,·reverbs and .'honology -...
TRANSCRIPT
--·--·-
,·reverbs and .'honology
( ' 4 ) . l
slyl" of any creative .<riting is not merely a matter of
\JCcllnm<lr or an arrJngcrncnt of ,,ords and phro.1scs in a
sentence. Literury critic:J and linguists believe that
one of the chief com._JOnents of style is tile putternod
arrangement of sounds ir• a sr~ntcnce. '.l.'he sound not only
contributes to the style but also adds to its sense. ..e
arc £amilidr 1·1ith tho criticism that the choico and
pattern of sounds, like the tone of an utterance, makes
the sendsence mean more than its gr<1I.1mar or syn tux conveys.
For example, it is said that line "],'ive miles meandering
in a mazy motion" in Coleridge~ 'Kubla Khan' suggests,
by its pattern of vowels and diphthongs, the zig-zag
motion of the ~pha. Similarly the line "the murmurous rr
haunt of flies in summer eves" in Keats's Ode to Nightingale" e.ti
onomatopOcally suggests the buzzing of the flies in summer A
evenings. Examples of this kind, where the sound patterns
mean more than what syntactically meets the eye, can be
multiplied from poetry and prose.
Robert Frost speaks elaborately of the sound of
sense. He says,
"I am possibly the only person
going who works on any but a
wornout theory (principle I had
better say) of versification - - -
largely it affects in assonation - --
l alone of 6Dglhh writers Mft
oonaolou8ly Mt rayaelf to lUke 11111alc
out of what l .. , oall the 80Wld
of aenae•1
( ' I Jd
l'roat. further elaborates on the EDgllah ver"
ira.Ji tion, stress, pitch, juncture and intonation
system of apoken 5nglish and their potential to add new
shades of meaning to the utterance. Richard Ohmann
says
•because the form of a sentence
dictetes a ndiment:ary mode of
Wlderatanding, sentences have a
good deal to do wl th the sub
liminal meaning and fom of a
liter~ worJt, they. prepare ancl
~act readers• attention
in particular . weya •. 2
In a letter to John Bartlett, Frost wrote almost a
simllar idea.
1 give you a new definition of a sentence.
A sentence is a aound in it.self on which
other sounds caJ.led words may be strung • - -
the 1110st original writer only catches th-. fresh
from telk where they grow apont.aneously • - •
A IUD h a IIIUked WE'iteZ' if hia
worcS. an la~y strung on ~ •zoe striking
aentenae aoWlda. 3
The living pert of a po .. h the aound and the intonaU.on
entangled in the ~tax. icUom and nse.ning of a aenunae
J'rost•s concept of sentence-aounda is handy in :·-~~ysiAg
the phonology of ~verba, more ao beaau.. the proverbs
are inc!ependent of ene another and the whole body of
proverba does not coraatitute a logical c!1aaou.rs2. so
they aanraot be put to what ia Jc.nowra u c!iacourse an&lyeill•
lt 18 !BOre convenient to treat them •• a atring of aounda
arranqed in meeningtul pattema eaay to r•smber. The
phonological arrangement la •• much an &14 to the .reader,
as is the ayntaoU.c: b.revity• in IIMIIIIOriaiag the pJ:OYeZ'ba
f.n a abOrt tillle and ntainf.ng ~~ fo.r a l.ong tl.ale.
Tranafoxmational-Gene.rative g.ramma.r viewa eyntax
aa fund.anlental to the linguistic: ac:UvLty. n is held
basic to the atructun of expnaalon and is aa14 to nveal
tbe VHY et:ruature of thought itaelf. In epite of its
p.reoc:c:llpeUoo cllith the le:xJ.a. syntax and 118111ant1ca.
T.rarulfcu:mational-Generative grammar doee not. altogether
diemiaa the phOnological coaponant frota ita puodew.
obaerYea.
A gnmu ooataiaa a ayntaot.ia 0011p0nent.
a ... antic component anc! a phOnological
COIIIpODent. The lattel' two are pw:ely 1nte.r:pretat1V.I
they play no part in the cecucaive generation of
sentence structures. The 8Yntactic compOnent
consiats of a baM and a tl'anaformational
com,ponent. The baae in turn a categorical
subcomponent and a lexicon.
~enecates. deep structures. A deep structuce
enters the semantic component and receivau
a semantic interpretation. It ia mapped by
the tranaformational rules into a surface structure
which 1s then given a ph9net1g 1Dtt5J?rttat1on bx
the rules of the phonological cgmponent. 4 (Emphasis ~-· )
~vhen 'l'. s. Bliot talks o! "secondaxy meani.'lg a" :;r
Frost talks of "tones of meaning". tt~.ey blend in their
pbraaes the phonological and the semantic compone~ts.
They imply that meaning ean be id.entified by aounds as
well, not merely by words and syntax. A living proverb
has therefore a living meaning and intonation. The
linguist says that "rhythm is not only a matter of the
sound of the language, but alao a reaul t of syntactic
and semantic features•. 5 Frost • s views on tones and
meanings can be explained 1n terms of what famous •
atyliatician descril:>es aa •the tension between two systems -
the abstract : trical pattern as historical product of the
gnqlish verse tradition, and the ordinary stress-pitch.
Juncture syst.a of spoken ~\lli&h deteraaJ.ned by ita 6 requirementa of ~~~eaning and oa~phaaia•.
I ' \) )"
·rbe language of proverbs, like the language of
other forma of literature ia the UH of lanQuaqe for ita
own aak:e and is coniHIQUently full of noise. A.£. Darbyshire
stresses the significance of each of the various
linguistic features in the context of style study. He
observes,
Therf! is phooolo<;tieal noise in tl'l!l: u.>'!l
of assonance, alliteration and onnmatopt,eilll
grammatical noise in the use of unusual
or deliberately original sentence con~tr~ction;
<~nd lexical noise 1n the doliberate use of ,--\
Poly aemy. 1mageKY an~ unusual collocati,n. '---'
All these are fe,atur<la of a special U.teraxy
style and well worth examiDation 1n their
own right. 7
Style is the aggrfllgate of frequencies and the pattern of
distri.I:Ntion oi various linguistic items such as phonemes,
words and phrasal and syntactic types. The.refore statistics,
frequency and pattern of distri.bution of any single 1 tsa
is of no stylistic significance. To save styU.stic studJes
f.rom the risk of turning into a sub-department of one of
the establiahed steps of linquistic analysis, the l!ltudy of
style must be .bull t up of observations made at various
levttla - phonological. a.rpholoQicale lexical anc2
ayntact1c. 8 &eymour 0\atman h one of tboM who edvocete.
the v1- that stylht.ic oomponenta are tound at a all
levalu of lanc;JU&ga. and he works with the well defined
oooaepta IAich u phonoat,rliatica morphoat,yl11it1cG c.nd
~ntMctoat¥liatics. 9
Turner in hie ela.bOrate study of the aounda of
lanij!Uage inclu<les in the domain of at.yl.. Mtdc en4
proaodic features allah ae peua••• Jlarlcwrea., aylla.llio
pula .. at.nls• pitch or tone. He bel.t.eve• t:ha~ l:Lke th8
Unquiet. the atudaat of at¥1• takes note of flller modifications
of the norma of ll!lft9uage which are of stylbtio a.t.gnlfioance.
