Proverbs are an essential component to socialization across cultures (Rahill, et al., 2011). They are used to transmit social and religious values, as well as to reinforce knowledge and behavior that are essential to a culture’s existence and identity. For this assignment, students are provided an initial sample of proverbs from around the globe, related to various themes, including but not limited to: prejudice, virtue, discrimination, social progress, the commonality of persons across different groups and others. 

Paper must be 2-3 pages typed, 1-inch margins, 12 pt. Time New Roman font, College-level writing, MLA format

Guidelines:

1. The task is to research and identify similar proverbs from across cultures that might be considered to hold very divergent sociocultural and religious perspectives (Example: Christian and Muslim; Mormons and Hindus, etc); 

2. Use the internet, books, journal articles as well as live interviews of “different” students and faculty members from across the campus and in their neighborhoods, to discover proverbs from various cultures that transmit sociocultural and religious values; 

3. Discuss the common elements which you have discovered in the proverbs from diverse cultures, the similarities and differences to proverbs used in their own socialization process and life experience, the relevance of the proverbs they have researched to the social work values, “importance of human relationships” and “social justice; 

4. Discuss the extent to which the proverbs you discovered may oppose your own cultural values, and/or may marginalize or alienate clients from the diverse backgrounds reflected in your table of proverbs; 

5. Discuss how this exercise impacts your development of culturally proficient skills and your ability to utilize the strengths of cultural resources in your roles as an advocacy broker and as a promoter of human rights and social justice. 

~Some background about my culture is that I’m half Iranian  and Afghani and my family is Muslim but I’m a Buddhist. 

Proverbs are popular sayings which contain advice or state a generally accepted truth.
Because most proverbs have their origins in oral tradition, they are generally worded in
such a way as to be remembered easily and tend to change little from generation to
generation, so much so that sometimes their specific meaning is no longer relevant. For
instance, the proverb “penny wise, pound foolish” is a holdover from when America was
a British colony and used the pound as currency. Proverbs function as “folk wisdom,”
general advice about how to act and live. And because they are folk wisdom, they are
often strongly reflect the cultural values and physical environment from which they arise.
For instance, island cultures such as Hawaii have proverbs about the sea, Eastern cultures
have proverbs about elephants, and American proverbs, many collected and published by
Benjamin Franklin, are about hard work bringing success. Proverbs are used to support
arguments, to provide lessons and instruction, and to stress shared values.

Proverbs are not clichés
Clichés are widely used, even overused, phrases that are often metaphorical in nature.
Clichés often have their origins in literature, television, or movies rather than in folk
tradition.

Some Common Features of Proverbs
•Proverbs are passed down through time with little change in form.
•Proverbs are often used metaphorically and it is in understanding their metaphorical
nature that we can unravel their meaning. While “a stitch in time saves nine,” “don’t
count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” and “don’t throw the baby out with the
bathwater” are common proverbs, few of us stitch clothes, count chickens, or throw out
bathwater.
•Proverbs often make use of grammatical and rhetorical devices that help make them
memorable, including alliteration, rhyme, parallel structure, repetition of key words or
phrases, and strong imagery.

Some Common Proverbs
Look before you leap.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
All’s well that ends well.
Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
A stitch in time saves nine.

Some Common Clichés
She was white as a sheet.
The tension was so thick you could cut it like butter.
He stood as still as a deer in the headlights.
I’m as fit as a fiddle.
You could read her like an open book.

pfeely

Proverb Definitions
Proverbs are not clichés
Some Common Features of Proverbs
Some Common Proverbs
Some Common Clichés