My main subject is paremiology (proverb research). I am an independent researcher closely connected to the Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki, Finland. My social psychological dissertation deals with use of proverbs and my other specialization bases on the composing of The Matti Kuusi International Type System of Proverbs. https://www.mattikuusiproverbtypology.fi/
In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi inter... more In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs. Kuusi's different approaches (binary oppositions, basic images and formulae) are discussed. The thematic classification and its problems are gone through. The possibilities of cross-references as alternative bases for classification is considered. The subgroups are compared by the character and structure of proverb types. One result of this study is the recognition of c. 700 universal proverb types. Literature references are an essential part of the Matti Kuusi database. The proverb collections are introduced. NOTE. The new address of Kuusi's typology and DB is: https://www.mattikuusiproverbtypology.fi/
Proverbs and proverbial phrases are not the best choice for communicating intimate emotions and p... more Proverbs and proverbial phrases are not the best choice for communicating intimate emotions and personal feelings. These are not among the functions of proverbial speech (Lauhakangas 2004). In stead, proverbs and proverbial phrases addressed to persons arouse different feelings. They are often meant to teach or provoke you into correcting your behavior and showing respect to elderly people. Another thing is, how these utterances are understood, accepted and adopted by targeted persons (See e.g. Granbom-Herranen 2008). A Finnish Facebook group 'Aristotele's heel' is dedicated to our language use, especially its missteps and deviations. Thanks to an initiator of a social media group discussion we got the material for this small-scale study. The initiator of the discussion was interested in people's recollection of snubbing proverbial phrases they used to hear when they were young. He wanted to bring to mind sayings that were anything but encouraging. An important subject of discussion is the sense of humor and atmosphere in which proverbs and proverbial sayings are used in family contexts. One aim of the presentation is to show the variation of proverbial sayings used throughout Finland. Another aim is to analyze attitudes towards proverbs and sayings of those participating in the discussion and opinions about the traditional ways of raising children.
Dialogue on Phraseology 4: Reproducible Language Units from an Interdisciplinary Perspective., 2020
Abstract. The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of ... more Abstract. The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this article. Both traditional and unusual patterns of thought seem to be behind the survival and favor of proverb lore. The Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs is used as the source of these linguistic patterns and cognitive models. Cultural comparison and contextual research on unique proverb use is a way to reach a better understanding of the functions and creativity of this speech genre. Proverbs are often rhetorical device for foregrounding statements. Are they still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being reinterpreted or transformed t... more The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being reinterpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and pre dictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these nor mally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. General patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditio...
Pitkänlinjan Afrikan tuntija dosentti Raimo Harjula kertailee ja jäsentää itäafrikkalaisten heimo... more Pitkänlinjan Afrikan tuntija dosentti Raimo Harjula kertailee ja jäsentää itäafrikkalaisten heimokulttuurien sananlaskujen käytännöllistä viisautta uudesta näkökulmasta tuoreimmassa Yliopistopainon kustantamassa kirjassaan Monia sateita nähnyt. Afrikkalaisia sananlaskuja ikääntymisen taidosta. Hänen 1960-luvun lopulla saamansa ensikosketus vieraan kulttuurin vaikeasti avautuviin kerrostumiin liittyi sananlaskujen tulkintavaikeuksiin.
INTRODUCTION
The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been... more INTRODUCTION The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been almost established since Archer Taylor's1 legendary conclusion that only an experienced scholar's intuition ultimately helps to identify an expression as a proverb. The only commonly agreed distinction between proverbs and other set phrases is that proverbs are expressed as undeniable truth statements. Oxford Dictionary defines 'set phrase' as «an unvarying phrase having a specific meaning, such as ‘raining cats and dogs’, or being the only context in which a word appears». For 'proverb' OD gives a definition: «A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice». From the linguistic or lexicographic point of view it would be reasonable to finish searching for distinctions between proverbs and other set phrases here. But the folkloristic approach to proverb lore directs us to ask for a special status of proverbs in language use. The general hypothesis to describe the aim of this article is said in an African proverb «Although the river dries up, it preserves its name». This proverb reminds of the general inclination of human communities to preserve the status of their language resources if those resources are socially functional. The status of proverbs among set phrases will be distinguished by studying the social functions of proverbs and proverb speech.