But he~.
Uifferencea diatingulahing the individual aounda
Of 8PQech ue outside t:he dOmain of choi• and
•tyles except when vartationa i.n t:heir pi'Oduc:Uon
are of et¥:U.sttc interesc. No~ ell the ~'SU:fuence.s in
IIIOWld habitually made by 1JP8MOI.'8 of a particul<U"
lan9t1avo .ar.tl 1'1-ear.d conslo•.:sJ.y by 1~ apeakers. 10 •
It. implies that non-di.s~iJ.u::tbe aou.nd featuras Uke
allophonic vuhtions ..u-e n~t a .,_.,:1rt of ·the :stylistic !'Jtnd:t•
'egli.t& pnverbs. i\.11 t.re b.lw .o~td.bld Ln an a.u-.lit.~r ch<ll,-·tcr,
p.:O.GZ'b8 ue of CICIGipOsits ,,uthorahip ClQr;.sistin,;; o.C: v<.rJ.ous
sources like pOets, k'rose writers, dra~~~atists, myths,
folk tales trillllilllitted iJy oral tra41t1on. The phonological
strat~jl]ies availublo in l'roverbs are not cla~u to be
the outcome of any oonacious attempt of the ,uuthore or
sources of proYerl>a. It can enly be add that proverbs,
whatever be their aourcea, have faehioneCl themaelve::~ in
course of time, their preaent fom. Bllt the outoome of
the strategies (conscious or unconscious) is that proverbs
have short, pithy syntactic structure, which together with
their phonological arrangements, have d61Vel.OJ~ed mnemonic
effeots,~.,.:.ntk-.ring them e<:<sy to remember and o:mvaniont to
quote in suitable oon~ts. ·tne p~li)(Jical cha.o:c!c·wri::rtics
this chapter addresses itself to, can be analysed in tet1HS of
pOetic: devices like assonance, allit.aration,ayllable i'ulse,
rhyme, rhythm, intonation and such others. vihat fgllows
here is an at~pt to analyse the style of proverbs as
individual utterane~s in tarms of their phonology, taking
up these de11'.1C!8a on~:.~ by one. l P A ayllU)Ols ue used fu:
the purpose of b>hodetic 4-ipr~>aan.tllti..:>n of tllt! sounds.
Allophones are not tai<:<m into consideration in the folloHi.ng
analysis as they era not concidere<l relevant to proverba
aa they are to poetry or long p1eees of ps:oae.
I.n an analyllis o£ this natu.rra ono C<Ulnol: halr
some proverbs gettlny repeiitao <w 1.llustrati~m:; '>f
cattain phonolo9ical f~atures. For ex::~;7!plo* a proverb
like •A friend in need 1 s a frie:td i:l<:lE'.oj" g~t3 r'l,:C~ctcri
as many as ten ti'llas tv 1llustr:;;;te rar.otition of sY.:71?:·
like I 1. If/, lrl. Ia!. 11/, /n/, lia/, /d/. /nd/ and
,....., 1
' '
a word lik41 /friend,/. Each time it is quoted it is
for illustrating a different sound feature and
therefore the repetition is purpoMful.
1 A.>SONANCi>
For the purpoM of this analysis r ___ -·· .... may be
defined as the repetition ot identical or similar vowel
sounds in atreased o.r unstressed syllables in n&iqhbouring
o.r nearby '..n>rds. The .repetition need not l:Je an immediate
aaqt.\ence.
symbols are '-lsed. r.hat follows here is a list of proverbs
illustratin;; tho assonance of each of the ingl1sh vowels
and diptbthoaga. Th~ list s~l~cted is only illustrative
and not exhaustive. 1'be numerical strength of the
proverbs listed to illustrate assonance of each sound
is not and should not be interpreted as the measure of
freq~.tenc::y of the particrula.r sound.
1. /ia/ close front wu:ounded vowel
H.!, who peeps through a bole may sa what will vex him
N.Ud makes gqad
SUing is bel!_enng
~a mat
·~· ' )
I . -
A grgn wound 1a aoon hulec1
SS&ty is but akin 4gp
Q\lick bel1Jve 'tin,lld broad ahoul.den
.. hen the wind ia in the U•t. Tis good for
neither man nor b£1st
Quite al!JP fssla the foul weather
A friend in DJSd ia a friend ind~
asy come Md .IA8Y gO
The Re5i!1ver is aa bad •• the th11,f
2. /1/ f.ront un.rounded vowel between close and half-close
CUrlo.a.&.ty is endl,t.ss, r:estlJ.ss and uaels••
Will is no &kill
Many a little -:.;·:,.:-;kea a m,1ckle
1'he little wjplble will let in the great anger
A little wind ltJpdles, much puts out. the fire
as at!,ll e.nd have thy will.
Give a thJr.ng and take a th,ing. to wear the de811Y
gold rJ..ng
\',111 rlill home w!ll, though w,ill woe w!n
The spirit 1s wJ..ll!nq, but the flesh is weak.
