Filipino proverbs

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Filipino proverbs or Philippine proverbs [1] are traditional sayings or maxims used by Filipinos based on local culture, wisdom, and philosophies from Filipino life. The word Sawikain proverb corresponds to the Tagalog words salawikain, [2] [3] kasabihan [2] (saying) and sawikain [3] (although the latter may also refer to mottos or idioms), and to the Ilocano word sarsarita. Proverbs originating from the Philippines are described as forceful and poetic expressions and basic forms of euphemisms. If used in everyday conversations, proverbs are utilized to emphasize a point or a thought of reasoning: the Filipino philosophy. [1] One notable and locally popular example of a Filipino proverb is this: A person who does not remember where he (she) came from will never reach his (her) destination. Of Tagalog origin, it conveys and urges one person to give "importance in looking back at one’s roots and origins." The maxim also exemplifies a Filipino value known as the "utang na loob", one’s "debt of gratitude" to the persons who have contributed to an individual’s success. [1] Damiana L. Eugenio, a professor from the University of the Philippines, author of Philippine Proverb Lore (1975), and who is also referred to as the "Mother of Philippine Folklore" grouped Filipino proverbs into six categories based on the topic expressed, namely: ethical proverbs (those that express a general attitude towards life and the laws that govern life itself), proverbs that recommend virtues and condemn vices, proverbs that express a system of values, proverbs that express general truths and observations about life and human nature, humorous proverbs, and miscellaneous proverbs.

Usage

Philippine proverbs are further illustrated to be ornaments to language, words of ancestors handed down from one generation to another, and as wisdom gained from experience, which can be quoted to express a sentiment, a statement, or an opinion. Apart from this, Filipino proverbs are also used to avoid offending other individuals. This is one example of such a proverb: Bato-bato sa langit, 'pag tinamaan huwag magagalit, meaning "a stone thrown heavenward; if you get hit on its way down, don't get mad." Equipped with the appropriate and timely proverb, a Filipino can communicate empathy, and might be able to convince another person leading to the closure of an argument. Some Filipino proverbs are also intended to provide a warning, a lecture, advice, and as a supporting statement for a particular viewpoint or issue.

Related Research Articles

The Book of Proverbs is a book in the third section of the Hebrew Bible traditionally ascribed to King Solomon and his students later appearing in the Christian Old Testament. When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms: in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) it became Παροιμίαι ; in the Latin Vulgate the title was Proverbia, from which the English name is derived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverb</span> Short traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth

A proverb or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagalog language</span> Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages, alongside English.

A Japanese proverb may take the form of:

In language, an archaism is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a historical epoch beyond living memory, but that has survived in a few practical settings or affairs. Lexical archaisms are single archaic words or expressions used regularly in an affair or freely; literary archaism is the survival of archaic language in a traditional literary text such as a nursery rhyme or the deliberate use of a style characteristic of an earlier age—for example, in his 1960 novel The Sot-Weed Factor, John Barth writes in an 18th-century style. Archaic words or expressions may have distinctive emotional connotations—some can be humorous (forsooth), some highly formal, and some solemn. The word archaism is from the Ancient Greek: ἀρχαϊκός, archaïkós, 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately ἀρχαῖος, archaîos, 'from the beginning, ancient'.

An aphorism is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tradition from generation to generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taglish</span> Hybrid language of English and Tagalog

Taglish or Englog is code-switching and/or code-mixing in the use of Tagalog and English, the most common languages of the Philippines. The words Taglish and Englog are portmanteaus of the words Tagalog and English. The earliest use of the word Taglish dates back to 1973, while the less common form Tanglish is recorded from 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A picture is worth a thousand words</span> Idiom suggesting seeing something is better for learning than having it described

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is an adage in multiple languages meaning that complex and sometimes multiple ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, which conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description.

