Scottish Identity through National Proverbs and Sayings (A Linguo-Cultural Perspective)

Abstract

The importance of historicity in the construction of national identity is undeniable. Proverbs and sayings, which are a link with the past, are used by speakers for a variety of purposes. Folklore, literary criticism, stylistics are the main fields interested in the study of proverbs, but scholars from a variety of fields have found ways to profitably incorporate the study of proverbs. The development and maintenance of proverbs and sayings, which is a time-consuming process, cannot go unaffected by inner and outer factors. The aim of this article is to show that proverbs and sayings, formed and established in the course of the development of the nation and its culture, can provide a reasonable basis for establishing a nation’s identity and wisdom (Usman et al 2013: 47-58). It is beyond doubt that in the era of globalization national identity issues necessarily find their multilateral consideration and objective evaluation by scholars of vast assortment of specialties across scientific disciplines.

Keywords

• Scottish culture and language
• proverbs and sayings
• paremiology
• proverbiality
• national identity
• national wisdom