All thJ..ngs in their bJ.!ng are good for aometh!ng
Eve.qC , thinks h1• sack heaViest
Live e.nd let l!ve
-, ') I , '
3. lei front unrounded between half-close and half-open
A fril,nd in ueed is a fr!!lnd inc1eec1
~pty v.v.esels make the moat sound
J::very 11 ttle h,llps
llt.Ad men tsll . tales
D!!f!th pays all d,!lbts
OJ!xteri tll OJmes by .!,XI)or1ence
Half a loaf i.s b.!!tter than no br.tid
:.l.!,cxmd thoughts are the bJ!St
'l'he b,2st of fr.f;ends must part
A fault OJnf~ssed 1 s half re4qssed
.§xample is bjltter than pre~~
4. /¥!/ front unrounded inte.anediate bet.ween half-open
and open
ACCidents hAPPen in the best regulated f,Wililies
CJ.t has nine 11 ves
A b,ad exCilse is better thp none
A bad penny al'1ays OJmes bJlek
,ACtions apeak louder thp words
Call no m.iD h.APPY until he dies
Mjlllners maJceth lll,IJl
An empty s.sclc cannot st:,il)d upright
You may J-..now the whole s,&ck by a handful
'l'hXow out a sprat to c,atch a m,~clcerel
No man is a hero to his valet
A hungry mp 1 s an pyry m.an
I 1
s. 1••1 upen, lips neutral nearer to back than front
J~ck of all trades, mAster of nona
Jack's as good an his mAster
~t no dirt into the well that qives you W,Ater
F~st bind f~st find
The d,arlcest hour is that before the dJlWD
6. I;) I Nearly open, back with alight lip~- oundinq
~"12nesty b the best P211cy
,2.Pportuni ty seldom knocks twice
You cann9,t get a quaf·Jt into a pint P2t
The pg,t c,illed the kettle black
P.r:alse wichout PJ:2fit puts little in the P9,t
A w.-tched P!lt never boils
LOve lJI,UIJhS at l9,clcSIIli thS
G.r:app §11, lou .-11
7. I :JII aack, rounded intermediate between open
and half open
Any P9,rt in a st,am
8. I Ul Ba~, between clo•e and half cl011e with
me41um lip rounding
.. ,-' ')
AmOng th& pure vuwel111, this is the only 80und
which ia not re,~;oetat.ed in .my vroverb except
when the whole word i• repeated. aut it is
avd.lable 1n assonance 80und in a 11111all numbe.C'
of provarba as !n
as!2d fence• make CJ224 neighbour•
A 929,4 hueban4 makes a CJ.Q2d wife
G22d wine needs no bKsh
9. 1141 .!lack, round, nearly close
A fool and his money are soon parted
No f$!21 like an old f22,l
'l'be exception p.rg_ves the X'!lle
Envy sh2.2t:s at others .but wounds herself
Nu b~s sweep clean
10. I -1 / Central, ru.lf open unrounded
M,l,lCh law b»,t. little j,llstice
se J,!!st to &11, but trust not all
Nothing venture nothing ~
Never trg,llple tr2YPle till tro~ble ~lea you
.l'&ke not lllllaltet to kill a IJSltterfly
Mudc and ~nay go together
2ft• of theSfl days ls ng,ne of these days
11. /'':/ Central, unrounded between half-close and
half-open
The •At"lY bird catches the w2,n1
Even a w~rm will t~
12. / & / Central, unrounded D&t.ween half close and
half open.
l:tP apple 4 day keeps ths doctQr sway
C1osipq Dipthgpga
u. /•1/
L,Aay peo.,:le t.l)te most b>!!ns
;,hen the cat' s awg. the mice will pl£
Fortune £ivours the br~ve
An apple a d§x. kee:9s the doctor awu;
u. I 011 I
N2 fool like ftn 2ld fo·ll
Man pro(l2sea God dlsP2HS
15. /iii/
Once bi ttEin t.'d,ce shy
V,lce makes virtue shi,na
'Jh,lle the:.:~ is l,lfe, there is hope
Ol!.let sow, QW:,at mow
Happy is the :'::>,U_de the aun s!l!.nea on
Cat has n!,ne l!,vcs
A stitch in tJ...me liiiVU ni,ne
M,&.ght. b t.igbt
16. /au/
9llt of sight 2!!,t of mind
2J1t of debt 2!!,t of danger
I '
•~· ( I
I ' ~
'l"':>lv is uVilll.:..ll "'a ;1n;ole aoun<1 in a
1'oo many oooks •P!Z!l the broth
au.e., it is not available in asaonance
18. /io 1
Like 17, this ie found single in proverbs as in
aut it ia not available in aasonance
Although this sound is available in a number
of pl:ov"'rus us in
Faint heart never wins fJlr ladies
Fair play is a Jewel -1 t does not occur in an assonant sequence in
any sigle proverb.
:.zo. I -;,J I
-,1 I ' '
~his diphthong is available singly in many proberbs
112.£• haste leaa speed
"2£•• the merriex·
Mg,[o than enoug-h 1 a too r:JUch
Nature abhg,[a V&CUWII
But it ia available in asaonance in only a few
proverbs like
Fo,awarned. fonarmed
Q~ n ,;"}'' . The occu.ranc:e of this" sound is sparse and it
is not available in assonance in the corpus
of a thOusand proverbs
The frequency count of the vowel oomtda in
single and in assonant positions in thousand
p.1:0verbs and their percentage
below, ( Ptt-o.se s.. k~•t 1""1')
A11Ueration
tabulatod
For the purpose of the present study &111 teration
may be defined aa the repetition of consonants in
nearby words. Even if the sounds are repeated in
unconspicuoua positions er in unstressed positions,
() I)
---- -·-:o .. ol ! ~;:). .md .vail .1i.l1li ty in 1 ,JQ !Jr,)VUL"b!l
~:t•o~bol f .. inglc in clS:J0r1311CU in d830P.:illCC
sound uf lc<O ot chr•;o and ::\ ')·_1.-]0
-----· ~r9.- ..Y~·~:~~
l ta U21 45 1 ~., ,, •) 1 i 796 42 17 ... J (' 745 31 11
4 £ 752 27 ')
5 a I 011 38 12
6 :::> !:>40 21 12
7 :;ll 418 1 0
8 lt 256 11 ,-:)
9 Ul 268 9 6
10 II 376 22 10
11 ~· 378 2 1
12 ~ f>40 -Clos~ f1i;;2~lOPgs
13 tl 352 18 3
14 ou 116 10 0
15 ai 118 12 0
16 uu 106 11 u 17 ':)i 65 0 0
Centerin~ Uipthongs
18 id 16 0 0
19 l~ 12 0 0
20 ~~ 10 2 0
21 ~ I ;:J. 8 0 J
•• -.,;-,._,~-~.-~~---~-·A
() 1
they aru treated aa alliterative. Further, con.onanoe
which may be defined as the repetition of conaon.snta
with a change of vowel following the conaoaant aa in
kJ:ve and l, .. t ! 1Ye
ia counted as alliteration. Moreover repetition of a
whole word in a pi.'Over.b is, for phonological purpoaea,
alliteration.
The placement of alliteratin conaonants in a
pi.'Overb is not taken into cognizance. ror example
if a consonant is repeated,l\0 matter where it is taken
as allJ.teration. 1D the study of ICngliah metres, if
a consonant is repeated witbollt another a.\Uteratiing
consonant intervening, 1 t 1 s calle4 dinct alliteration,
For example :
\:hen to the J!EI&,!ions of ,!Weet .1ilent thought
••hen two diffennt: alli teratn. consonants occur
alternately in a sentence or a line, it ia called
indinct alliteration t For, example t
The !lOt !1 var of a Jleedless lover
SUch indirect alliterations an not frequent in
PI.'Overbs and as such no attempt is made to classify
alliterations into direct and indirect ones.
. .:t,o fc.>ll..> .• in~l io a list of consuu.J:Jt:J o[ v;::riOtlS
illustrcJtcd,. .. c feel thuru i£l no need to roi.rosunt tl'lom
sq;aru.tely from tho _,oint of v.i.m.; of the c;lc~c-.:: of
drticulation. llo·.-Jever, rolled /r/ and fla,yod /r/ ;.1{l:!
friccttive /r/.
illustrative ana not emaaustivo. 'I'he frequency caunt
for a tnousand proverbs, t:.o;,;ovor, is given in a table.
l.