Reproducible Language Units from an Interdisciplinary Perspective, 2020
The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this arti... more The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this article. Both traditional and unusual patterns of thought seem to be behind the survival and favor of proverb lore. The Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs is used as the source of these linguistic patterns and cognitive models. Cultural comparison and contextual research on unique proverb use is a way to reach a better understanding of the functions and creativity of this speech genre. Proverbs are often rhetorical device for foregrounding statements. Are they still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
Reproducibility of Multiword Expressions in Paremiological and Linguo-Cultural Studies, 2021
The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being rein-
terpreted or transforme... more The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being rein- terpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and predictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these normally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. Gen- eral patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditional and social media.
Key words: typology of proverbs, proverb usage, patterns of proverbs, social media
2nd Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP08 Proceedings., 2009
Finnish literal culture is not as old and sophisticated as in many European countries, but we hav... more Finnish literal culture is not as old and sophisticated as in many European countries, but we have exceptional collections of oral culture in our folklore archives. My intention is to detect different contexts of proverb use both in old Finnish folk poetry, which is the basis for our national epic and on the other hand to find proverb occurrences in new means of communication. My claim or belief is that proverbs have since ancient times been part of everyday poetry in our culture. Although Finnish proverbs are mostly loan proverbs, at least synonyms to European and Asian proverb types, they have had their own life in the variety of Finnish use of language. The knowledge of real contexts of social interaction is of course limited concerning ancient times, but importance of proverbs can be speculated. A quite new opportunity to get knowledge of proverb use is offered on internet forums. Some old Finnish proverb wordings have disappeared from everyday usage, but others still exist as such. Finnish people seem to prefer proverb-like sayings to ordinary expressions in many connections. I relate people's skill to use proverbs to the properties of social skills and abilities. Collective expressions and their modifications have become part of people's personal means of expression.
3rd Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP09 Proceedings., 2010
Pavel Kats from Jerusalem and Outi Lauhakangas from Helsinki arranged a general session on prover... more Pavel Kats from Jerusalem and Outi Lauhakangas from Helsinki arranged a general session on proverbial databases and their future possibilities during the ICP09 in Tavira. They brought forward different approaches making international proverb collections in the traditional way and by the new technology. Both Kats and Lauhakangas have experience in constructing proverb databases. Lauhakangas has transferred the database system of Matti Kuusi's large international proverb corpus with bibliography of proverb collections to the Internet. She also planned a classification system with academician Kuusi during the nineties. Kats has realized a multilingual database of proverbs called WikiProverbs designed directly for users of the Internet. The aim of their session in
The recent history of the paremiology of Finnish and Estonian languages has been quite active, al... more The recent history of the paremiology of Finnish and Estonian languages has been quite active, although we do not yet have published together much. The previous great work of academician Matti Kuusi, academician Arvo Krikmann et al. was Proverbia Septentrionalia (Kuusi et al. 1985). It is an analytic collection of 900 most common and primarily mutual proverbs of the Baltic-Finnish peoples or the Finno-Ugric cognate languages spoken around the Baltic Sea. The follow-up of that study started ten years later on Krikmann’s initiative. This time the proverbs chosen to the corpus were less common than in the first stage. The big database brought about and the analysis of each proverb has been in use but neither digitally nor as a book published. The challenge of defining mutual proverb types of close cognate languages led us to study in greater detail the criteria for mutuality. I have described this process through our correspondence with Krikmann during these years. (Lauhakangas 2010) The contacts and shared history with other neighbors speaking Indo-European languages has done this study interesting from the point of view of the international proverb lore. I will exemplify the differences and similarities of the Baltic-Finnish and the Indo-European (Swedish, German and Russian) proverbs in this article. The best tool for this analysis is the Matti Kuusi international typology and database of proverbs. (Lauhakangas 2001)
1st Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP07 Proceedings., 2008
The aim of my paper is to deal with classification of functions of proverbs in social interaction... more The aim of my paper is to deal with classification of functions of proverbs in social interaction. My additional aim is to show how different approaches – from different scholarly or other points of view – lead to different emphases of how we interpret people’s motives to use proverbs. In my dissertation (Lauhakangas 2004) I took for my task to construct a structure as multidimensional as possible to illustrate the functions of proverbial speech. I wanted to test with contextual examples the observations and conclusions made by previous scholars. I went through several studies from different cultures. At the same time I kept a diary of contextual use of proverbs in newspapers, TV-programs and everyday situations. I analyzed previous contextual examples and compared other scholars’ points of views. Based on this knowledge I decided to make a main division to three points of view.
