Reason or Cause

An ass thinks himself a scholar because he is loaded with books.

Clauses of Circumstance

Clauses of circumstance with the special circumstantial compound conjunction

‘seeing (that)’ are rare in proverbs. However, because, since, and as are observed as

clauses of circumstance in proverbs in addition to clauses of reason or cause.

Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.

Clauses of Purpose

One must first scale the mountain in order to view the plain;

Clauses of Result

The leopard is absent, so they play with the cubs;

Clauses of Manner and Comparison

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Short tailed dog wag his tail same as a long ’un;

Clauses of Proportion and Preference

The bigger the tree, the harder she falls;

Non – finite and Verbless Clauses (Implied Subject)

Truth is simple, requiring neither study nor art;

C. Comparative Sentences

In comparative clauses, “the comparative element can be any of the main

elements of clause structure (apart from the verb) [22]. It can occur as the subject,

subject complement, direct object, indirect object (very rarely), and an adjunct. A few

examples are given below.

Equational (as…as) and Differentiating (less…than ;

more….than)

Sequences of Correlation

(It is) better (to have) a dry morsel with quietness than (to have) a house full of

sacrifice with strife;

Enough and Too

A rainbow is big enough for everyone to look at; You are never too wise to

learn;

So …. (that) and such….(that)

There is no pain so great that time will not soften;

E. Comment Clauses

Comment clauses may be disjuncts or conjuncts such as : 1. as you probably

know ; 2. I believe (main clauses) ; 3. as you know (adverbial clause) ; 4. What’s more

(relative clause) ; 5. to be honest (to – infinitive clause) ; 6. speaking as a layman (-ing

clause) ; 7. stated bluntly (-ed clause), etc. [22, p.335 – 36] The very nature of

comment clauses such as these which give informality or warmth are not a feature of

proverbs. As such, their occurrence is very rare. For example,

The cat may look at a king, they say, but would rather look at a mouse any day.

However, clauses that introduce direct speech may be considered comment clauses

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[22, p.337]. Therefore, ‘Wellerisms’ can be analysed in terms of comment clauses –

wellerisms are direct speech of notations.

Wellerisms

“Every man to his taste”, said the farmer when he kissed the cow .

Proverbs with Parenthetic Matter

There are certain proverbs which contain two units separated by dashes,

commas, or semicolons – one main unit and another ‘aside’ or comment.

There are always two sides to every argument – his and the wrong side.

F. Other Syntactic Classes (Complex Sentence)

Among complex sentences also, we get questions, imperatives, and expressions

in proverbs. Imperatives are very common while rhetorical questions are a few and

expressive the least in American English.

Rhetorical Questions

What’s the good of a fair apple if it has a worm in its heart?

Imperatives (Complex Sentences)

When you see a mule’s fixing to throw you, you jes’ git off.

Exclamations (Complex Sentence)

Walk, drab, walk!

Proverbs with the exclamatory structure introduced by wh - words such as:

What a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive.

G. Other Types of Adjective Clauses

Quirk and Greenbaum [22, p. 378 – 83; 119 – 20] analyse relative, verbless, and

contingent adjective clauses.

Relative Clause

Relative clauses are very highly productive, especially, after pronouns occurring

at the beginning of a proverb. The relative pronoun in a relative clause agrees with the

head on the basis of a two-term gender system, personal and non-personal. In such

cases, the pronoun ‘who/which’ is used.

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However, in many cases in (American) English, a general pronoun ‘that’ which

is ‘independent of the personal or non-personal character of the antecedent and also of

the function of the pronoun in relative clause’ [22, p. 300] is used. A few examples are

given below to illustrate its use in proverbs.

He who scatters thorns should not go bare-footed.

Case is used to indicate the status of the relative pronoun in its clause. The

relative pronoun can indicate whether it is the subject of the relative clause or the

object or the prepositional complement:

He who laughs last just got the joke. [who as the subject of the relative

clause]

Verbless Adjective Clause

An adjective clause, according to Quirk and Greenbaum [22, p. 119], can

function as a verbless clause as in the following examples :

(By then) nervous, the man opened the letter.

