Филологические науки / 9. Этно-, социо- и психолингвистика

М.Б. Шойманова

кандидат филологических наук, ЮКГУ им. М.Ауезова

Application of idioms, proverbs and sayings by native speakers of English

In order to perceive the nature of one’s mother tongue, and to reach a deeper understanding of the structure and peculiarities of a particular language system, that language must be considered in close relationship with national history, culture, and intellectual wealth: in short, the language must be considered within the context of a nation’s worldview. A key area of linguistics is the study of linguistic units, with reference to human factors and values. In recent years, great attention has been paid to the question of the extent to which linguistic units are used correctly and accurately by native speakers, and to the understanding of their meaning. In this context, great emphasis is given to cultural sources related to national values. At present, language is considered not only from the perspective of structure, but also from the perspective of meaning, field, and concept.

According to the survey that has been done, total number of idioms about bovine in the English language is 76 units, 20 of which are about cow, 9 – ox, 34 – bull, 8 – calf, 5 – other kinds of bovine. There are 46 proverbs and sayings about bovine in the English language. 29 of them are about cow, 7 – ox, 3 – bull, and 7 – calf.

This article is dedicated to the analysis of the questionnaire that I have done during my research internship in Cambridge, the UK. In this article I would like to point out to the conclusion of the survey carried out among native speakers with the aim of identifying the understanding and use of the idioms, proverbs and sayings concerning four kinds of livestock (horse, camel, cow, and sheep) in the English language. The total number of participants is 65. 15 proverbs and sayings about four kinds of livestock have been included to the questionnaire. There is a sample answer given below by one of the participants:

Idioms and Proverbs	A	B	C
Calf love	the first adolescent love-affair
From the horse’s mouth		from an original or reputable source
Mutton dressed as lamb			a middle-aged or old woman dressed in a style suitable for a much younger woman
Could eat a horse	be extremely hungry
A wolf in sheep’s clothing			someone who looks respectable and harmless but whose behaviour is quite the opposite
Like a bull in a china shop		very clumsy and destructive
To separate the sheep from the goats	to separate the good from the bad
To make sheep’s eyes at someone		to look tired
Never look a gift horse in the mouth			Do not find fault with something which has been offered as a present
There is a black sheep in every family		There is a scoundrel in every family
You can not sell the cow and drink the milk	You must have one thing or the other, not both
You cannot close the stable door after the horse has bolted			Preventive measures taken after things have gone wrong are of little effect
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride		Some wishes are often far from reality
Many a good cow has a bad calf			A good character of parents is no guarantee of good character of their child
Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?		it is illogical to go to great lengths to enjoy something that is readily available

Each participant should choose the correct answer among the given options. Most of the answers have been given correctly. Just the answer for the idiom “To make sheep’s eyes at someone” is not correct.

Also in order to find out the general use of idioms, proverbs and sayings by native speakers they have been given the following questions:

My favourite idiom or proverb is:	Name and surname:
The idiom or proverb I most often use is:	Age:
The idiom or proverb I have never used is:	Occupation:

The participants of the questionnaire can be divided into 3 groups. The first group of participants includes respondents from 20 to 30 years old. The number of people in this group is 27. Most of them are students studying for Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and PhD students of the Cambridge University. This group also involves representatives of different professions as a travel consultant, military service man, teacher, librarian, finance director, archeologist, and doctor.

Proverbs and sayings	Percentage
	Correct	False	No answer
Calf love	96	4
From the horse’s mouth	96	4
Mutton dressed as lamb	96		4
Could eat a horse	100
A wolf in sheep’s clothing	92	8
Like a bull in a china shop	100
To separate the sheep from the goats	100
To make sheep’s eyes at someone	85	11	4
Never look a gift horse in the mouth	96		4
There is a black sheep in every family	96	4
You can not sell the cow and drink the milk	92	4	4
You cannot close the stable door after the horse has bolted	100
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride	92		8
Many a good cow has a bad calf	100
Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?	100

The idiom which has got the most number of wrong answers is the definition of the idiom “To make sheep’s eyes at someone”. In general, the total percentage of the correct answer equals to 96%. The percentage of idioms, proverbs which has not been given answers is 24%. As the most favourite idiom 4 representatives of this group have given the idiom “Mutton dressed as lamb”, 3 respondents have shown the idiom “Could eat a horse” while 3 participants have presented “A watched pot never boils” as the idiom they use most often. As the idiom or proverb they have never used 2 respondents have written the proverb “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”. 4 respondents of this group have not given any answer to these questions.

The second group includes respondents from the age of 30 till 50. The number of people having participated is 20. The participants of this group are representatives of different occupations. They are managers, administrators, doctors, teachers, engineers, book editors, factory managers, housewives, architects, librarians.

Proverbs and sayings	Percentage
	Correct	False	No answer
Calf love	100
From the horse’s mouth	100
Mutton dressed as lamb	100
Could eat a horse	100
A wolf in sheep’s clothing	95	5
Like a bull in a china shop	100
To separate the sheep from the goats	100
To make sheep’s eyes at someone	95	5
Never look a gift horse in the mouth	100
There is a black sheep in every family	100
You can not sell the cow and drink the milk	95	5
You cannot close the stable door after the horse has bolted	90	10
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride	100
Many a good cow has a bad calf	100
Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?	100

The total percentage of the correct answers equals to 98%. The definition of the proverb “You cannot close the stable door after the horse has bolted” is the answer which has got the most number of wrong answers. There is no idiom or proverb which has not been given an answer in this group. The representatives of this group have given different answers to the question about their favourite idiom or proverb. As the idiom or proverb that they have never used 2 participants have presented the proverb “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”. 6 respondents have not given answers to those questions.

The age of the participants in the third group is above 50 years old (50+). 5 of them are retired. The number of participants in this group is 18. The professions of respondents are different as a chartered naval engineer, teacher, academic pharmacologist, mechanic, and marketing manager.

Proverbs and sayings	Percentage
	Correct	False	No answer
Calf love	100
From the horse’s mouth	100
Mutton dressed as lamb	100
Could eat a horse	100
A wolf in sheep’s clothing	100
Like a bull in a china shop	100
To separate the sheep from the goats	100
To make sheep’s eyes at someone	88	6	6
Never look a gift horse in the mouth	100
There is a black sheep in every family	100
You can not sell the cow and drink the milk	88	12
You cannot close the stable door after the horse has bolted	100
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride	100
Many a good cow has a bad calf	100
Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?	100

The total number of correct answers is 98.4%. 2 respondents have given wrong answers to the definition of the proverb “You can not sell the cow and drink the milk”. The idiom “To make sheep’s eyes at someone” has not been given an answer once, has been given a wrong answer once as well. 2 participants of this group have represented the proverb “Do not put all your eggs in one basket” as their most favourite proverb, while 2 other representatives have written the proverb “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” as the proverb they use most often. As the proverb which has never been used, the proverb “Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?” has been mentioned.

Bibliography:

1. David Pickering, Cassel’s Dictionary of Proverbs. London, Cassel & Co, 2001.

2. Linda and Roger Flavell, Dictionary of idioms and their origins. London, Kyle Cathie Ltd, 2006.