With the development of society, a language cannot avoid contacting with other languages. In the contact, the certain language surely absorbs some proverbs from others. With a long history, English language borrowed a large number of proverbs widely from many other languages including Greek, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and other languages, among which Latin, Greek and French provide the richest nutrition. Most of the borrowed proverbs in English, due to the remoteness of time, have already assimilated or merged into the English language with their traces almost impossible to follow.
Many English proverbs originated from French.[17] William, Duke of Normandy, France, landed his mighty army at Pevensy and defeated Saxon king Harold’s men near Hastings. William was crowned as king of England, and then he opened doors to the continent and extended culture and commercial relations with France. Norman-France culture, language and architecture were introduced. The conquerors ruled England in a long period of time, and most of the governors used French as their formal language. Although England finally won her sovereignty, there were still many borrowed words from France remained. Especially, English people accepted many French sayings. For example, Don’t put the cart before the horse; Venture a small fish to catch a great one; If the lion’s skin cannot, the fox’s shall.
Many English proverbs came from Latin.[18] Because of the introduction of Christianity into Britain, the influence of the Norman Conquest and the Renaissance on English, Latin words had made their way into the English language. Among these Latin words there also included many proverbs, which gained wide acceptance of English people. Such as: Fortune favors the brave; He who says what he likes, shall hear what he does not like; I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts; There is no rule without an exception and so on.
2.6 Originating from famous writers’ wisdom
Famous writers provided one of the richest sources for English proverbs, which is only next to the proverbs of folk origin. We also can say that most proverbs, regardless of their initial, have been polished and preserved and popularized by famous writers in their works. It is generally agreed that such famous writers as Bacon, Pope, Franklin and so on contributed quite a lot to the creation, preservation and popularization of English proverbs.
Bacon is a distinguished English philosopher and writer. He is noted for a style of thorough exposition and alternative maxims. Many sentences in Bacon’s works have become golden saying and prevailed among people. For example, Reading makes a full man tells people that only by reading can a person become learned and profound. Another proverb Knowledge is power emphasizes the importance of knowledge and encourages people to study more and learn more.
Pope is another celebrated figure in English literature. He emphasizes education and knowledge very much. Some sentences from his works have been accepted by the readers and become deeply rooted among people. Take A little learning is a dangerous thing for example. This didactic proverb is a sentence in Pope An Essay on Criticism and it reflects his ideas about knowledge and learning.
Benjamin Franklin is a famous American statesman, scientist and writer. Many sayings from his works were widely accepted and enlighten people. For example, Little stroke fell great oaks.[19] It tells us that one never giving up pursuing knowledge, because only those who are strong-minded can be highly intellectual. Another example, God help them that help themselves.[20] It tends to tell us that so long as one values self-reliance and independence, he can create opportunities, seek competition and be ready for the risks.
3. The function of English proverbs
The functions of English proverbs are that they express some rules of conduct and quite often convey some advice or counsel. In other words, most English proverbs possess philosophic depth or instructive function. For thousands of years they have been instructing and inspiring English people, so they have been regarded as the guideline of people’s thoughts and deeds, which means English people are thinking or doing things by following the direction of their proverbs either consciously or unconsciously. English proverbs have become an important sources of inspiration just because they contain truth, wisdom, counsel, rule of conduct, etc. Following will mention two functions of English proverbs.
3.1 The function to advise
Some proverbs are intended to persuade and teach people. To persuade is to praise justice, to fight against the bully. To teach is to guide people to adopt a correct attitude towards life, to take a proper way to get along well with others. For example, Better die with honor than live with shame; Don’t have cloak to make when it begins to rain. Such proverbs sound very firm and resolute and they can strengthen people conviction and awaken people consciousness of life or better their thinking methods. They are very helpful for people to make distinction between right and wrong, to be clear about what to love and what to hate. Because they are good for people’s self-cultivation and they can call for deep thought, many people take these proverbs as their life motto.
Some other proverbs reveal and criticize the dark side of the ages or society. They attack the dirty practices of the society so as to remind people to keep conscious and maintain sharp warning. For example, The fox changes his skin, but not his habit; A leopard cannot change its spots. People tend to recite such proverbs when they are disclosing the evil in the society or when they are reminding others to keep alert.
