Wolfgang Mieder ist Professor für Germanistik und Volkskunde an der University of Vermont (USA). Neben zahlreichen Buchveröffentlichungen in deutscher und englischer Sprache ist er seit 1984 auch der Herausgeber des internationalen Jahrbuchs Proverbium.

Gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers an introductory overview of proverbs in world culture.

IntroductionDefinition and ClassificationDefinition AttemptsProverb Markers and MeaningsOrigin and Dissemination of ProverbsTraditional Forms Related to the ProverbThe International Type System of ProverbsTypes of International Proverb CollectionsMajor Anglo-American Proverb CollectionsVarious Specialized Proverb CollectionsSelected BibliographyExamples and TextsBig Fish Eat Little Fish A Classical Proverb about Human NatureFirst Come, First Served A Medieval Legal Proverb from the MillersThe Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree A Proverb's Way from Germany to AmericaThe Only Good Indian Is a Dead Indian A Slanderous Proverbial StereotypeGood Fences Make Good Neighbors An Ambiguous Proverb of RelationshipsA Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words An Advertising Slogan Turned American ProverbProverbs from Different Cultures and LanguagesAuthentic American ProverbsRegional American ProverbsNative American ProverbsAfrican American ProverbsSelected BibliographyScholarship and ApproachesProverb Journals, Essay Volumes, and BibliographiesProverb Collections and Future ParemiographyComprehensive Overviews of ParemiologyEmpiricism and Paremiological MinimaLinguistic and Semiotic ConsiderationsPerformance (Speech Acts) in Social ContextsIssues of Culture, Folklore, and HistoryPolitics, Stereotypes, and WorldviewSociology, Psychology, and PsychiatryUse in Folk Narratives and LiteratureReligion and Wisdom LiteraturePedagogy and Language TeachingIconography: Proverbs as ArtMass Media and Popular CultureSelected BibliographyContextsA Man of Fashion Never Has Recourse to Proverbs Lord Chesterfield's Tilting at Proverbial WindmillsEarly to Bed and Early to Rise From Proverb to Benjamin Franklin and BackBehind the Clouds the Sun Is Shining Abraham Lincoln's Proverbial Fight Against SlaveryConventional Phrases Are a Sort of Fireworks Charles Dickens's Proverbial LanguageMake Hell While the Sun Shines Proverbial War Rhetoric of Winston S. ChurchillMan Is a Wolf to Man Proverbial Dialectics in Bertolt BrechtBenjamin Franklin's The Way to WealthProverb Poems and Popular SongsProverbs in Caricatures, Cartoons, and ComicsProverbs and the World of AdvertisingProverbs as Headlines and SlogansSelected BibliographyBibliographyBibliographiesProverb JournalsMajor Proverb StudiesMultilingual Proverb CollectionsBilingual Proverb CollectionsAnglo-American Proverb CollectionsRegional and Thematic Proverb CollectionsWeb ResourcesGlossaryIndex

Proverbs offer a concise record of folk wisdom and have appeared in oral tradition, literature, art, and popular culture for centuries. Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture. The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs, followed by discussions of several notable examples. The book then examines approaches to the study of proverbs and the place of proverbs in literature, politics, popular songs, and everyday life. It closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary. Included are numerous illustrations.Just about everyone has heard at least one proverb, and most people have heard more. Proverbs offer a concise record of folk wisdom and have appeared in oral tradition, literature, art, and popular culture for centuries. One of the most varied and fascinating types of folklore, proverbs are studied at all levels and are of interest to a wide range of audiences. Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture.The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs and a discussion of their origin and dissemination. It then discusses several representative proverbs from around the world. This is followed by a review of scholarship on proverbs. The book next looks at how several proverbs have appeared in political speeches, literature, popular culture, and everyday life. The handbook closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary. Included are numerous photos illustrating the role of proverbs around the world.