Contingent Adjective Clause

A contingent adjective clause expresses the circumstance or condition under

which what is said in the superordinate clause applies. For example,

(When) enthusiastic, they make good students.

Such clauses are present in proverbs but they are not easily encountered.

Friendship, like persimmons, is good only when ripe.

The former offers an interesting example of how syntactic structuration is

variable and fluid. For example, in ‘The time to pick berries is when they’re ripe’,

‘when they’re ripe’ is a full subordinate clause which is a little more expanded in

another proverb.

In practice proverbs are represented by all possible types of sentences, with the

obvious exception of nominative sentence consisting of one word.

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2.2. SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH PROVERBS

Proverbs were always the most vivacious and at the same time the most

stable part of the national languages, suitable competing with the sayings and

aphorisms of outstanding thinkers. In the proverbs and sayings picturesqueness of

national thinking was more vividly expressed as well as their features of national

character.

The semantic sphere of proverbs is very wide and cannot limit them. In

order to systematize them Professor V.N. Teliya [12, p.103-131] suggested the

following principal macrocomponents (formed by semantic ultimate constituents)

in the semantic structure of phraseological units:

1. Denotational (descriptive) macrocomponent contains the information

about the objective reality, it is the procedure connected with categorization, i.e.

the classification of phenomena of the reality, based on the typical idea about what

is denoted by a phraseological unit (about denotatum).

2. Evaluational macrocomponent contains the information about the value

of what is denoted by a phraseological unit, i.e. what value the speaker sees in this

or that object / phenomenon of reality – the denotatum. The rational evaluation

may be:

a) positive: a home from home – ‘a place or situation where one

feels completely happy and at ease’;

b) negative: the lion’s den – ‘a place of great danger’;

c) neutral: in the flesh – ‘in bodily form’.

3. Motivational macrocomponent correlates with the notion of the inner

form of phraseological unit. The notion ‘motivation of a phraseological unit’ can

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be defined as the aptness of ‘the literal reading’ of a unit to be associated with the

denotational and evaluational aspects of meaning. For example, the literal reading

of the phraseological unit to have broad shoulders is physical strength of a person.

The idea is indicative of a person’s strength becomes the base for transference and

forms the meaning of ‘being able to bear the full weight of one’s responsibilities’.

4. Emotive macrocomponent is the contents of subjective modality

expressing feeling-relation to what is denoted by a phraseological unit within the

range of approval / disapproval, for example, a leading light in something – ‘a

person who is important in a particular group’ (spoken with approval), to lead a

cat and dog life – ‘used to describe a husband and wife who quarrel furiously with

each other most of the time’ (spoken with disapproval).

5. Stylistic macrocomponent points to the communicative register in which

a phraseological unit is used and to the social-role relationships between the

participants of communication:

a) formal: sick at heart – ‘very sad’;

b) informal: be sick to death – ‘to be angry and bored because

something unpleasant has been happening for too long’;

c) neutral: pass by on the other side – ‘to ignore a person who

needs help’.

6. Grammatical macrocomponent contains the information about all

possible morphological and syntactic changes of a phraseological unit, for

instance, to be in deep water = to be in deep waters; to take away smb’s breath =

to take smb’s breath away; Achilles’s heel = the heel of Achilles.

7. Gender macrocomponent may be expressed explicitly, i.e. determined

by the structure and / or semantics of a phraseological unit, and in that case it

points out to the class of objects denoted by the phraseological unit: men, women,

people (both men and women). For instance, compare the phraseological units

every Tom, Dick and Harry meaning ‘every or any man’ and every Tom, Dick and

Sheila which denotes ‘every or any man and woman’.

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Gender macrocomponent may be expressed implicitly and then it denotes

the initial (or historical) reference of a phraseological unit, for example, to wash

one’s dirty linen in public – ‘discuss or argue about one’s personal affairs in

public’. The implicit presence of the gender macrocomponent in this

phraseological unit is conditioned by the idea about traditional women’s work (cf.

with Ukrainian: виносити сміття з хати). The implicit gender macrocomponent

is defined within the range of three conceptual spheres: masculine, feminine,

intergender. Compare, for instance, the implicitly expressed intergender

macrocomponent in to feel like royalty meaning ‘to feel like a member of the

Royal Family, to feel majestic’ and its counterparts, i.e. phraseological units with

explicitly expressed gender macrocomponent, to feel like a queen and to feel like a

king.

