Yiddish and Polish Proverbs - Contrastive Analysis Against Cultural Background

Ph.D. Thesis, Conclusions. © by Magdalena Sitarz, Cracow 1993

In our study we have collated a list of corresponding Yiddish and Polish proverbs, arranged by subject-matter and thus allowing the investigation of cultural influences between Jews and Poles. We have also analysed any language influences found in Polish and Yiddish proverbs - this section was intended as a contribution to broader linguistic research, which should also take into account the spoken language as well as Polish and Yiddish literature. As a result of a thorough study based on the corpus of proverbs examined we came forward with a new attempt at the definition of the proverb as well as at classification methods. We have also defined what equivalent (or corresponding) proverbs are. Further, we have analysed the corresponding Yiddish and Polish proverbs and established the areas of cultural influences, which are manifest in them. We hope that we have thus shown that proverbs are a very good basis for investigating influences of languages and cultures.

Methodology

The definition of a proverb. We have come to the conclusion that for comparative aims the following definition of a proverb would be the most suitable: a proverb is a sentence which shows the following attributes: didactic character, picturesqueness and minimum variability.
Classification of proverbs. If we want to compare proverbs from different languages the best method of classification is by subject-matter. We suggest classification in the following main groups:
  1. General and Abstract Concepts
  2. God, Religion and Superstition
  3. Man and His Nature
  4. The Individual and Society
  5. The Family
  6. Observations and Advice
divided into further subgroups as shown in section 5.
Equivalence of proverbs. To compare proverbs from different languages it is enough to use the following criterion; equivalent proverbs are those, which can differ completely in their wording but which can be used in the same situation and express the same, almost the same or the opposite meaning.

Language and Cultural Contacts - on the Basis of Proverbs


Language contacts - on the basis of proverbs. We have analysed Polish and Yiddish proverbs (not only the corresponding ones) and found mutual influences in vocabulary, morphology and syntax. The influence of Yiddish on Polish is only in vocabulary. It seems, however, important that the borrowed words not only deal with new concepts (e.g. Jewish religion), for which there was no word in Polish, but also with some already known ones ( cymes, kapcan, kliger, mecyja, mojra, pikes, pomelech, szabasnik). Polish had a much greater impact on Yiddish than the other way round. Influences can be found in vocabulary, morphology and syntax. In vocabulary the borrowed words deal especially with matters of everyday life: nature (animals, plants, landscape), furniture, tools etc., clothes, food and its preparation, people, professions, health and body, family, property, money, trade and there are only a few abstract meanings. Morphology and syntax had already been formed when Yiddish encountered Slavic languages and show less influence, but it can be found even there. If there were similar studies devoted to the influences in the spoken language and in literature, one could establish whether there are any differences in the borrowed words. Among proverbs there are some sentences or their parts borrowed as a whole and it is easy to imagine that some of the Polish words and structures used did not find their way either into spoken nor into written standard Yiddish language.
Cultural contacts - as manifest in proverbs A proverb is a true word. says a Yiddish proverb and A proverb tells the truth - so does its Polish equivalent. One could say that the corresponding Yiddish and Polish proverbs tell us the truth (or at least part of it) about mutual cultural contacts. There are many equivalent proverbs that we can find only in Yiddish and in Polish. Often not only their meaning but also their wording is exactly the same, so one can hardly imagine that they have developed separately in both languages. If the wording differs, one cannot assume a borrowing (although it is still possible), but what is evident is the same attitude to a given problem, a similar attitude to life. And, as shown above, the corresponding Polish and Yiddish proverbs cover the whole of life with its diversity and riches.
And thus, equivalent proverbs confirm cultural contacts and influences in such areas as general and abstract concepts concerning our life (and death) in general. There are 30 such pairs (or groups of proverbs). What is striking is that Yiddish proverbs seem to be slightly more pessimistic - one can observe it almost always when the form of the corresponding proverbs differs. Further, Yiddish uses more metaphors than Polish. In such cases it could possibly suggest the direction of the borrowing with the Yiddish proverb as the original one. Another important feature is the form of proverbs touching the subject of poverty - we may observe that poverty is conceived much more strongly in Yiddish proverbs, so it seems that the Jewish community suffered more from hardship than its Polish counterpart. This tells us also a lot about the groups of people who used proverbs, and it seems reasonable to accept that they corresponded rather to the lower and middle classes of society than to the upper ones.
The next group of corresponding proverbs is the one dealing with God, religion and superstition. We have found 15 such pairs (or groups) of proverbs. Here again, Yiddish proverbs are the more metaphorical ones. Another observation is that Yiddish proverbs referring to God are somehow 'stronger' - God is seen as more omnipotent, stricter and further away than in Polish proverbs. Another conclusion one could draw here, is the social group of people in which the influence occurred - the conceptions of God represented are those of a simple man and not of a rabbi or priest. We may also guess that Jews knew the Bible better than Poles, since they were able to understand various metaphors which were put plainly in Polish proverbs.
A further 26 pairs or groups of corresponding proverbs deal with man and his nature. We deal here with common problems, discussed by simple people. There is almost no divergence, but many similarities in the evaluation of people and their nature: for instance both nations held wise men in high esteem, both did not think much of peasants, and so on. Here again, the Yiddish proverbs are the more metaphorical ones. They are also often more elaborate, which could suggest that the Polish proverb was the original one, since one of the characteristics of proverbs is their shortness, and Jews just added some comments after the translation - as is often found if a Yiddish proverb uses a Hebrew quotation.
We have also found many (25) proverbs dealing with the place of an individual in society. Here again, the concepts are common and similar with almost no oppositions. They once more suggest the group of people among whom the influence took place - the unimportant, often uneducated city and village inhabitants. One can assume that because the proverbs found discuss matters from the point of view of somebody who has to pay taxes, but who may have servants, and so here again we see the classes of both societies, which probably had many contacts with each other and shared many common problems.
There are 9 pairs of corresponding proverbs connected with family matters. As the family is very important both in Jewish and Christian society one would expect more corresponding proverbs. The reason for so few borrowings could be that normally women are the ones more concerned with family problems. But since women were less flexible (in Jewish families it was not befitting for a woman to leave home and mix with strangers - especially with strangers from the other nation, and Polish women were also more or less home-bound) than men, the latter were those 'making history' - also in cultural contacts.
Only 10 items connected with observations and advice - one would have thought, a fruitful subject. The possible reason might be that one was not perhaps so keen on taking advice from people coming from the other culture.
We hope to have brought substantial evidence not only for linguistic contacts between Poles and Yiddish speaking Jews, but also for cultural contacts in many spheres of life, which were more profound than is often assumed. It is remarkable to see in the proverbs presented that the Polish and Jewish communities, which must have had many contacts with each other, shared so many common experiences and views. What is important is that we actually begin to see here the influence in the spoken language. Therefore, it tells us more about the average people of both societies and their contacts than arguments taken from studies of literature, which was mostly the domain of well-educated people.