3.2 The function to spread experiences and knowledge
Many proverbs summarize knowledge of people’s daily life such as The best wine comes out of an old vessel; Soft fire makes sweet malt. As people’s daily life is complicated and extremely trifling, such proverbs are numerous. They summarize people’s knowledge in their life and they tell people what to do and how to do it. They are just like an encyclopedia to guide people’s daily life. From them, people may broaden their knowledge and outlook so as to avoid making mistakes. Some proverbs of this type are concerned with a particular field, like farmer proverbs and meteorological proverbs. Peasants of different ages, in their over years’ work, practice and prove the farming experience and productive rules. From generation to generation, they sum up their experience and the farming rules into some vivid, concise and lively sentences. These sentences are farmer proverbs and they are practiced and testified year after year and they have been proved true and accurate. They reflect the peasants’ farming experience and agricultural law and show the working people’s wisdom. Farmer proverbs are a precious and valuable part of agricultural data. Peasants of different ages have some of them as guide in their farming. And meteorological proverbs, which summarize the fundamental meteorological knowledge of generations, are also a big help in people life. For example, April showers bring forth May flowers; A cold May and a windy makes a full barn and a findy; Dry August and warm does harvest no harm; A fair day in winter is the mother of a storm; A misty morning may have a fine day; Cloudy mornings turn to clear evenings.
4. The rhetorical devices of English proverbs
If we say the philosophic or instructive aspect of English proverbs is a good help to the people, then we can also say that the artistic or aesthetic aspect of English proverbs is accelerant that attracts people’s attention to make full use of them. English proverbs are always terse, figurative and with pleasant sound effect, which make them easy to memorize and pleasant to ears. Following we will discuss the rhetorical devices of English proverbs.
4.1 Repetition
（1）Sound in body, sound in mind.
（2）Fools learn nothing from wise men, but wise men learn much from fools.
（3）One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.
（4）A wise man thinks all that he says; a fool says all that he thinks.
From the above examples, we can find that the repeated word or idea has a reinforcing effect. With the repetition of the same word in close succession, we may notice that the main point of the sentence becomes clear. It can also be used to express strong emotion and give us an aesthetic feeling and a sense of logical progression of ideas.[21]
4.2 Phonology
4.2.1 Alliteration
（5）He who makes constant complaints gets little compassion.
（6）A fair face may hide a foul heart.
（7）The fairest flowers soonest fade.
（8）Time and tide wait for no man.
From the above examples, we can find that these proverbs are vivid with rhythm. Because of rhythm, alliteration is a great help to memory. It can catch the attention of the readers and make the idea impressed deeply on the readers, so the proverbs are easier to remember.
4.2.2 Consonance
（9）In youth the hours are golden, and in mature years they are silvern, and in old age they are leaden.
（10）Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
（11）Where love fails, we espy all faults.
From the above-mentioned, consonance makes the proverbs more rhythmic and more appealing. It is also good for sound rhyme, musical effect and significant emphasis.
4.2.3 Assonance
（12）Where the needle goes, the thread follows.
（13）Who that in youth, no virtue uses, in old all honor him refuses.
（14）A friend in need is a friend indeed.
The repetition of the above vowel produces musical rhythm and sound euphony.
4.3 Comparison
4.3.1 Simile
（15）March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
（16）True friendship is like sound health, the value of which is seldom known until it be lost.
（17）A lamb is as dear as dear as to a poor man as an ox to the rich.
As we can see from the above examples, simile explains abstract, complicated ideas in simple and concrete way.
4.3.2 Metaphor
（18）Money is a good servant but a bad master.
（19）Knowledge is a treasure but practice is the key to it.
（20）Hope is the poor man’s bread.
As we can see from the above examples, an implied comparison between two different things that share at least one attribute in common.
4.3.3 Metonymy
（21）A light heart lives long.
（22）A soft answer turned away wrath.
（23）An iron hand in a velvet glove.
（24）A close mouth catches no flies.
As we can see from the above examples, unlike simile, the comparison in metaphor is implied. It requires greater ability on the part of the reader to make out the hidden association or insight, so metaphor is generally more complicated and more involved than simile. The above proverbs enrich and strengthen the reader’s existing association and bringing about greater rhetorical effectiveness.[22]
4.4 Personification
4.4.1 Inanimate objects personalizing
（25）Wall has ears.
（26）Money makes the mare go.
（27）The pot calls the kettle black.
4.4.2 Animals personalizing
（28）The fox knew too much, that’s how he lost his tail.
（29）Nightingales will not sing in a cage.
（30）The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.
（31）Two sparrows on one ear of corn make an ill agreement.
4.4.3 Plants personalizing
（32）A great tree attracts the wind.
（33）A single flower does not make a spring.