Many Chinese proverbs exist, some of which have entered English in forms that are of varying degrees of faithfulness. A notable example is "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", from the Dao De Jing, ascribed to Laozi. They cover all aspects of life, and are widely used in everyday speech, in contrast to the decline of the use of proverbs in Western cultures. The majority are distinct from high literary forms such as xiehouyu and chengyu, and are common sayings of usually anonymous authorship, originating through "little tradition" rather than "great tradition".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saying</span> Concise expression memorable for its meaning

A saying is any concise expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. Sayings are categorized as follows:

Paremiology is the collection and study of paroemias (proverbs). It is a subfield of both philology and linguistics.

The Bolinao language or Binubolinao is a Central Luzon language spoken primarily in the municipalities of Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan in the Philippines. It has approximately 50,000 speakers, making it the second most widely spoken Sambalic language. Most Bolinao speakers can speak Pangasinan and/or Ilocano. Ethnologue reports 510 monolinguals for this language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinconada Bikol language</span> Bikol language spoken in the Philippines

Rinconada Bikol or simply Rinconada, spoken in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, is one of several languages that compose the Inland Bikol group of the Bikol macrolanguage. It belongs to the Austronesian language family that also includes most Philippine languages, the Formosan languages of Taiwanese aborigines, Malay, the Polynesian languages and Malagasy.

Filipino values are social constructs within Filipino culture which define that which is socially considered to be desirable. The Filipino value system describes "the commonly shared and traditionally established system of values underlying Filipino behavior" within the context of the larger Filipino cultural system. These relate to the unique assemblage of consistent ideologies, moral codes, ethical practices, etiquette and personal and cultural values that are promoted by Filipino society.

The Durham Proverbs is a collection of 46 mediaeval proverbs from various sources. They were written down as a collection, in the eleventh century, on some pages of a manuscript that were originally left blank. The manuscript is currently in the collection of Durham Cathedral, to which it was donated in the eighteenth century. The Proverbs form the first part of the manuscript. The second part, to which it is bound, is a copy of Ælfric's Grammar. Each proverb is written in both Latin and Old English, with the former preceding the latter. Olof Arngart's opinion is that the Proverbs were originally in Old English and translated to Latin, but this has since been disputed in a conference paper by T. A. Shippey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagalog profanity</span> Profanity in the language of the Philippines

Tagalog profanity can refer to a wide range of offensive, blasphemous, and taboo words or expressions in the Tagalog language of the Philippines. Due to Filipino culture, expressions which may sound benign when translated back to English can cause great offense; while some expressions English speakers might take great offense to can sound benign to a Tagalog speaker. Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is the standard register of Tagalog, so as such the terms Filipino profanity and Filipino swear words are sometimes also employed.

Bahala na is a Filipino term and value of either fatalism towards life or determinism in challenging situations. It can be translated to mean "whatever happens, happens," "things will turn out fine," or as "I'll take care of things." In Sikolohiyang Pilipino it is described as "determination in the face of uncertainty."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speech is silver, silence is golden</span> Proverb extolling the value of silence over speech

"Speech is silver, silence is golden" is a proverb extolling the value of silence over speech. Its modern form most likely originated in Arabic culture, where it was used as early as the 9th century.

As a historical colony of the United States, the Philippine English lexicon shares most of its vocabulary from American English, but also has loanwords from native languages and Spanish, as well as some usages, coinages, and slang peculiar to the Philippines. Some Philippine English usages are borrowed from or shared with British English or Commonwealth English, for various reasons. Due to the influence of the Spanish language, Philippine English also contains Spanish-derived terms, including Anglicizations, some resulting in false friends, such as salvage and viand. Philippine English also borrows words from Philippine languages, especially native plant and animal names, and cultural concepts with no exact English equivalents such as kilig and bayanihan. Some borrowings from Philippine languages have entered mainstream English, such as abaca and ylang-ylang.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tagalog proverbs are called salawikain or sawikain while they are termed sarsarita in Iloko". Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 Pasagdan, Marco Antonio (2005) [1968]. "Salawikain, proverbs, kasabihan, proverb". The New Filipino-English / English-Filipino Dictionary. National Bookstore (Mandaluyong). ISBN   9710817760.
  3. 1 2 "Proverb, maxim, saying, Salawikain, wikain, kasabihan, sawikain". English, Leo James. Tagalog-English Dictionary . 1990.