Now You See Me Now You Don't: Proverbial Empowerment Through Deictic Projection

ABSTRACT In the last forty plus years, proverb research has explored proverbs as traditional ("the voice of others") and as a means for the proverb initiator to gain dominance in dialogue. Neal Norrick presents these two aspects of proverb performance as a paradox with the proverb initiator fading into the background of societal opinion while gaining the upper hand (1994). I will argue that one does not have to leave these two aspects as a paradox, but can find clarification of how proverbs operate by applying the concept of deictic projection to proverbs. Examples will be provided from field research done with Kazakh proverbs. The type of deixis being considered is literary-linguistic deixis as described most fully within the discipline of cognitive poetics by Stockwell (2002). Of the six deictic aspects he describes, five can be applied to proverbs. Movement along any one aspect of deixis is called deictic projection. A proverb stands out based on its distinctive style and invites the culturally competent hearer to consider emergent temporal and interpersonal significance. Approaching proverbs in terms of deixis allows for a more complete analysis and affirms the ability of proverbs to provide a space for engagement among parties in dialogue.