•'losives .:<re con;;ommt.s articulated by a brief
closur0 o_ the .:1ir L'assage obstructing the air stream.
followed by o sudden removal o£ tho obstacle so ti1at •1ir
·.;:.;c,;pes .,rith utl Cx£;losive sound. ·i'here are six hell
articulv.~ed J:llOsiVeS in english I /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/,
/k/, /g/. ~lle Jlottal , lozivo /?/ is not taken into
/p/
/b/
,·!Ji::; i::; yu mct:~.c ... llly de<Jcribed .1s a voicoleos
\} '} ( ) ' J
uil.:Jbi.:Jl j.•losivo. ~t is 1llustr,1ted in the follo,.;ing
·rovorbo
.'mmy .:i:_; .. o, .·,ound foolish .. --.:::;oscssion is tho nino J:::Oints of tho la1v
J.'he L;!rooi of the £Ucldin;J is in t11e eating
'i'he...U,\.Ct;SG Of the eatient ,.;rotr.lCtS the disease
'l'his is a voiced bilabial plosive and is allitm:·Cltiv•~ly
used in the follouinq ._·roveros.
l.N"'.ry aean bd3 it;:; glaci>:
~d for t;•o .:-ider. good ior tlle aaider
Dear ~nd £orocar . -
<.~lood .;ill lw.ve bloou. -- -
It/
/d/
'' 1 I) 1
T:•iS is u voiceless alveolar plasivc and iu
iilustru.to<.l in tllc foll_;.;ing
/, faul.S, confess~ is nalf reJ:cess2$!
l;'J:'<liSO ;i U·IOU.!t, c':CDfij:: :•u,S:S lillJ.e in the £'0~
.'1:-r;a a.nu ,!;iciw •·:cl:i.J,; for r~-:.me
.1.'his is v;;iced counterpart of /t/ ood is available
in t.;;o fvllo,·:ing proverbs.
/k/
~u!.liro.:; .ro nouris:•ud l:J)/ J.!olays
~ irst sJ.c!IOt"V'-' u.c1<..1 then l;tesire
~uth . ays all l;tebts
!:I!J as you •. o..tlg, bo l;tc:me l:J)/
;..OOS! .1ine neegs no O:u:.h
l'be g<:lrkost llour is that before the ga·.r~n
.l.'lle ::aovil rings .. ork for the igle h.mgs to go
PhOnetic::ally this sound is described as a voiceless
velar plosive. Its alliterative repetition is
illustrated in the foll01'11ng proverbs.
Lucl.sY at gards, WllucJ:ur in love
CUriosi~ ~illed the gat
£0me not to ,sounsel ungalled
fare ~illed a sat
A sat may looJs. at a ~ing
£0ming events gas'b~ their sbado\·/
£0nsc::ience cloes ma]le J&O<Iarcls of us all
The g:>t>l does not ma!le:: the moo&
£Ut your goat aqcording to your sloth
HC
.-:,1;; is u. voiced vel;)r , looivu am.i is ,1vailai:>lu in
t.110 follo,.ing proverbs
.::!1 vc i.l do~ a bad name and llCln.:a him
::;:ood f,_ nces make ;aood nei.11hbours
£"or51ive and for51et
£2reat oaks from little accortls Sl%'0W
ilo51 does not eat do,!&
Dying is as natural as.livin5l
II AE'FR.ICNI'ES
:,ffricates are in a ';lay, like plasives. 'l'he
articulation is through a brief Qbstruction to the air
stream. aut unlike in plosives, wheEe the release of
the articulating organs is sudden, in affricates, thert
separat·tdhis gradual and perceptible. As a result
the affricate is perceived during the process of
;;eparation. l'hcre are only tc;o affricates in english.
-r·hey are lt:J I and ldy
/tr 1
lhis is phonetically described as a voiceless
palata-alveolar plosive. It is available in allit<-"ration
-'Xln 1 t count y -'ur £h!,ckenu b'-' fore they are huSSi!!ed
Ca~ as c~£sll con
'-'his is a voiced count~rpart of It:] I and like tho
earlier sound is available in alliteration in lesser
frequency. It is worth noticing thut it is alliterated
only through a repetition of the whole word, as is
illustrated here.
l£am toraorro" and J.am Yesterday - bUt never J.am today
l£u<%W, not that ye be not J.udsmd
III NASALS
In articulation of nasals the mouth 1s closed at
some .Point. 'i'he closure of the mouth is followed by
lowering of the soft palate 11 allo1rs the air pa!,s through
the nose. Nasals are said to be more muaical than
other consonants. There are three nasals in
english
lm/, In/ and I I
/m/
•Ills is Juscrloe<l Ga a v.:~lced bilabial nttsal, anu
ia avililable in a relatively largo numuer of vroverbe.
"hu follo.dn•J oxam.;las will sur flee to 1lluetrate the
alliteration of this nasal.
In/
tlanners maketh man - - -~eddle not .•1th WV..Jther !.Jlan°S matter
J..i ttle meddlirl~J !!J.i:lkCS !JlUCh r•"St
..:,uch l· arnlng ~ak• . .!lil men !!!,ad
,\ i.!i1Ss is i:lS go.:>d uS d !i1le
l:his is t>honetically descrikled as a voiced
aloveolar nasal and like /m/ this has a >1reat;
frequency o! occurence in <Jene.cal as well as in English
,proverbs. :..'he follo·dng proverbs are illustrative
£~,ecessi ty JW,ows lJP law
~0 aJ:ASuer is I!IQ. aASWiilr
_NO cmas g,o e.tOWB
£io c;~aia ,,1thout pato.
;j.O news is good JlOWS
J\ wise mag, 1s never loss along than, \lihaa, alone
lLJ
'.L'hi& 1a phonetically deacriQed as a voiced
velar nas<ll. This is not available in the initial
poaition of bn~liah words. Often i~isheard in .rcsen,r .I
participle of verbs such as C9!1!ina, rlvins. reading,
·.•riting. In individual words its occuronca is rather
rare. J:t is avdil .• ble in c1ords like sing. swtng,
thing. In pruv>Jrl:ls it is still leas flrequently seen
in alliterative position.
~e!Dg is believing
NothinQ have noth~ crave
Noth!n9: comes of notilJ.!!sl
Hoth!.!!sJ:_venture, noth!Wl 111in
Nothing seek, nothing find
Nothing stake, nothing draw
A U. ttle learning 1s a dangerous th.U!sl.
l'he lateral sound is art.iculated by an
ol:lstacle or obstruction in the middle of the mouth.
rhe air is released at one or both sides of the point
of obstruction. There is only one lateral sound in
en:;lish.