5th Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP11 Proceedings., 2012
The personification of an animal is a quite reasonable way of thinking even for modern human bein... more The personification of an animal is a quite reasonable way of thinking even for modern human beings. We might call this also anthropocentrism or humanizing of nature and things. In proverb-lore of northern folks there are also more interesting types of personification. Things, which in our point of view are spiritless entities or abstract concepts, have been treated as beings with clear opinions. They tell their comments in forms of proverbs. The best known examples of these proverbs are those with personifications of red-letter days, but we find other kind of abstract subjects speaking in proverbial voice, too. Wellerisms are also compared to this special kind of proverbs. Is this a universal way of thinking and do most cultures with proverb-lore also have personification proverbs?
6th Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP12 Proceedings., 2013
The aim of this paper is to map the use of proverbs during one week (May 7−13, 2012) in newspaper... more The aim of this paper is to map the use of proverbs during one week (May 7−13, 2012) in newspaper texts. In order to increase reliability of conclusions made by quite small material the 2012 material was compared to proverbial texts and contexts during another week (February 11−17, 2013). Proverbs are defined according to their usage and recognition in proportion to main databases of proverbs. Thus, phrases and other imagery are excluded, if they have no connection point to that definition. Focus is on living use of traditional moulds of proverbs. The analysis of collected material with text contexts concentrates on differentiating the text genres, in which proverbs and proverb-like expressions are used. The object of study, Helsingin Sanomat is published in the capital of Finland, but it is also the most widely read Finnish newspaper. It has c. 900|000 readers all over the country (and abroad) and we can assume that its articles and stories are edited to be generally interesting. Results of this study verified that journalists in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper prefer using an interviewee's proverbial expression or an authentic line of a person they tell about. There were quite few proverbs or their fragment used in newspaper texts: only c. 20 items in each material. The most common text genre included in four different departments of the newspaper proved to be political writing. Proverbs in letters to the editor were not as general as was expected. Only in the follow-up study proverbs were found in send letters to confirm opinions. There are individual editors, in the 2012 material a sports editor who used his repertoire of proverbs and phrases to flavor and intensify his text. Writers and interviewees use mostly proverb fragments by which they refer to proverb ideas.
In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi inter... more In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs. Kuusi's different approaches (binary oppositions, basic images and formulae) are discussed. The thematic classification and its problems are gone through. The possibilities of cross-references as alternative bases for classification is considered. The subgroups are compared by the character and structure of proverb types. One result of this study is the recognition of c. 700 universal proverb types. Literature references are an essential part of the Matti Kuusi database. The proverb collections are introduced. NOTE. The new address of Kuusi's typology and DB is: https://www.mattikuusiproverbtypology.fi/
Proverbs and proverbial phrases are not the best choice for communicating intimate emotions and p... more Proverbs and proverbial phrases are not the best choice for communicating intimate emotions and personal feelings. These are not among the functions of proverbial speech (Lauhakangas 2004). In stead, proverbs and proverbial phrases addressed to persons arouse different feelings. They are often meant to teach or provoke you into correcting your behavior and showing respect to elderly people. Another thing is, how these utterances are understood, accepted and adopted by targeted persons (See e.g. Granbom-Herranen 2008). A Finnish Facebook group 'Aristotele's heel' is dedicated to our language use, especially its missteps and deviations. Thanks to an initiator of a social media group discussion we got the material for this small-scale study. The initiator of the discussion was interested in people's recollection of snubbing proverbial phrases they used to hear when they were young. He wanted to bring to mind sayings that were anything but encouraging. An important subject of discussion is the sense of humor and atmosphere in which proverbs and proverbial sayings are used in family contexts. One aim of the presentation is to show the variation of proverbial sayings used throughout Finland. Another aim is to analyze attitudes towards proverbs and sayings of those participating in the discussion and opinions about the traditional ways of raising children.
