13th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research

Presentation Abstracts

ARORA, Shirley

Proverbs, Narratives, and Communication: some observations from contemporary Spanish-speaking tradition

Among the collected data from a current investigation of proverb use among Spanish-speaking residents of Los Angeles, California, are a number of sayings derived from, or at least related to, narratives, whether traditional fables or other kinds of stories. Archer Taylor, in his classic study The Proverb, made a distinction between sayings that were mere allusions to a story, incomprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the narrative, and those that summarize or encapsulate the action of the story; and he suggested that in the former case it can be assumed that the proverb is indeed derived from the story, whereas in the latter instance the proverb probably antedates the story and served as a pretext for its composition. I will cite examples of both of these categories from among our collectanea, plus two other groups that may be said to have evolved from them: proverbs whose narrative source has been lost but whose meaning has been sufficiently preserved to allow their continued use as part of the proverbial repertoire, and ‘fossil’ sayings — primarily in the form of allusions — that are recalled or recognized by individuals who are nevertheless unable to interpret or use them. The sayings in this last group are presumably on their way to complete disappearance, but may be ‘rescued’ from extinction by the provision of a new explanatory segment or associated narrative that may in fact drastically alter the original meaning of the proverb.

Reference: Taylor, A. The Proverb and an Index to the Proverb. Hatboro, PA: Folklore Associates, 1962