Have you ever heard phrases such as “Raining cats and dogs” or “A
stitch in time saves nine”? These are idioms (a phrase whose meaning is not
apparent by the individual words) and proverbs (typically, folk wisdom).These sayings
are usually culturally-defined, and may be last thing that language learners
comprehend. On the other hand, these sayings are a great way to learn about
cultural history. Some of them may “fit you to a T” (check out the origin of
that phrase in http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/44266/origin-of-fits-x-to-a-t)
CONNECT:
·
Paremiology is the study of proverbs – and dates
back to ancient Greek time. Read these
famous sayings by Aristotle, who lived over 2000 years ago. Do some of them still make good sense? http://www.wisdomcommons.org/author/Aristotle?page=1
·
The Renaissance Flemish artist Peter Brueghel
created a painting titled “Netherlandish (or Flemish) Proverbs,” which
illustrates over a hundred proverbs: http://chicagoartreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Pieter-Bruegel-The-Flemish-Proverbs.jpg
See which ones you can figure out; the
following website can give you some hints: http://www.lunday.com/looking-at-art-pieter-breughels-netherlandish-proverbs/
·
Explore proverbs from different cultures. See if some are international in spirit: http://creativeproverbs.com/
·
See how different cultures handle various topics
through proverbs: http://www.bartleby.com/89/ Do some make more sense than others? If so,
that probably has to do with unique aspects of the culture.
CREATE:
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Have fun making cartoons based on idioms,
drawing the literal meaning and the true meaning (e.g., “all thumbs”): http://www.idiomsite.com/
·
Proverbs appear regularly in country music: http://www.deproverbio.com/display.php?a=4&f=DPbooks&r=FOLSOM/cmdictionary.html.
Try writing a song that includes proverbs.
·
Ben Franklin wrote and published many words of
wisdom. Read some of his thoughts from "Poor Richard's Almanack" and
decide what you think they mean. Then select one of his printing block letters
to read some possible interpretations. http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/printer/abc.html.
Consider collecting and publishing your family’s adages and advice.
·
In the 1920s youth culture had a big influence
on society, including idioms: http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm.
Which ones sound dated? Which ones still work? What are some of today’s youth
culture idioms? Here are some grown-ups’ idioms for today: http://lambservant.hubpages.com/hub/Contemporary-Words-Phrases-and-Idioms
CARE:
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“Translate” sayings into culturally neutral
phrasing by consulting http://www.learn-english-today.com/proverbs/proverbs.html.
You might translate them by drawing their meaning.
·
You may have heard the adage: “An apple a day
keeps the doctor away.” How good is that advice? Find out at http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/an-apple-a-day.htm
·
Here are other sayings about health: http://www.coolnsmart.com/health_quotes/.
As a family, discuss how health these adages are.
CAREERS:
Idioms and proverbs are a main concern of translators and linguists.
They also impact the work of language teachers, advertisers, historians, international
business, anthropologists, religious, writers, cartoonists, and humorists. Can
you think of other careers that deal with proverbs and idioms? Here is some
career information in the above fields.