Dialogue on Phraseology 4: Reproducible Language Units from an Interdisciplinary Perspective., 2020
Abstract. The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of ... more Abstract. The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this article. Both traditional and unusual patterns of thought seem to be behind the survival and favor of proverb lore. The Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs is used as the source of these linguistic patterns and cognitive models. Cultural comparison and contextual research on unique proverb use is a way to reach a better understanding of the functions and creativity of this speech genre. Proverbs are often rhetorical device for foregrounding statements. Are they still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being reinterpreted or transformed t... more The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being reinterpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and pre dictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these nor mally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. General patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditio...
Pitkänlinjan Afrikan tuntija dosentti Raimo Harjula kertailee ja jäsentää itäafrikkalaisten heimo... more Pitkänlinjan Afrikan tuntija dosentti Raimo Harjula kertailee ja jäsentää itäafrikkalaisten heimokulttuurien sananlaskujen käytännöllistä viisautta uudesta näkökulmasta tuoreimmassa Yliopistopainon kustantamassa kirjassaan Monia sateita nähnyt. Afrikkalaisia sananlaskuja ikääntymisen taidosta. Hänen 1960-luvun lopulla saamansa ensikosketus vieraan kulttuurin vaikeasti avautuviin kerrostumiin liittyi sananlaskujen tulkintavaikeuksiin.
INTRODUCTION
The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been... more INTRODUCTION The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been almost established since Archer Taylor's1 legendary conclusion that only an experienced scholar's intuition ultimately helps to identify an expression as a proverb. The only commonly agreed distinction between proverbs and other set phrases is that proverbs are expressed as undeniable truth statements. Oxford Dictionary defines 'set phrase' as «an unvarying phrase having a specific meaning, such as ‘raining cats and dogs’, or being the only context in which a word appears». For 'proverb' OD gives a definition: «A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice». From the linguistic or lexicographic point of view it would be reasonable to finish searching for distinctions between proverbs and other set phrases here. But the folkloristic approach to proverb lore directs us to ask for a special status of proverbs in language use. The general hypothesis to describe the aim of this article is said in an African proverb «Although the river dries up, it preserves its name». This proverb reminds of the general inclination of human communities to preserve the status of their language resources if those resources are socially functional. The status of proverbs among set phrases will be distinguished by studying the social functions of proverbs and proverb speech.
Reproducible Language Units from an Interdisciplinary Perspective, 2020
The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this arti... more The general question of how patterns function in proverb lore is the starting point of this article. Both traditional and unusual patterns of thought seem to be behind the survival and favor of proverb lore. The Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs is used as the source of these linguistic patterns and cognitive models. Cultural comparison and contextual research on unique proverb use is a way to reach a better understanding of the functions and creativity of this speech genre. Proverbs are often rhetorical device for foregrounding statements. Are they still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
Reproducibility of Multiword Expressions in Paremiological and Linguo-Cultural Studies, 2021
The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being rein-
terpreted or transforme... more The premise of this study is to expect that proverbs live by being rein- terpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and predictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these normally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. Gen- eral patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditional and social media.