I 1 I
Phonotic~lly this is ,Jcscri~ed as a voiced
,:.11 velolar lat;eral and is ,,vailaole in J:;:~irly or a
;JOOd nurnbor of LJX'OV'-'rbs. ~>;wmples a
;, fuU beJ.1Y neither fights nor fA,ies .,ell
kucky at curda. unA,ucky in love
&ove me little A,ove me long
kOVG and lordship !ike no fJilowships
kong toreto!d !ong last
A smaU !ealc •~111 sink a great ship
The pot C<>}!ed the kettle black
kOOk oefore you !eap
kive and !et !ive
V Fi<ICAl'IV!i.::>
Gricatives form the largest single group
among lffiglish consonants. l'hey are ten in numl:)er.
They are formed by ~enarro~1ing of the air passage
at some i>'Oint. As the, air stream passes through
the nar.r:o.; passage it causes perceptible friction
and makes a sort of hissing voioe. The following
is the list of fricatives along with illustrations
of their occurence in ~nglish Vroverbs, in alliterative
sequences.
I 4 I
I v /.
l,! _J;p i Z sl).) rt ,",u.J t.ii·IO iS S'•lil,t
.;,.ortu!IG £cN.>urs j;,o:Jls
,Lull •H c..'Ourtesy, £ull of cra!t
:Fast bind, *'ust find. - .a. -
fricative. Xt is 11-1t :-.vailable in m;my ,>rov,!lrbs
in ~lliteration.
Iice makes :y;irtue s.1ine
,i!irtues all agree, but :y;ic:es all fight
'l'lle :!!Oi<:e of the peo_ple is the JtOiCe Of wd
·.i.'his is a vo:l.cele:.1:;; ~!~ental fricative.
Its occu.rence is very limited <.!Jld is bound up <Jit!"l
tho repetitive use of the .;ord nothing.
I b I·
.JoJi!ling vonture, no.!Jling have
No!;,hin<,J stake, no,Shing dra\'1
No,Shing seek, noShing find
No.1ihing corneD of noJib,ing
(J ')
"~
'l'his is a voiced counterpart of I 8 I. Xt is
uuecri~ed as a voiced dental fricative. Its use is
bowul vJi th the use of tho definite article JiWl and
syntactically introductory there. nut in alliteration
it is very rarely available.
Ihore is no vleasure wilJlout pain
lJlere is no smoke wiJi!lout fire
l!le first step is Ji!le hard one
(Note a l\lthough tecimically, this occurenc:e is called
alliteration, the sound I I 1e not ~slcally p.rominent. because it is in unstressed syllables.)
I s I·
This is a voiceless alveolar fricative and
has a great frequency of
musically prominent..
as a single sound
I •: I·
~o.dll tjrvfi t,a quick return .a~
...:tolcn fcuit is the .li"cete~t
~are the r<Xi ami JlklOil the child
::i{>On got, 4000 Jl;.JOnt
A .fitltch in time .JWtc nine.
-.:nis is a voiced alveolar fricative. J.'heaa artl
not r.1any -,Jords in ili1<Jlish with this sound in stressed
positions. '-"xarnples • ~.:~gl, freng, !!lJ.l and so on.
wt the sound is more frequently heard. even without
a ~banned and deliberate alliteration because, it is
hearu in frequently used 1vords such as 11• W• c3oes.
Moreover \·Jhen precede ' by u voiced consonant or a
vo1~el the i:Jlural morpheae Is I and tense suffix I e I ure pronounced as lz/.
•!rat lieJilerv,·: dUd then de,liire
'lt !Jil ea§ft to be •viae after the event
No m<m i,i wi,ae at all time.1,
Une of theJle day.i iJ! none of the,ae day,e
~here i,a time for all thing..a
~al i.~ fit only for wise men, but is found
in foo1.1,
,:::eal .1 thout prudence i,! freng
UB.fiire.fi are nourished by delaya
I r /.
~hi!l is voicod • .o:Jt-alveol..:.r fricutivu.
•'His is more frs•1uuntly seen on a printed page t.hun
i:J ilaurd in uc.tcrancc.~, ::>ccau:~o it is silent in fin<ll
pooi ti.:m of the ... ;orcl o:Jnd .1hen it 1 s follO#ed by
consonant.
fath-.;r 1
mother .l l r is silent in this
sister l position
car l
and again in
,.hen /r/ is follo·.1ed by a consonant so frequent ln
a printed or <Jdtten page there is yisual etUteration
in contrast ;;i th the lessor frequency of phonetic
all :I. teration in utterance. i'or example in the
follO\ving sentence ... there is a visual repetition
\vhich cannot be called phonetic cllU:eration.
~a.£e . commodities a£& WO£th mo,E;e than good
• r • re~'eateu fi vc times ir. pronounced only at the
beginning of the proverb. In all other positions it is
,.l•e rono·-ncuJ 'r' 1" c10u0ly unuorlinod sinol..:
IJ I
~aahneas is not valOU£
~ain uefo,to suvon illlu fino bofo,to eleven
.,;OSL.)ElCt is gie.:.~te,t fl!;om a distance
rhe i"tt.cm at'L'lo inju,tcs its neighbou,ts
i'his is a p.Uato alveolur fricative • ..:hough
this is a frequently heard sound in .,;ngliah, it is
found very rarely in alliterative positions. In our c.o ... e.
repertory of a thousand proverbs, >ie have" across
only one example of alliteration and that too by
repetition of the ~lOrd.
Red sky at night1Ji!lepherd 1 a delight
Red slty in the morning, .l!lepbel:d's warning.
'l'bis is a voiced palato alveolar fricative.
It is not available in the initial position of words,
and is rarely found in other J?Qsitions, particularly
it is not found in our rapecory ot ~nglish ~rovcrbs
in alliterative position.
!hi .O.'his is £Jhonetically described as a voiceless
glottdl fricative. It is available in the initial
tJOsi tion as .llm• has (when stressecl), hill. !11!1•
hard, hii\P,;.en, and in the medial position as in pethaps
mishap inhabit. lt is available in alliteration in a
fairly a good number of proverbs. All those \ihich
begin \11 tb "He who •
t:xamples are
.. • • alliterate with /hi
!;!e ~1ho denias all confesses all
!;!o ~~.llo excuses !limself accuses !'llmaelf
lle w!lo hesitates is last
Other examples are
!_leaven !lelps thOse w!lo b,elp themselves £.loi-e deferred maketh the Jleart sick
,tiOpe springs etemal in the !luman heart
£!ands0lae is that aan<J.some does
!_lappy is the country which Jlas no Jlistory
'I . .., ' I
Ji.
.L'heso are gli.Jos ~<ilich start ''i th .:1 closo
vo•Jel .:1no im!Jorcept1bly gliue a-.ay to some other
vo·.,el. ~'tloy ·.1re semi VO>Iels out listed and
classified with consonants. J.'he/.uJ <:ire two semi vo·.Jels
in 'nglish /w/ und /J/
14 .i:his is a voiced labio-velar semi vowel aml
is available in the following proverbs.
