The proverbs of people - defined by Webster as short sayings "in common use expressing a well-known truth or common fact ascertained by experience or observation" - have been an object of study to many kinds of people for many decades. Robert R. Marett has said that proverbs are a key to both the language and culture of a people. But, knowledge of the language and culture of a people, in itself, cannot be satisfying to the discerning anthropologist. An effort must be made to identify and understand the categories of thought, codes and symbols that undergird their language and culture. The anthropologist cannot be satisfied to simply view their world; he must also discover the ways they view their world. He must discover their world view. Marett rightfully acknowledged that proverbs are a useful key for learning language and culture. It is the contention of this paper, however, that they are, likewise, excellent tools for world view studies. A unique opportunity arose to prove this thesis when a combination of factors presented the researcher with considerable data. First, he had learned the languages of the Shona and Bemba peoples of Southern Africa. Second, he had collected and studied the use of the proverbs of these people for twelve years. Third, others had collected and published the proverbs in different forms. The paper, then, is a presentation of the results of hours of study of 1,556 Shona proverbs, and 1,286 Bemba proverbs, plus contextual data collected from ethnographies, dictionaries, and personal observations. The theoretical framework of the paper is, of necessity, carefully presented. Necessary, because neither world view nor proverbs are well understood in the social sciences. Michael Kearney, one of the prime resources for information on world view, says that it is not a “well-established field of study in the sense that it appears in course catalogs, or that there are recognized schools of world view theory or many scholars specializing in it”. Carolyn Parker, one of the main sources of study for proverbs, says the same thing for this subject. According to her, although there has been a long history of the study of proverbs, much of that study has been characterized by shallowness, superficiality and casualness. Benefiting considerably from the contributions of these two, and others as well, the theoretical framework of this paper rises out of an anthropology characterized by the related disciplines of the cultural patterning of the 1950s with its emphasis on psychology and philosophy, the ethno-science and symbolic anthropology of the 1960s with their emphases upon linguistics and philosophy respectively. Methodologies centered around the extraction from the proverbs of all references to people and their relationships. Lists of this data were compiled and analyzed with the objective of comparing the two groups in question. Special attention was given to three categories: Self, Other' and Relationship. The data extracted was analyzed statistically by use of a chi-square test. Primary analysis, however, depended upon the content of the proverbs themselves. Problems of translation, classification, comparison and statistics were given careful consideration in the analysis. Several observations on both world views and proverbs were the result of methodologies carried out within the theoretical framework described. More than fifty dimensions of the world views of the Bemba and the Shona were brought to the reader’s attention. These dimensions point to similarities as well as distinctives between the two groups. They reinforced observations made according to other methodologies and they also revealed new possibilities for future research. Observations on the proverbs concerned the practicality of using them for the purpose of world view studies. This practicality was obvious, though it has its limitations which must be acknowledged. Application of this methodology in the social sciences may contribute to a greater understanding of people from diverse cultures.

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) whether the Weigl-Goldstein-Scheerer Color Form Test and the Proverbs Test were able to discriminate between a sample of normal patients and a sample of schizophrenic patients, and (2) to determine if there was a significant correlation between these two instruments.

This study is a paroemiological consideration of Brennu-Njáls saga in which a set of repeated scenes that include or are associated with repeated proverbial utterances are examined in order to draw conclusions as to the compositional role of proverbs and paroemial material in the saga. The study begins with a brief discussion of proverb scholarship in which the intertextual nature of the proverb genre is established, moving into a discussion of certain important scenes in the saga narrative and their association with repeated proverbial utterances that exemplify and encapsulate the saga’s overarching thematic concerns. It is shown that the proverb, as a compositional device in the saga, serves as the basis for repeated scenes that illustrate or act out the proverbs with which they are associated. Proverbs can be seen to indicate the ethics and motivations of associated characters as well as to provide an interpretive framework by which such proverb-scenes and the greater saga narrative could be understood by both the contemporary and modern saga audience. Furthermore, it is shown that the composer of Njála made use of the proverbial form to communicate both ostensibly traditional pre-Christian wisdom regarding the nature of Icelandic feud and social relations as well as later wisdom derived from the Christian scriptural tradition, indicating that the proverb as a compositional device was integral to the assimilation of Christian teachings into the literary depiction of Iceland’s pagan past. The paroemial cognitive patterning of the saga audience allowed for the extensive use of the proverbial form in the comparison of Icelandic pre-Christian and Christian social ethics, and the proverbial form itself can be seen as a prominent compositional device in Njála.