Key words: typology of proverbs, proverb usage, patterns of proverbs, social media
2nd Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP08 Proceedings., 2009
Finnish literal culture is not as old and sophisticated as in many European countries, but we hav... more Finnish literal culture is not as old and sophisticated as in many European countries, but we have exceptional collections of oral culture in our folklore archives. My intention is to detect different contexts of proverb use both in old Finnish folk poetry, which is the basis for our national epic and on the other hand to find proverb occurrences in new means of communication. My claim or belief is that proverbs have since ancient times been part of everyday poetry in our culture. Although Finnish proverbs are mostly loan proverbs, at least synonyms to European and Asian proverb types, they have had their own life in the variety of Finnish use of language. The knowledge of real contexts of social interaction is of course limited concerning ancient times, but importance of proverbs can be speculated. A quite new opportunity to get knowledge of proverb use is offered on internet forums. Some old Finnish proverb wordings have disappeared from everyday usage, but others still exist as such. Finnish people seem to prefer proverb-like sayings to ordinary expressions in many connections. I relate people's skill to use proverbs to the properties of social skills and abilities. Collective expressions and their modifications have become part of people's personal means of expression.
3rd Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP09 Proceedings., 2010
Pavel Kats from Jerusalem and Outi Lauhakangas from Helsinki arranged a general session on prover... more Pavel Kats from Jerusalem and Outi Lauhakangas from Helsinki arranged a general session on proverbial databases and their future possibilities during the ICP09 in Tavira. They brought forward different approaches making international proverb collections in the traditional way and by the new technology. Both Kats and Lauhakangas have experience in constructing proverb databases. Lauhakangas has transferred the database system of Matti Kuusi's large international proverb corpus with bibliography of proverb collections to the Internet. She also planned a classification system with academician Kuusi during the nineties. Kats has realized a multilingual database of proverbs called WikiProverbs designed directly for users of the Internet. The aim of their session in
The recent history of the paremiology of Finnish and Estonian languages has been quite active, al... more The recent history of the paremiology of Finnish and Estonian languages has been quite active, although we do not yet have published together much. The previous great work of academician Matti Kuusi, academician Arvo Krikmann et al. was Proverbia Septentrionalia (Kuusi et al. 1985). It is an analytic collection of 900 most common and primarily mutual proverbs of the Baltic-Finnish peoples or the Finno-Ugric cognate languages spoken around the Baltic Sea. The follow-up of that study started ten years later on Krikmann’s initiative. This time the proverbs chosen to the corpus were less common than in the first stage. The big database brought about and the analysis of each proverb has been in use but neither digitally nor as a book published. The challenge of defining mutual proverb types of close cognate languages led us to study in greater detail the criteria for mutuality. I have described this process through our correspondence with Krikmann during these years. (Lauhakangas 2010) The contacts and shared history with other neighbors speaking Indo-European languages has done this study interesting from the point of view of the international proverb lore. I will exemplify the differences and similarities of the Baltic-Finnish and the Indo-European (Swedish, German and Russian) proverbs in this article. The best tool for this analysis is the Matti Kuusi international typology and database of proverbs. (Lauhakangas 2001)
1st Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP07 Proceedings., 2008
The aim of my paper is to deal with classification of functions of proverbs in social interaction... more The aim of my paper is to deal with classification of functions of proverbs in social interaction. My additional aim is to show how different approaches – from different scholarly or other points of view – lead to different emphases of how we interpret people’s motives to use proverbs. In my dissertation (Lauhakangas 2004) I took for my task to construct a structure as multidimensional as possible to illustrate the functions of proverbial speech. I wanted to test with contextual examples the observations and conclusions made by previous scholars. I went through several studies from different cultures. At the same time I kept a diary of contextual use of proverbs in newspapers, TV-programs and everyday situations. I analyzed previous contextual examples and compared other scholars’ points of views. Based on this knowledge I decided to make a main division to three points of view.
5th Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP11 Proceedings., 2012
The personification of an animal is a quite reasonable way of thinking even for modern human bein... more The personification of an animal is a quite reasonable way of thinking even for modern human beings. We might call this also anthropocentrism or humanizing of nature and things. In proverb-lore of northern folks there are also more interesting types of personification. Things, which in our point of view are spiritless entities or abstract concepts, have been treated as beings with clear opinions. They tell their comments in forms of proverbs. The best known examples of these proverbs are those with personifications of red-letter days, but we find other kind of abstract subjects speaking in proverbial voice, too. Wellerisms are also compared to this special kind of proverbs. Is this a universal way of thinking and do most cultures with proverb-lore also have personification proverbs?