/j/
:,;.ine and ,!:!Sal th change !:!i sa mMa 'a manners
:,;.ill .!:!ill have have llill though !till .!:!Oe !!in
!.i_aste not !!ant not
:,;.ilful man ,!:!ill his .!:!GY
:.;.ilful .!:!aste makes a ~eful xant
:.:,hen the .'i:!,ine is in the Jilt is out
This is phonetically deacr~ as a voiced•
palatal semi vowel, and is available in proverbs, in
alliteration only when the word~ or your get
repeated. l'he frequency of occurence is very limited.
You never know what you can do till xou try
You can't lose ·.-~hat~ never had
You can • t eat your cake and have it
'lt'oy pays l2Y£ money and you takes ~ choice.
CORSOIAUT CLUST~l~
11. cons<>nant cluster 1a a <Jl:'OUP of two or three
conaonanta merged into one unit and pronounced together,
For IIX&IIIl?b - /al/ in aleeR. alipr /ak/ in .I.!.Wl• tkillr
/kl/ in cban• clear /at/ in ttand, •till are all
consonant cluatera. 'rhey are dittinguiahed from
conaonaut sequences wh~re two cuntonants ara independently '
art1cula.tl0lc1 \vith il paUliiEI !Jo;s~ween them.lu Miss Mary the
I s I of the first word and I m I of the aecond word
form a ooneonant ailqUence on word boundaries. '.Cbey can
not be treated as a c:J.ustvr aa we do I.V :Ln 'eaJ.l or
/smart/.
Sometimes although two consonants come in
quick sequence there :La what is cal.led a syllabic ~·
breelt between11 SUch pairs of consonants are not treated
as clusters. For exaxa.t'le in a word ficJsls{:~ere :Ls a
syllabic break bet•1een N and /1/; s:LmU.arly between
/t/ and /n/ in bla~oq or between lliJI and /1/ in
wrfnal~ So such consonant sequenc$s with a syllabic
break are not treated as consonant clusters in the
present analysis-Only those clusters which are not
mere sequences with a p<;.uso, or sequinces with a syllabic
break.
A consonant al.uster may have two or more
consonants as its ~»-.bers. There are two consonant
clusters. 1"hich are found in large numbers in ~nglish.
/st/ in &udent
/sk/ in school
/pt/ in aES
/bd/ in mob~
1St1 in ru.!lli!2
/zd/ in rai§..~
/nd/ in fri~
/dz/ in lan!!§.
/ts/ in ca.!:§.
l'here are alsO three consonant clusters which have
sparse frequency as in:-
/str/ in §.treet
/ng&/ in strength
/nd$/. in frien~ip
/spr/ in spring
For the purpose of this section1only two-consonant
clusters are taken up.
Again clusters are available in the initial.
medial and final· positions of 1~ords. However, no
attempt is made here to classify cl~st~s according
to their placement in w~rds. This analysis is content
with isolation of clusters and their illustration in
english proverbs.
lOU
The following clusters Gre fou.od in the repertory of
thousand proverbs taken for this study.
/pb/
/pt/
/pd/
(pk(,
/pt/
/P<V
/pm/
(pn(
1. /g/ 1 Consonant
Not available
Appearances are dece~ive
Don't em.I2SY the baby out with bath ~tater
An eml2D' cannot stand upright
Em~ vessels make the most sound
Not available
(pg/ Not available
'l'he devil can cite scri~ttve for .his purpose
Not available
Not available
Not available
/p/ Not available
/pl/
'I'he aough goes not w4tll if the aoughman hold
its not
All work and no aay makes jack a du.ll boy
f /p'l, /pv/, /p e /, /p'"O I
Not available
.-.',
1 n J
/ps/
The IJX'~ are 110ur
The footate,2a of furtune are alippeJ:l'
The world still he keeEa at hi• staffts end
that needs not to bo.naow, never to lend
Heaven hel£1 those who help themselves
/pr/ (85)
The golden age was never the 2£asent aqe
Exception E$?Ve2s the rule
The J2£0of of the pudding is in the eating
§!!ide goeth be filre fall
The J2£0per study of mankind is man
Practise what you ~each
/p J /,/py, /ph/, /pw/, /pj/
Not available
2. /bl + COnsonant
' ·,; ~. -
/bp/, /btl, /bdl. /blt/. /bg/. /btf /, /bdy. /bm/, /bn/. /b~/
Not available
/bl/
/brl
/bj/
The fint 21.ow ia half the battle
Let the cobbler aticlt to hh last
It is an ill wind that Q!owa no one any good
Blood ia thicker than water -ru:,esaed ia he who expects nothing, for he shall
never be dis~pointed
/bs/
/bz/
Absence makes the heart grow io~ader
The prodigal roe.t. his heir, the mier, himself
The baclt door roS§. the house
Adam's •ate 1s the best eew w
New brooms lileep clean -Bread is the staff of life
Brevity is the soul of wil r
Not available
Beauty 1 s b~ skin deep
A thing of oeauty is a joy for ever
1 () :~
3. /t/ + COnsonant
;w, /tb/, ;w, ;w, lt-9 :.;, /ttJ ;, /tdo/, /tm/, /tn/, /t YJ /, /tl./, /t f /, /tv/, /t 8/, /t'o I
/ts/
/tr/
Not available
If the cap fi~, wear it
An ill payer never wan~ an exeuse
It's as well to know which way the wiDd blous
Happy is the coun,:5y that has no history
If at first you don't succeed, W•-~• S£Y again
A j:;£ee is known by its fruit
These are ~icks in every ~ade
Bad news ~avels fast
The ~th will out
/t J /, /ty, /th/, /tw/. /tj/
Not available
4. /d/ + oonsonent
/dp/, /db/, /dt/, /dk/, /dg/, l~f /,/d~/, /dm/, /dn/,/d~/
Not available
1 (j .J
/dl/
.. e2!ock 1s a pa.a,ock
Cleanliness is next to g~neee
/d+ /, /dv/, /d 9/, /d 0/, /ds/
/dz/
· /dr/
Not available
The bail hides the hook
A burnt child clrea!!§. fire
By his deeds we know a man
A man of cruelty is GoS!.! enemy
A burnt child dreads fire
'rhe last drop makes the cup rWl over -•~hat sobreness conceals, 9.£wakenness r&veals
~earns go by contraries
/d f /, /~, /dh/
/dw/
Not available
A dwarf on a giant • s shoulder see the
farther of tbe two
Give the ...tuvil his <.lue
5. /k/ -1- Consonunt
/kp/, /kb/
/Itt/
Not available
Blessed is he who expe~s nothing
Expe~ation is better than realization
/kd/, /kg/, /kt J ;, /kd_o/, /Jan/, /kn/, /k ~ I
/kl/
Not available
Every g!oud has a silver lim1ng
A drawing man will £iutch at a t~w
£!,.othes do not make the man
g,eanliness is next to godl1nau
/k-¥/, /kv/, /k e>/, /k-ti' I
Not available
1 ().')
