See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285523138

1995 Jordanian Proverbs

Article January 1995

READS

1 author:
Mohammed Farghal
Kuwait University
100 PUBLICATIONS 258 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE

Available from: Mohammed Farghal

Retrieved on: 30 May 2016

JORDANIAN PROVERBS: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC AND

TRANSLATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

JORDANIAN PROVERBS:
AN ETHNOGRAPHIC AND TRANSLATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
.Mohammed Farghal
Yannouk University, lrbid, Jordan.

Abstract
The present paper addresses the ethnography and translarahility of Jordanian
proverbs. It offers a comparative/ contrastive view herween Jordanian and English
pro1erbs with an eye to bridging the othenvise wide gap between the two cultures. The
prmerbial depiction of Jordanian culture is meant to contribute to better understanding
of Jordanian values, convictions and ideals hy other cultures, thus hoping to encourage
proverbial harrowing between languages. This study is also expected to he of value to
disciplines of folklore, anthropology and sociology, as it highlights the indigenous aspects
of Jordanian culture. Finally, the paper offers a theory-based methodology for the
translation of proverbial expressions.

1. Introduction
Proverbs are often regarded as the mirror of a culture; they efficiently express it
convictions, ideals, and values. Definitionally, a proverb can be viewed as a traditional
saying which offers advice or presents a moral in a short and pithy manner (Simpson
1982). By and large, proverbs fall into three types: truthful proverbs which express general
truths, observational proverbs which express generalisations about everyday experience,
and traditional wisdom and folklore proverbs which offer classical maxims in various
areas. Witness the illustrative Jordanian proverbs along with their correspondent English
ones in (1 ), (2) and (3) b_7Jow (They exemplify the three types, respectively): I

\ J;; .... t

I. .

ma fih duxxan bidun nar

not there smoke without fire
'There is no smoke without fire'

2.

'ii- -gird b-en 'ummu-\.\ iazal

def-monkey in-eye mother-his gazelle
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'

3.

'it21adda w-itmadda w- it'-assa w. have.... ....lunch and-lie down and-have supper and1tma.5 Sa
walk
'After dinner rest a while, after supper walk a mile'

JORDANIAN PROVERBS: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC AND TRANSL.A. T[ONAL PERSPECT[VE

207

metaphorical application to the effect that a makeshift solution to any state of affairs is
strictly prohibited in the presence of the genuine solution.

5. Conclusion
The present paper has addressed the ethnography and translatability of Jordanian
proverbs. Throughout, a comparative/ contrastive view between Jordanian proverbs and
English ones is maintained with an eye to bridging the otherwise wide gap between the
two cultures. It is hoped that the proverbial depiction of Jordanian culture will contribute
to better understanding of Jordanian values, convictions and ideals by native speakers
of English. It is also hoped that this study will help, in the final analysis, to instantiate
some sort of proverbial borrowing to fill out proverbial gaps in the two languages.
Further, this study has concentrated selectively on the indigenous aspects of culture.
that have found their way into Jordanian proverbial expressions. It is believed that the
highlighting of such culture-specific features contributes to a profound understanding of
the ethnography of Jordanian proverbs by delving deep into the social, psychological,
economic and political structure of Jordanian society. The implitation of such a"analysis
is of great relevance to neighboring disciplines such as folklore, anthropology and
sociology, among others.
Finally, this paper is expected to be of great value to translation theorists and
practitioners, alike. The fact that it addresses, in some detail, the translatability of Jordanian
proverbs into English makes it a useful reference to specialists and students of translation
and contrastive linguistics.
Notes
l . By Jordanian proverbs, it is meant those proverbs that are indigenous to the Jordanian
Arab culture and those that are shared with other Arab cultures, that is, they belong to
the repertoire o( at least, educated Jordanians.
2. There are several idiomatic and proverbial expressions that reflect negative stereotyping
of the dog. Among these we have: 'Lead a dog's life', 'Go to the dogs', 'in the doghouse',
'If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas', 'Why keep a dog and bark yourself',
'It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog', and 'You cannot teach an old dog new tricks'.
References
Catford, J. (1965): A Linguistic Theory of Translation. Oxford University Press.
Dagut, M. (1981): Semantic "Voids" as a Problem in the Translation Process, Poetics
Today 2 (4): 61-71.

------- ---

--

--