4.4.4 Abstract ideas personalizing
（34）Truth conquers all things.
（35）Opportunity seldom knocks twice.
（36）Virtue dwells not in the tongue but in the heart.
In the above proverbs, there are including three parts of personification. Using personification makes the proverbs more vivid and more attractive. It can impress the readers deeply.
4.5 Parallel
（37）In for a penny, in for a pound.
（38）In youth the hours are golden, and in mature years they are silvern, and in old age they are leaden.
（39）The least said, the soonest mended.
As we can from the above, parallel structure can create a good visual image and help readers move quickly from one idea to the next. Parallelism gives emphasis, charity and coherence of ideas, and it also gives the rhythm of the proverbs. It helps the readers to catch the idea of the speakers or writer easily and pleasantly.[23]
4.6 Synecdoche
（40）Two heads are better than one.
（41）Great minds think alike.
Here the words “head” and “mind” are both represent “a person”.
4.7 Hyperbole
（42）A thousand years cannot repair a moment's loss of honor.
（43）The world is but a little place, after all.
（44）An unfortunate man would e drowned in a teacup.
Hyperbole is a commonly used a sign of great emotion as shown in the above examples. There is no intent to deceive the reader, instead, in the speaker’s mind he is truly describing his intense feeling at the time.
4.8 Pun
（45）Measure yourself by your own foot.
Here the word “foot” has two meanings: one means human’ heel, the other is dimensional unit. So the above proverb has two different meanings, which create a pun.
（46）Rue and thyme grow both in one garden.
Here the word “rue” has two different meanings: one is the name of king of flower, the other means regret. The word “thyme” and the word “time” have the same pronunciations. These two reasons make a pun.
5.Conclusion
Proverbs are the outcome of language. They come from people and are used by people.“ Proverbs, as a prominent scholar once said “the mirror of a nation” and “the living fossil of a language”, do play an important role in different languages and cultures. In the words of Francis Bacon, “ the Genius, wit and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.””[24] There are a variety of proverbs almost all English speakers are familiar with. They regard these words of wisdom with respect.
To sum up, the major sources of English proverbs are the experience of the common people, literary works, religious scripture, mythology, translated loans, and history. So we can gain some basic knowledge of English culture through learning English proverbs, which plays an important role in cross-cultural communication. Because of using rhetorical devices and rhythmical ways, English proverbs are filled with image and vividness, which can catch the attention of the readers and make the idea impressed deeply on the readers. They also reveal a universal truth from a particular point in order to enlighten people. So proverbs give people advice or warnings in dealing with everyday issues, and point out the path to knowledge and self-cultivation.
Bibliography
[1] 王德春、杨素英、黄月圆.汉英谚语与文化［M］.上海：上海外语教育出版社，2003. P57
[2] 郝澎.英美民间故事与民俗：你不可不知道的英语学习背景知识［M］.海口：南海出版公司，2004.5. P49
[3] 同注[2], P41
[4] 圣经 (马太福音第27章第32节)［M］.中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会；中国基督教协会.南京爱德印刷有限公司,2000.P57
[5] 圣经 (申命记第8章第3节)［M］. 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会；中国基督教协会.南京爱德印刷有限公司,2000. PP283-284
[6] 王书亭、王建敏.英语流行谚语［M］.东营：石油大学出版社，2004.4. P174
[7] 同注[6], P168
[8] 同注[1], P41
[9] 同注[1], P55
[10] 同注[1], P55
[11] 同注[1], P56
[12] 同注[1], P55
[13] 王振亚.语言与文化［M］.北京：高等教育出版社，1999.4.P191
[14] 同注[1], P186
[15] 同注[1], P50
[16] 王振亚.实用英语语言文化［M］.保定: 河北大学出版社, 2004.8. P139
[17] 刘宝权、侯艳萍. 《英语专业八级人文知识》［M］.大连：大连理工大学版社，2005.9. P47
[18] 林承璋.《英语词汇学引论（修订版）》［M］.武汉：武汉大学出版社，1997.4. PP36-37
[19] 同注[6], P88
[20] 同注[1], P100
[21] 张秀国. 英语修辞学［M］. 北京：清华大学出版社;北京交通大学出版社,2005.P127
[22] 同注[22], P165
[23] 同注[22], P129
[24] Gui Qing-yang. Degrees of Affinity：A comparative study on English and Chinese proverbs［J］. JOURNAL OF SHANGRAO TEACHERS COLLEGE, Aug.1994, Vol.14 (No.3): P92
法语对英语的影响
话语联系语的语用制约性