/ks/
/kz/
/kr/
Boog and frionds should be feH but qood
Never till your enemy that your foot ~s
Little strokes fell great o~
The last straw bre~ the camel's neck
It takes all sorts to make a world -
Not available
A ££eaking gate hangs long
Cross the stream where it is shallowest
Poverty is the mother of crime
A man of S,£Uelty is God's enemy
Actions speak louder than words
/k3 ~/kh/
Not available
/kw/
It takes two to make a gy,arrel
Ask no ~estions and be told no lies
/kj/
Q!riosity killed the cat
lOG
1(J7
6. /g/ + Consonu.nt
/gp/, /gb/, /gt/, /gd/, /gk/, /gtf ;, /gd_o/· /gm/, /gn/, h':)/
Not available
/gl/
Gluttony kills more than the sword -All that glitters is not gold
/gf/, /gv/, /g9/, /g-6/
Not available
/gz/
Moderation in all thin~
A creaking gate han£1A long
/gr/
~sp all, lose all
Great oaks from little acorns grow
19f/, hy. /gh/, /qw/, /gj/
Not aifailable
7. /t fl + COnsonant
/tf p/, /tjb/
Not available
1 (J B
/tjtl
A watched pot never boils
/t f I Does not enter into a cluster with any other
consonant as the second member. Other clusters are
not available.
8. /dty' + COnsonant
/dy Does not enter into a consonant with any other
consonant except /d/ in English. But even that
is available only in one proverbs selected for
this study.
Ex a Judge not that you be not judged
/mp/
/mb/
9. /m/ + Consonant
COmparisons are odious
Men are known by the com_eany they keep
TWJJ is co!!!.2any, three is none
He who would climg the ladder must begin at
the bottom
Go to bed with the la!!l!:l• rise with the lark
1 (J ~ j
/mt/
not availuble
/md/
Forewarned, forea~
/mz/
so many countries, so many custo!!!J.
10• /n/ + COnsonant
/np/, /nb/
Not available
/nt/
Silence gives conse!U;;.
/nd/
A good husband makes a good wife
A hedge betwe~ keeps friendship greon
Ink/, /ng/
Not available
/ntj/
Nothing venture, nothing have
/nd_o/
Fools rush in .;hare dDgels fear to tread
/nm/, /n'J /, /nl/, /n\ /, /nfJ /, / r.'O/ Not available
/nv/
/ns/
/nz/
~nv'y never dies --No aw!wer is also an a.!lJlWer
Silense gives consent
Let bygones be bygones
SlOl·l steady wi!!.§ the race
/nr/ Not available
/nJ I Preven:!:!.on is better than cure
/n-,1, /nh/, /nw/
Not available
/nj/
New brooms sweep clean
11. /]/ + Consonant
1 1 ()
The consonant/'j/does not make a cluster \dth
any other consonant except with the homorganic sounds
/k/ and /g/ ~~hich are illustrated below.
-I
/lp/
/lb/
/lt/
/ld/
/lk/
1 1 1
Don' t cry sti~iny f1 ah
'.L'he co»l doe~not m;:1ke the mo!!.Ji
In country of the blind, the one-eyed man is kina
If a thing is ~~orth doina it is \·lorth doina well
12. /1/ + COnsonant
God helps those who help themselves
Not available
Rome was not buill in a day
The chi~ is the father of man ,....
For tune ifavours the bo~ ......,
He that has a silver in his purse should have
siU in his tongue
It's no use crying over spilt mil&
/lf/
A growing youth hQa a woi{ in his belly
/lv/
Listness hear no good of themseues
/19/
Health 1s better than wea!J:b,
/l?i /, /la/
/lz/
Not available
Foo!.§_ rush in where angea fear to tread
He travels fastest who travels alone - -/l f /, /1_31. /lh/
/lw/
/lj/
Not available
A bad workman a~s blames his tools
A rich man • s jok is always funny
Rot available
13. If! + Consonant
/fp/, /fb/
Not available
/ft/
Never look a gi~ horae in the mouth
/fd/, /flt/, /fg/, /ttj/, /tdo/, /fm/, /fn/ ltD/
Not available
/fl/ Imitation is the sincerest ~attery
Every fiow must have its ebb
'£he spirit is willing but !!,esh is weak
/fv/, /£ e ;, /£"75/
/fs/
/fz/
/fr/
Not available
If 'ifs' and •ans' were pots and pans •••••
Not available
Forbidden !£uit is the sweetest
Success has many !£iends
/f J ;, 1£3, /fh/, /fw/
Not available
1 1 ·1
/fj/
He is rich that has few wants
14. /v/ + consonant
/v/ makes a cluster only with three consonants /d/,
/~ and /j/ which are illustrated below. It does
/vd/
/vzl
lvjl
not form clusters with the other consonants.
It is better to have lo~ and lost than never
to he11e loved at all. -
He gi~ twice who gives quickly
Distance sends enchantment to the view
15. I el + consonant
I el forms clusters with very limited number of
consonants. But such clusters are not available
in English Prover,ps.
1 1 .')
16. I V + ODnsonant
I'd~/ makes clusters only with ld/ ancS lzl in English.
But they are not available in English proverbs.
17. Is I + Conponant
/s/ fonnsth.o largest number of clusters with many
vo•el s as second members and most of them are
av~i1ab1e in English Proverbs.
/sp/
Don • t cut off your mose to §.21 te your face
More haste, less ~ed
Spare the rod and ~il the child
lsb/ Not available
/st/
Still waters \Un deep
A still tongue makes a wise head
A w tch in time sait.es nine
lsd/ Hot available
/Sk/
Every family has a ~eleton in the cupboard
Life is not all beer and sl<.i ttles
/sg/ Not available
/stJI
There are two aides to every queJSion
Ask no q:ue~ons and be told no lies
/sd3i Not available
/sm/
There's no smoke without fire -/sn/
Take heed of the sake in the garden
/s"J I not available
/sl/
1 1 c
There is many a !!!,ip between the cup and the lip.
/sf/, /sv/, /se/, /so/, /sa/, /sr/, /af /, /sy, /sh/
/sw/
Not available
Rose by any other name smells as .eeet
One swallow does not make a summer
18. /z/ + COnaonant
/z/ does not make a cluster with any other consonants
as its second aember, except with /d/. The following
is its illustration.
lzd/
Experience is the mother of wi~
19. lrl + COnsonant
In the very phonetic structure of the English
lrl is never followed by a consonant in
pronunciation. When a consonant follows it in
spelling as in ar~. a££ ~' it is always
silent. Therefore no consonant cluster is
avail able wi th/rl a.s its first 111ember.
20. I J I + COnsonant
I J I forms a cluster onlY with It/ and lr/ in
the English, and they are not available in the
proverbs under stu.dy.
