I need your help.

For the past year, I’ve been working on a book about proverbs–you know, wise old sayings such as:

  1. Variety is the spice of life.
  2. Haste makes waste.
  3. A picture saves a thousand words.
  4. It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
  5. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

I’ve studied over 600 English proverbs and want to see if my research applies to non-English proverbs. That’s where you come in. Do you speak another language? Would you be willing to share a proverb from that language? Here are a couple of examples of what I’m looking for:

Language: French
Proverb in French: “C’est La vie.”
Literal Translation to English: “It is the life.”
Equivalent Proverb in English: “That’s life.”

Language: Twi
Country of Origin: Ghana
Proverb in Twi: “Obi nhyira ne ho na ɔmmɔ ne yɔnko dua.”
Literal Translation to English: “Someone does not bless himself and curse his companion.”
Equivalent Proverb in English: The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I’ve created a Google Form to collect these proverbs. If you have a non-English proverb to share, just click on the “I’d like to share a non-English proverb” button below to be taken to a short form.

 

 

Thank you!

 

Photo Credit: Tanner, Benjamin, Engraver, and John James Barralet. America guided by wisdom An allegorical representation of the United States depicting their independence and prosperity / / Drawn by John J. Barralett ; engraved by B. Tanner. [United States: Publisher not identified, 1815] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2010634241/