| Overview As we learned in class,
proverbs are oral-literary forms with distinctive
features. These features are nearly universal, and
most proverbs exist in some form or another in all
the major European languages. The following exercise
will help you recognize the formal features of
proverbs.
Note: this and other web
exercises are guaranteed to work on laboratory PCs
(i.e., non-Macintosh machines). It may very well work
on other machines, but if you encounter difficulty,
this may be the issue.
Read
the following proverb in five languages.
Then
press the QUIZ button.
| Language |
English |
French |
German |
Italian |
Spanish |
| Proverb |
Easy come, easy go. |
Ce qui vient de la
flûte, sén retourne au tambour. |
Wie gewonnen, so
zeronnen. |
Quel che vien di ruffa
raffa, se ne va di buffa in baffa. |
Los dineros del
sacristán, cantando se vienen, cantando se
van. |
| Translation |
----
|
What comes from the
flute, returns to the drum. |
As won, so dissipated. |
That which comes from
ruffa raffa, departs with buffa in baffa. |
The sacristan's money
comes with a song, and leaves with a song. |
|