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<p>This study was envisioned to investigate and improve multicultural education in a visual communication design course. It aimed to explore the educational use of proverbs for the benefit of improving multicultural teaching and learning. Proverbs and metaphors are an essential source for the composition of visual narratives. Overall results of this study revealed that, even though proverbs are a significant part of the experience of black African students, the students seldom directly use narratives and proverbs as inspiration for their designs.</p>

The aim of this study is a quest into the interpretation of Proverbs 1-9 to learn its meaning, i.e., its significance, value and relevance for the Christian church today. This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 sketches the problem that is to be researched and its background and the research methods and approach in this study. Chapter 2 investigates the review of literature on the exegesis of Proverb 1-9. It looks at the form, social setting and the purpose of Proverbs 1-9. It also investigates the relationship between Proverbs 1-9 and the Ancient Near Eastern wisdom. Chapter 3 investigates the form and literary analysis of Proverbs 1-9. It deals with the two literary genres in Proverbs 1-9, namely instructions and the wisdom speeches. The thesis argues in this chapter that the focus of this study is on the parental instructions in Proverbs 1-9. It analyses the structure of all the parental instructions. Chapter 4 deals with the exegetical study of Proverbs 1-9. The focus of this chapter is on the exegesis of the parental instructions in Proverbs 1-9. Chapter 5 is built on the outcome of the exegesis dealt with in Chapter 4 by extracting themes on child-rearing that will help Christian parents in their task of child-rearing. Chapter 6 summarises the findings and makes some recommendations on the further study of Proverbs 1-9. The central theoretical argument was that Proverbs 1-9 is the Word of God that needs to shed its light onto the contemporary issues on Child-rearing that the church is facing. In conjunction with this central theoretical argument was the argument that Proverbs 1-9 is an indispensable resource for the church in her task of guiding parents with regard to rearing their children properly. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The aim of this study is a quest into the interpretation of Proverbs 1-9 to learn its meaning, i.e., its significance, value and relevance for the Christian church today. This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 sketches the problem that is to be researched and its background and the research methods and approach in this study. Chapter 2 investigates the review of literature on the exegesis of Proverb 1-9. It looks at the form, social setting and the purpose of Proverbs 1-9. It also investigates the relationship between Proverbs 1-9 and the Ancient Near Eastern wisdom. Chapter 3 investigates the form and literary analysis of Proverbs 1-9. It deals with the two literary genres in Proverbs 1-9, namely instructions and the wisdom speeches. The thesis argues in this chapter that the focus of this study is on the parental instructions in Proverbs 1-9. It analyses the structure of all the parental instructions. Chapter 4 deals with the exegetical study of Proverbs 1-9. The focus of this chapter is on the exegesis of the parental instructions in Proverbs 1-9. Chapter 5 is built on the outcome of the exegesis dealt with in Chapter 4 by extracting themes on child-rearing that will help Christian parents in their task of child-rearing. Chapter 6 summarises the findings and makes some recommendations on the further study of Proverbs 1-9. The central theoretical argument was that Proverbs 1-9 is the Word of God that needs to shed its light onto the contemporary issues on Child-rearing that the church is facing. In conjunction with this central theoretical argument was the argument that Proverbs 1-9 is an indispensable resource for the church in her task of guiding parents with regard to rearing their children properly. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

<p>This study was envisioned to investigate and improve multicultural education in a visual communication design course. It aimed to explore the educational use of proverbs for the benefit of improving multicultural teaching and learning. Proverbs and metaphors are an essential source for the composition of visual narratives. Overall results of this study revealed that, even though proverbs are a significant part of the experience of black African students, the students seldom directly use narratives and proverbs as inspiration for their designs.</p>

Inaug.-Diss.--Barcelona, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität zu Frakfut am Main, 1982. / German and Arabic. Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-149).