1887
image of Timeless wisdom or shifting meaning?

Abstract

This study investigates the cross linguistic transmission and semantic development of death related proverbs in English, focusing on expressions with counterparts in Latin, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese. Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and cognitive semantic approaches, the analysis examines whether the metaphorical frameworks embedded in foreign originated proverbs are retained, partially shifted, or reinterpreted in English. A three level analytical scale is employed to assess degrees of semantic continuity between donor language proverbs and their English counterparts. A dataset of 44 death related proverbs was compiled from the and supplemented with etymological information. Contemporary usage was examined through corpus analysis of newspaper data from , providing empirical evidence of how these proverbs function in modern discourse. The findings reveal patterns of metaphorical persistence and transformation, illustrating how linguistic borrowing and cultural exchange shape the evolution of figurative meaning. Beyond linguistic comparison, the study contributes to broader discussions of cultural transmission and metaphorical universality, showing how proverb adaptation reflects both shared cognitive structures and culture specific reinterpretations.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ijolc.24027.lan
2026-03-23
2026-04-21
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/10.1075/ijolc.24027.lan/ijolc.24027.lan.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/ijolc.24027.lan&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Abdullaeva, N. E.
    (2021) Linguocultural and semantic features of English and Uzbek proverbs. Web of Scientist: International Scientific Research Journal, (), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Barley, N. F.
    (1972) A Structural approach to the proverb and maxim with special reference to the Anglo-Saxon Corpus. Proverbium, , –.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Belkhir, S.
    (Ed.) (2024) Proverbs within Cognitive Linguistics: State of the art. Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/clscc.16
    https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.16 [Google Scholar]
  4. Buja, E.
    (2018) Proverb as a means of crossing cultural borders. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, , –. 10.2478/ausp‑2018‑0015
    https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2018-0015 [Google Scholar]
  5. Cram, D.
    (1983) The linguistic status of the proverb. Cahiers de Lexicologie, , –.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Dobrovolk’skij, D., & Piirainen, E.
    (2022) Figurative language: Cross-cultural and cross Linguistic Perspectives. Berlin: De Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Dobrovolk’skij, D. & Piirainen, E.
    (2022) Figurative Language: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives. Berlin: De Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Gibbs, R.
    (1994) The poetics of mind: Figurative thought, language and understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Gibbs, R. W. & Beitel, D.
    (1995) What proverb understanding reveals about how people think. Psychological Bulletin, (), –. 10.1037/0033‑2909.118.1.133
    https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.133 [Google Scholar]
  10. Grzybek, P.
    (1994) Proverb. InW. A. Koch (Ed.), Simple forms: An encyclopaedia of simple text-types in lore and literature (pp.–). Bochum: Brockmeyer.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Holbek, B.
    (1970) Proverb style. Proverbium, , –.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Honeck, R.
    (1997) A proverb in mind: The cognitive science of proverbial wit and wisdom. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Hrisztova-Gotthardt, H., & Varga, M. A.
    (Eds.) (2015) Introduction to paremiology: A comprehensive guide to proverb studies. Warsaw: De Gruyter Open. 10.2478/9783110410167
    https://doi.org/10.2478/9783110410167 [Google Scholar]
  14. Klégr, A.
    (2019) Proverbs and death: The messages of proverbs containing the word death. InR. Soares & O. Lauhakangas (Eds.), 12th Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP18 Proceedings (pp.–). Tavira: AIO-IAP.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Kövecses, Z.
    (2004) Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. (2010) Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. (2015) Where metaphors come from: Reconsidering context in metaphor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190224868.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190224868.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  18. (2024) Proverbs in Extended Conceptual Metaphor Theory. InS. Belkhir (Ed.), Proverbs within Cognitive Linguistics: State of the art. Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts (pp.–). Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/clscc.16.01kov
    https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.16.01kov [Google Scholar]
  19. Köveczes, Z., & Szabó, P.
    (1996) Idioms: A view from Cognitive Semantics. Applied Linguistics, (), –. 10.1093/applin/17.3.326
    https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/17.3.326 [Google Scholar]
  20. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M.
    (1980) Metaphors we live by. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Lakoff, G. & Turner, M.
    (1989) More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  22. Liu, K.
    (2020) On Chinese translation of English proverbs: A dynamic equivalence perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, (), –. 10.17507/tpls.1011.14
    https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1011.14 [Google Scholar]
  23. Mieder, W.
    (2008) Proverbs speak louder than words: Folk wisdom in art, culture, folklore, history, literature and mass media. New York: Lang. 10.3726/978‑1‑4539‑0386‑5
    https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-0386-5 [Google Scholar]
  24. (2009) International bibliography of paremiology and phraseology. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/mieder
    https://doi.org/10.1515/mieder [Google Scholar]
  25. Norrick, N. R.
    (1985) How proverbs mean: Semantic studies in English proverbs. Berlin: Mouton. 10.1515/9783110881974
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110881974 [Google Scholar]
  26. Orlova, T. G., & Nikulina, E. F.
    (2016) On good and evil expression in English and Russian proverbs as a reflection of English and Russian mentality. RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics, (), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Santa, G.
    (2021) On life and death in proverbs: Plant-and animal-related vocabulary. Interuniversitaria, (), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Smith, A.
    (2011) Exploring cultural identity through proverbs and idioms in English, French and Spanish. Revista de Lenguas Modernas, , –.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Nexis Uni
    Nexis Uni. Compiled by LexisNexis GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany; available online at (last accessed03 March 2024)
    [Google Scholar]
  30. OPD = Speake, J.
    (Ed.) (2015) Oxford dictionary of proverbs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ijolc.24027.lan
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ijolc.24027.lan
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: semantics ; proverbs ; conceptual metaphor theory ; lexicology ; figurative language ; phraseology
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error