Proverbs

Proverbs are different from PUs. The first distinctive feature is the obvious structural dissimilarity. PUs are a kind of ready-made blocks which fit into the structure of a sentence performing a certain syntactical function, more or less as words do.

e.g. George liked her for she never put on airs (predicate). Big bugs like him care nothing about small fry like ourselves (subject, prepositional object).

Proverbs, in their structural aspect, are sentences, and so they cannot be used in the way in which phraseological units are used.

In the semantic aspect, proverbs sum up the collective experience of the community.

They:

· moralize Hell is paved with good intentions;

· give advice Don't judge a tree by its bark;

· give warning you sing before breakfast, you will cry before night;

· admonish Liars should have good memories;

· criticize Everyone calls his own geese swans.

The function of proverbs in speech is communicative i.e. they impart certain information. PUs do not stand for whole statements as proverbs do but for a single concept. Their function in speech is purely nominative i.e. they denote an object, an act etc.

The question of whether or not proverbs should be regarded as a subtype of PUs and studied together with the phraseology of a language is a controversial one. A. V. Koonin includes proverbs in his classification of PUs as communicative phraseological units. From his point of view, one of the main criteria of a PU is its stability.

The criterion of nomination and communication cannot be applied here because there is a considerable number of verbal PUs which are word-groups (i.e. nominative units) when the verb is used in the Active Voice, and sentences (i.e. communicative units) when the verb is used in the Passive Voice.

e. g. to cross (pass) the Rubicon – the Rubicon is crossed (passed);

to shed crocodile tears – crocodile tears are shed

One more argument is that there does not exist any rigid border-line between proverbs and PUs as PUs rather frequently originate from the proverb.

e.g. the PU the last straw originated from the proverb The last straw breaks the camel's back

birds of a feather < the proverb Birds of a feather flock together

to catch at a straw (straws) < A drowning man catches at straws

Besides, some proverbs are easily transformed into PU

e.g. Don't put all your eggs in one basket > to put all one's eggs in one basket

Don't cast pearls before swine > to cast pearls before swine