6th Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs, ACTAS ICP12 Proceedings., 2013
The aim of this paper is to map the use of proverbs during one week (May 7−13, 2012) in newspaper... more The aim of this paper is to map the use of proverbs during one week (May 7−13, 2012) in newspaper texts. In order to increase reliability of conclusions made by quite small material the 2012 material was compared to proverbial texts and contexts during another week (February 11−17, 2013). Proverbs are defined according to their usage and recognition in proportion to main databases of proverbs. Thus, phrases and other imagery are excluded, if they have no connection point to that definition. Focus is on living use of traditional moulds of proverbs. The analysis of collected material with text contexts concentrates on differentiating the text genres, in which proverbs and proverb-like expressions are used. The object of study, Helsingin Sanomat is published in the capital of Finland, but it is also the most widely read Finnish newspaper. It has c. 900|000 readers all over the country (and abroad) and we can assume that its articles and stories are edited to be generally interesting. Results of this study verified that journalists in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper prefer using an interviewee's proverbial expression or an authentic line of a person they tell about. There were quite few proverbs or their fragment used in newspaper texts: only c. 20 items in each material. The most common text genre included in four different departments of the newspaper proved to be political writing. Proverbs in letters to the editor were not as general as was expected. Only in the follow-up study proverbs were found in send letters to confirm opinions. There are individual editors, in the 2012 material a sports editor who used his repertoire of proverbs and phrases to flavor and intensify his text. Writers and interviewees use mostly proverb fragments by which they refer to proverb ideas.
The Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs, 2001
In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi inter... more In this work the author will describe the background of the construction of the Matti Kuusi international type system of proverbs. Kuusi's different approaches (binary oppositions, basic images and formulae) are discussed. The thematic classification and its problems are gone through. The possibilities of cross-references as alternative bases for classification is considered. The subgroups are compared by the character and structure of proverb types. One result of this study is the recognition of c. 700 universal proverb types. Literature references are an essential part of the Matti Kuusi database. The proverb collections are introduced. NOTE. The new address of Kuusi's typology and DB is: https://www.mattikuusiproverbtypology.fi/
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Papers by Outi Lauhakangas
their attitudes?
Key words: proverb-types, conceptual structures, socio-logic, argumentation, universality
The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been almost established since Archer Taylor's1 legendary conclusion that only an experienced scholar's intuition ultimately helps to identify an expression as a proverb. The only commonly agreed distinction between proverbs and other set phrases is that proverbs are expressed as undeniable truth statements. Oxford Dictionary defines 'set phrase' as «an unvarying phrase having a specific meaning, such as ‘raining cats and dogs’, or being the only context in which a word appears». For 'proverb' OD gives a definition: «A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice». From the linguistic or lexicographic point of view it would be reasonable to finish searching for distinctions between proverbs and other set phrases here. But the folkloristic approach to proverb lore
directs us to ask for a special status of proverbs in language use. The general hypothesis to describe the aim of this article is said in an African proverb «Although the river dries up, it preserves its name».
This proverb reminds of the general inclination of human communities to preserve the status of their language resources if those resources are socially functional. The status of proverbs among set phrases will be distinguished by studying the social functions of proverbs and proverb speech.
still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
Key words: proverb-types, conceptual structures, socio-logic, argumentation, universality
terpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and predictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these normally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. Gen-
eral patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditional and social media.