Because proverbs are usually spoken and not written, they relate to everyday

wisdom people want to convey in speech. As a result, they relate matters or everyday

interest, such as the weather: March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, folk

medicine or observations about health: An apple a day keeps the doctor away and

Early to bed, early to rise, religion: Man proposes, God disposes, family: Spare the

rod and spoil the child, the law: A man's house is his castle, and superstitions: Marry

in March, repent always.

Proverbs are usually illustrated with homely imagery using household objects,

farm animals, pets, and events of daily life. Many proverbs are based on customs that

are obsolete. For example, in English, the proverb If the cap fits, wear it refers to the

medieval fool's cap used in parts of Europe. Quite frequently, a proverb's origin is

unknown. The same proverb can be found in the same language in several forms. For

example, in English, the proverb Money is the root of all evil is also used as The love

of money is the root of all evil.

The proverbs describe the every branch of people's life. The fact is that

proverbs and sayings are similar in meaning in spite of their diversity in form and

language.

32

While investigating on the given course paper theme we have analyzed

proverbs on the semantic point of view. We have come across on the following

noticeable themes, such as Friendship, Motherland, Time, Knowledge, Beauty,

Health, Work, and a lot other different subjects. We have classified some example

on the given topics:

Friendship

1. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

2. A friend's frown is better than a foe's smile.

3. Among friends all things are common.

4. Even reckoning makes long friends.

5. Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl.

Motherland

1. East or West home is best.

2. Every bird likes its own nest.

3. There is no place like home.

4. Never cast dirt into that fountain if which you have sometimes drunk.

5. Don't cut the bough you are standing on.

Time

1. Time and tide wait for no man.

2. Time cures all things.

3. Time flies.

4. Time is money.

5. Time is wonders

Knowledge

1. To know everything is to know nothing.

2. Soon learnt soon forgotten.

3. Live and learn.

4. It's never too late to learn.

5. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Beauty

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1. All that glitters is not gold.

2. Appearances are deceptive.

3. Handsome is as handsome does.

4. There is no rose without a thorn.

Health

1. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

2. A sound mind in a sound body.

3. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

4. Good health is above wealth.

5. Health is not valued till sickness comes.

Work

1. A bad workman always blames his tools.

2. A good beginning is half the worn.

3 A good beginning makes a good ending.

4. An attempt is not torture.

5. All is well that ends well.

6. As a man sows so let him reap.

7. Chickens are counted in autumn.

8. Man proposes bad disposes.

9. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

The meaning of the proverbs can by fully or partly figurative. A. Koonin

differentiates between one- and two-component proverbs [Koonin, p.177-178].

Proverbs with metaphorical sense of one component: brevity is the soul of

wit (“Hamlet”), calamity is a man's true touchstone - людина пізнається в біді;

familiarity breeds contempt – що менше знаєш, то , більше цінуєш; like begets

like – яблуко від яблуні не далеко падає; like cures like - клин клином

вибивають.

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In proverbs like begets like and like cures like the word ‘like’ stands in the

beginning and in the end, forming a frame. Such repetition seldom occurs in

proverbs.

Necessity is the mother of invention - „необхідність – мати

винахідливості"; procrastination is the thief of time – “відкладати – значить

красти час”.

Proverbs with two metaphorical components: faults are thick where love is

thin – багато недостатків бачать в тих, кого не люблять; speech is silver, but

silence is golden – слово – срібло, мовчання - золото; that which was bitter to

endure may be sweet to remember - „деколи приємно згадати пережитий біль".

Along with two distant but relative to each other metaphorical components is

possible the presence in the proverbs of metaphorical word-combination: life is not

a bed of roses – “життя прожити – не поле перейти”.

