THE 12 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SAYINGS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Some of the characteristics of the main sayings are their simple and easy to memorize language, their colloquial use, their anonymous origin, among others. The saying is a popular phrase that expresses a teaching, a reflection, an experience or a thought, as a judgment and in the form of a sentence.

The study of sayings, proverbs and other statements is known as paremiology. Sayings are anonymous creations that have been passed down from generation to generation, first orally and then in writing.

As part of popular knowledge, they have evolved and have been diminishing as they lose their validity, since they are related to the culture and general way of thinking of each era. Sayings of a denigrating nature towards women, as well as others that reflect violence, have fallen into disuse.

The knowledge of the popular proverb is considered an important part in learning a language. The lawyers say that for the native language, you should know about 200 sayings, while a foreign student should know at least 70.

You may be interested in knowing 100 short sayings with their meaning (for children and adults).

Main characteristics of sayings

Sayings can be of two types. Some reflect universal situations that are lived in humanity and therefore there is similarity in the sayings in different languages ​​and cultures.

Many others are related to very specific situations, belonging to some locality. Therefore, although they are the same topics, each culture can mold its proverb to its customs and way of dealing with them.

1- They are composed of autonomous phrases

These sentences are usually short and consist of two parts, sometimes up to three, expressing a unique meaning with the association of two ideas. In the first part an event is narrated and in the second its consequences are described:

• "Those who get up early, God helps."
• "Barking dog does not bite".

2- Simple language

They are composed of a very simple language, with a rhyme that facilitates their learning and diffusion, with words that relate things in daily life that facilitate their understanding.

• "To bread bread, and to wine came."
• “When the river sounds, it brings stones”.

3- They talk about real life

They reflect a sentence, which may well be the product of experience, or a teaching or norm of behavior.

• "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
• "Do good without looking at who".

4- They are of colloquial use

They refer to current situations even when they were conceived in very ancient times, using comparisons with observations of nature, trades or spiritual subjects.

6- anonymous origin

They are not made by any recognized author but are part of the cultural heritage. Most of them were compiled in Cervantes's work: Don Quixote.

7- They are transmitted from generation to generation

Apart from the studies and compilations that have been made of them, they are learned at home or at school in colloquial speech.

8- Easy to memorize

In its structure, use is made of rhyme, analogy or comparison and word games. In this way their memorization is strengthened.

• "A god begging and with the hammer giving".
• "In the absence of bread, good are cakes."

9- They produce a feeling of truth or falsehood

However, the saying really only expresses an experience or a reality. The saying gives the person who recites it a feeling of being the possessor of the truth and the knowledge that they want to teach or warn of the possible consequences if the actions that are being recommended are not taken.

10- Summary facts that can be extended in more detail

For example, the saying "all that glitters is not gold" means that not everything that catches your eye has real value. However, this meaning could be extended and many facts and details can be discussed to explain it.

11- Its content usually includes irony and humor

• "Morrocoy does not climb a stick nor does he shave"
• "Dog that smells butter, sticks its tongue in lid"

12- They are part of the culture

It is general knowledge that is inherited and is part of the cultural identity of the society to which it belongs.

Sayings in different languages ​​and societies

Sayings are similar in different languages ​​and cultures. This is believed to be due to certain factors such as the spread of the Bible and other classics worldwide.

The fact that human society interprets a situation in a similar way in different places is due to the fact that the human mind processes a given situation in a similar way, and also because of the contact between different societies over time.

In the Spanish language, almost all of the existing sayings had already been compiled by the 16th century, with very few being created after this time. At first, its objective was to impose a set of beliefs, rites and behaviors that favored the ruling classes to the detriment of the common people.

The subjects were religion, royalty, justice, army and women. These phrases, apart from indoctrination, had legal value. To soften the imposition of rules, there were other sayings with more humorous content, such as riddles and word games.

Latin American countries inherited the popular proverb from Spain, while the Spanish proverb shares similarities with that of North Africa. The differences between each depend on the races, geography, fauna and foods of each region.

Although the sayings touch on common themes such as love, friendship, work, good or bad administration, each society adapts the corresponding typical saying to its customs.

This is how sayings such as "take the bull for the horns", or "make steers" (which although it is not a saying as such, has a common origin) come from the Spanish culture of bullfighting and the tasks related to it. Playing truant was the activity that young people did to acquire skills as a bullfighter, escaping from their duties at school.

As for the different sayings of each language, it is usual to find equivalences. This means that even if a literal translation is not used, in both languages ​​there are phrases that refer to the same situations, for example:

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"Better safe than sorry".

References

1. What are the characteristics of the saying? Recovered from: refranymas.blogspot.com.
2. Do you know what paremiology is? Recovered from: docsity.com.
3. Examples of sayings. Recovered from: examplesde.com.mx.
4. Proverbs. Recovered from: writingxmu.wikispaces.com.
5. Refrain. Recovered from: literarydevices.net.
6. Sayings and proverbs in English. Recovered from: bristolenos.com.
7. Rigat, M. Linguistic approach to the study of the saying as a communicative unit. Valencia, University of Valencia.