Key words: typology of proverbs, proverb usage, patterns of proverbs, social media
The challenge of defining mutual proverb types of close cognate languages led us to study in greater detail the criteria for mutuality. I have described this process through our correspondence with Krikmann during these years. (Lauhakangas 2010) The contacts and shared history with other neighbors speaking Indo-European languages has done this study interesting from the point of view of the international proverb lore. I will exemplify the differences and similarities of the Baltic-Finnish and the Indo-European (Swedish, German and Russian) proverbs in this article. The best tool for this analysis is the Matti Kuusi international typology and database of proverbs. (Lauhakangas 2001)
Key-words: proverb types; proverb ideas; Baltic-Finnish languages; Finno-Ugric cognate languages; comparative research; typology
In my dissertation (Lauhakangas 2004) I took for my task to construct a structure as multidimensional as possible to illustrate the functions of proverbial speech. I wanted to test with contextual examples the observations and conclusions made by previous scholars. I went
through several studies from different cultures. At the same time I kept a diary of contextual use of proverbs in newspapers, TV-programs and everyday situations. I analyzed previous contextual examples and compared other scholars’ points of views. Based on this knowledge I decided to make a main division to three points of view.
their attitudes?
Key words: proverb-types, conceptual structures, socio-logic, argumentation, universality
The vague difference between proverbs and other constantly repeated sayings has been almost established since Archer Taylor's1 legendary conclusion that only an experienced scholar's intuition ultimately helps to identify an expression as a proverb. The only commonly agreed distinction between proverbs and other set phrases is that proverbs are expressed as undeniable truth statements. Oxford Dictionary defines 'set phrase' as «an unvarying phrase having a specific meaning, such as ‘raining cats and dogs’, or being the only context in which a word appears». For 'proverb' OD gives a definition: «A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice». From the linguistic or lexicographic point of view it would be reasonable to finish searching for distinctions between proverbs and other set phrases here. But the folkloristic approach to proverb lore
directs us to ask for a special status of proverbs in language use. The general hypothesis to describe the aim of this article is said in an African proverb «Although the river dries up, it preserves its name».
This proverb reminds of the general inclination of human communities to preserve the status of their language resources if those resources are socially functional. The status of proverbs among set phrases will be distinguished by studying the social functions of proverbs and proverb speech.
still universal argumentative tools that people use when justifying or explaining their attitudes?
Key words: proverb-types, conceptual structures, socio-logic, argumentation, universality
terpreted or transformed to suit pluralistic and ambiguous commonplace situations. The proverbs are either transformed or framed in the situations in order to be interpreted according to the aims of their users. The content of proverbs, interpreted through metaphors or without, emphasis concrete, reasonable and predictable things as esteemed aims. A familiar proverb justifies a decision, which supports traditional procedures. But in ambiguous decision situations these normally agreed upon values do not always function. This study aims to clarify, how a familiar proverb pattern may serve as a triggering factor for the acceptance of otherwise doubtful opinions. The Matti Kuusi international typology of proverbs is used for measuring the emphasis of common values in traditional proverb lore. Gen-
eral patterns make impressive modifications possible. The author will demonstrate, how the modifications work in traditional and social media.
Key words: typology of proverbs, proverb usage, patterns of proverbs, social media
The challenge of defining mutual proverb types of close cognate languages led us to study in greater detail the criteria for mutuality. I have described this process through our correspondence with Krikmann during these years. (Lauhakangas 2010) The contacts and shared history with other neighbors speaking Indo-European languages has done this study interesting from the point of view of the international proverb lore. I will exemplify the differences and similarities of the Baltic-Finnish and the Indo-European (Swedish, German and Russian) proverbs in this article. The best tool for this analysis is the Matti Kuusi international typology and database of proverbs. (Lauhakangas 2001)
Key-words: proverb types; proverb ideas; Baltic-Finnish languages; Finno-Ugric cognate languages; comparative research; typology
In my dissertation (Lauhakangas 2004) I took for my task to construct a structure as multidimensional as possible to illustrate the functions of proverbial speech. I wanted to test with contextual examples the observations and conclusions made by previous scholars. I went
through several studies from different cultures. At the same time I kept a diary of contextual use of proverbs in newspapers, TV-programs and everyday situations. I analyzed previous contextual examples and compared other scholars’ points of views. Based on this knowledge I decided to make a main division to three points of view.
NOTE. The new address of Kuusi's typology and DB is: https://www.mattikuusiproverbtypology.fi/