21. ly + consonant
/_:/ is a rare sound in English and can form
a ~luster only with /d/. However, no example
of such cluster is available in the proverbs
under analysis.
/hj/
:c. ?. • /h/ ;- Con ::~on -.IIl t
/h/ [or:.~s u clu:>tur only '<~ith a semi VOIIOl /j/
and not .. i th the other consondllts. .:here it is
follo,;ed by other consonants like /s/ us in
sig~. or /t/ as deligh£, it is silent
~ not too high lest the chips fall in thine eye
23. /w/ + Consonant
1\·l/ is a semi vowel and cannot fo.tm a cluster
with any consonant as its second member, in
English.
24. /J/ + Consonant
Like /w/, /j/ is a semi vowel and there are
clusters in English with /j/ as its first member.
The Clusters are shown in a table on page 1.1.3
The foregoing analysis shows that English Proverbs
have used a large n~r of Prosodic devices and
phonological combinations available in English. At
the same time, many of the devices and combinations are
1 1 ! J
1 2 3 4 5 s 7 8 99 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 l7 18 1t 20 21 22 2l 26' P b t a k v tf a3 .. n 'J 1 f ., e ·a • • , J 3 b • J
l p - 0 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 • 0 10 0 0 0 0 •
2 b0-000000000800001470000l
3 t 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 7 0 10 0 0 0 0 e • 4000-00000004000006800022
I k0060-000000600008062 0032
' g 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 7 10 0 0 0 0 0
1 tf 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I cl3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
• 1154020000-000000002000000
10 a 0 0 4 6 0 0 2 2 0 • 00 0 0 S 0 0 S I 0 5 0 0 0 4
11 'D 0 0 0 0 4 10 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
u 1 5 0 6 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 • 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 4 0
u f 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 - 0 0 0 2 0 10 0 0 0 0 4
14 v 0 0 0 4 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ...
u e o o o o o o o o o o o o o o • o o o o o o o o o ~ \ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 • 45 0 48 0 16 0 4 0 6 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 .. 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
~ • 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0
~ r o o o 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 o - 0 o o o o 20 J 0000000000000000000-0000
213 00000000000000000000-000
u b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1
u v 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0
14 JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO•
not availu.ble in the !Jroverbs analysed. l.lesides sounu
sequences like vowels and consonants there are other
devices available in proverbs which rsnder thom easy tc
remember and quote. One of them ia <;~reater frequency
of monosyllabic words in proverbs.
SYLLABIC DISTRIBUTION
A syllable 1 s a unit of a sound or a sequilmce of sounds
prominently heard in a word. A syllable consists of a
vowel alone or more often, a vowel and one or more
consonants preceding or following the vowel. The vowel
in a syllable is more prominently heard th&n the consonant
components.
Words are structurally classified in terms of
the number of syllables they contain. A word with a
single syllable is called monosyllabic. For example 1
il• 1:!1&• !!!• no&. n~. sch22,l• girl, teach,
friend and so on.
''ords with two syllables are
such as t
called disyllabic
tea/cher foo/lish friend/ly pa/per
and so on. ••ords with three syllables are called
trisyllabic such as -
friend/11/ness, lead/er/ship,
-1nd .. ords ,;1 tb mo.c :J t"~'' Lllru·~ aro ;wmcr'llly cl,wsed as
l.)()lysylL.b1c, c1l Ll"uU•Jl• 1 t 1u £>O:Jaible to n<l!11e them according
to the number of syllables.
Ln English Proverbs, the distribution of
monosyllabic words is greater than that of disyllabic and
other categories. That contributes to the rhythm and
easy memorability of proverbs. 'l'he follol"ling are
examples of proverbs with monosyllabic words.
Monosyllabic Proverbe
'l'ake the will for the deed
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face
Give a dog a name and hung him
No news is good news
A stitch in time saves nine
Proverbs with monosyllabic words account for nea.d:y haH
of English proverbs.
Proverbs with one disyllabic word
Idle folk have the least leisqre
A heayY purse makes a light heart
Half a loaf is better than bread
SUch proverbs form about 20% of those under study.
Proverbt with two difYll§bic wo{dt
H&n480111e h aa htpdfOlll doe•
The hiqhett branch is not the safe1t roo1t
No an!Wer 1a also en e.ntw•r
The form about 10~ of English Proverbs.
1'xove.xbs wdh d.Jsy\labic wend<.
Other times, other mannert
Provema with tri-syllabic words
HistorY repeats itself
A 11 ttle learning is a dangeroye thing
Proverb! with PolYsyllabic words
Hinet.y percent inspiration is perspiration
l!y];)ocriu is a homage that vice pays to virtue
All together form about 20% of English Prove.rbs.
English proverl>s have all the phonological strategies
used in poetry or in poetic prose. The pbonologi.cal
devices, together with syntactic brovity and semantic
potentialities explain the easy quo~ility of proverbs
in any language.
1 ·~ 'J ·- l)
~ ... .-. ·~ ,, t;..; ·- ..;
1 .. uoted by ·1111ilG1 .• ulder in "Hobert Frost on tho ,,:)und of ...ouse", ~uqs in .?:P:Ll:Ul~." Eent.rul
.ln::;t:l. ~Ute Of ..;nglisll atlU •iOro:l.gn LanyUil<JOSo
lly.Jerdbu.<J. 19130 (.<'. 151).
2 :<:I. chard uhmann L1 toratULE! As ..-<3ntonces In vlen
~SlaYS
',)
•••• Lo .. <:md •·•ichael .-·u.yne. ;.;ds. Qontemporarv
or1 .;t~, ;;C:l" ~ark. a ;..cott Foresman, 1969 •• (Po 150) ~ 111
3 .•. uoto<.l by •·ulder. opp. c:l. t., (P. 151).
4 uoam Chomsky, Aspects of the 'I'heoli'Y of syntax. -.ambriuge Hass, M.I.l'.J?ress, 1960 1 Reprint 1964 (P. 73) •
' .
5 •<1chard ... l3a1ley and Dolores M. Burton, English
st;ylist:l.cs 1 A Bibliography. cambri<lge • M.I.T. l?ress
1969 (P • XIII) •
6
7
8
Itt. seymofz, Chatman, "i<obert l!'rost • s 'Mou.rng • 1 An ~
Inquiry into Prooouic Structure•, Kenyon Review, 28,1956 (P. 422).
''• r.:;. Darbyshire, A pescdption of §nsJl18bo New .Llelh:l., 2<rnold-lle:l.nemann India, 1972 (P.169).
k NUs Erik <:npist !tal,u Linguistics and Sty·le I
London Oxford University J?ress, 1964. (P.6-a>.
9 Seymour Chatman, "Stylistics a ~.~uantitative and
~ualitative", §txle. 1 (1967), c.-. 29-43).
10 "'•'·• 'I'urner, Rtxlistigs; Harrnottaworth, Pblguin Books; 1974. (.1?.63).
. ·-~~. ":,-;.,
' ' '