Irish Proverbs and Európai Közmondások

Williams, Fionnuala Carson (2000) Irish Proverbs and Európai Közmondások. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 45 (3-4). pp. 421-437. ISSN 1216-9803

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Abstract

Dr PACZOLAY’s magnum opus “Európai Közmondások” affords, among other things, a foundation on which comparative studies can be made. Initially my paper will describe how the Irish language versions it contains, in association with the Celticist Dr A. J. HUGHES, were selected. Of Dr PACZOLAY’s one hundred and six common European proverbs, that is, those found in over half of the 55 languages included and present in all five areas of Europe – Central, Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern – Irish language versions were found for over 60%. Those which were found, as well as those which were absent, will be discussed. It is obvious that many common European proverbs, while represented in Ireland, are rare. It seems that often other proverbs with similar interpretations serve as substitutes for those quoted or not present in EK in addition there are sometimes Irish variants which are commoner than the standard European. Particular points of style and reference within the Irish language corpus will be highlit. The corpus will also be compared with those in the other Celtic languages represented in EK – its close cousin Scottish Gaelic, and its more distant relatives, Welsh and Breton. Finally, the English language proverbs of Ireland, for which an equivalent percentage for EK as those in the Irish language can be found, will be compared.

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