There is quite a large number of proverbs with comparative meaning in

modern English: blood is thicker than water – кров не вода; a miss is as good as a

mile – трішки – не рахується; words cut (or hurt) more than swords – слова

ранять більше, ніж меч; злі язики - гострий меч.

Proverbs are characterized by having a single meaning. This is probably due

to a high degree of generality of their meaning and immobility in the text [9,

p.178]

Proverbs contain deep sense and national wisdom, which have roots far in

the past. They reflect people’s way of thinking and perception of the world. The

proverbs are the paper of folklore which is short but deep in the meaning. They

express the outlook of the amount of people by their social and ideal functions.

Proverbs and sayings include certain features of historical development and the

culture of people.

35

CONCLUSION

The paper makes up the part of the research devoted to the special stratum of

the English proverbs. Focus is made on the role and advantages of using proverbs,

peculiarities of their meaning and structural complexity.

The investigation of the proverbs and its effective use in everyday life has

become a popular and requisite material recently. A classification of proverbs

according to their syntactical structure and semantic characteristics are presented.

Taking into consideration the analysis of the research investigated, we may

present the following results:

- the opinions of different scholars on the subject of proverbs as

phraseolgical units were presented;

- the definition of proverbs as was introduced;

- the structural characteristics of the English proverbs and their

classification according to the type of the syntactic structure were examined;

- the components of the semantic sphere of the proverbs were

described;

- the peculiarities of structure of the proverbs and their semantic character

were illustrated by multiple examples.

Because proverbs are the speaker’s and writer's most important tools, the use

of proverbs must be an important and ongoing part of classroom learning. The

constant use and presence of proverbs in a student's vocabulary will have a direct

36

influence upon the descriptiveness, accuracy, and quality of his or her speaking

and writing.

After conducting different researches I came to the conclusion that we are

not likely to use the English proverbs properly without knowing their exact

meaning and the sphere of application. To understand a proverb really well, one

must consider it in terms of the images it employs. A profound work in the field of

semantic structure of the proverbs was done by V.N. Teliya and A.V. Koonin. The

former suggests the principal macrocomponents (formed by semantic ultimate

constituents) in the semantic structure of phraseological units, while the latter

differentiates between one- and two-component proverbs.

The investigation by Alan Dundes shows that a sentence occurs in two clause

patterns: 1. simple; and 2. complex yielding four major syntactic classes: 1.

Statements (declaratives); 2. Questions (interrogatives); 3. Commands (directives);

4.Exclamations (exclamatory). Again, each major syntactic class is further divided

into different classes and types. In a similar way are also the clauses patterns. In

addition, each dependent clause performs various functions such as subject, object,

complement, or adverbial in the superordinate clause.

This investigation proved that conformity of the structure and meaning is

clearly manifested. Like all sentences, proverbs possess a certain syntactic

structure and belong to a certain communicative type. According to it, proverbs are

more or less homogenous.

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SUMMARY

Роботу присвячено дослідженню структурних та семантичних

особливостей англійських прислів’їв, а також їх вживанню у письмі та

повсякденному житті.

В роботі розглянуто поняття фразеологічної одиниці та проблему

приналежності прислів’я до фразеології. В теоретичній частині даної роботи

описані принципи класифікації фразеологічних одиниць, запропоновані

видатними науковцями, котрі працювали цій у сфері.

Дослідження побудоване на аналізі результатів опрацювання наукових

праць, присвячених дослідженню фразеології та прислів’ю зокрема. Увага

зосереджена на ролі прислів’їв у сфері фразеології та народному житті. На

основі зроблених висновків було дане визначення терміну «прислів’я».

У практичній частині до уваги взято структуру речення у прислів’ях та

їх семантику. Розглянуто погляди науковців та дослідників щодо

компонентів, які визначають семантичні ознаки прислів’я. Окрім цього,

структурні та семантичні особливості англійських прислів’ів були

проілюстровані чималими прикладами.

Результати дослідження можуть стати вагомим внеском до напрацювань

у галузі фразеології, а також допоміжним матеріалом у вивченні

особливостей прислів’я.

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