Contrubitions to the Proverbs And Formulaic Words (Emirdağ / Burunarkaç Village)

The aim of the study is to bring the intangible cultural heritage products (proverbs and formulaic expressions) which are falling out of use to the Turkish folklore treasure in a narrow region. “Proverbs and formulaic expressions” are included in UNESCO's definition of intangible cultural heritage. It is important for the preservation of national memory that the idioms, proverbs and formulaic expressions that are among the important elements of the intangible cultural heritage are recorded in the cultural treasury, even if they are not resurrected. The fact that the compiled words are not included in the main sources such as formulaic expressions and proverb dictionaries constitutes the original aspect of the study. For this purpose, the proverbs and formulaic expressions used in Burunarkaç Village of Emirdağ district of Afyonkarahisar province were compiled. In order to obtain the data, “ethnography method” was used in accordance with the qualitative research model. In the ethnography method, a particular group, community lives, beliefs, cultural values are aimed to be revealed. In this study, the researcher is a full participant observer. Attention has been paid to the elimination of subjectivity that may arise from the researcher's experiences. The research data were obtained from the region where the observer (Musa Çifci) himself was a native member. The observer is also the native user of the proverb and formulaic expressions obtained. There are 20 proverbs and 49 formulaic expressions in the study. In order to classify the obtained materials as idioms, proverbs and formulaic expressions, expert opinions were also used in addition to literature definitions. It was agreed that the words included in the data list do not belong to any other group. These compiled materials consist of words that are not found in the literature surveys (proverbs, idioms and formulaic expressions dictionaries).The words that were accepted as the proverb and formulaic expressions were also subjected to similarity search in proverb, idiom and formulaic expressions dictionaries. Full phonetic alphabet was not used in the writing of the words, only vowel lengths and velar n’s (ñ), closed e (é), and k> g, t> d variations are shown. A large number of proverbs in the list give advice by describing the principles of doing deeds and creating a perspective for life's practices such as “Su gelene kadar kurbağanın gözü gerilir.”, which could be literally translated as “The frog's eye is stretched until the water comes.” Another important part describe the basic qualities of man: “İnat da bir murattır (Persistence is a wish.)” Proverbs that preach people the importance of working are also important: “güneş tembelin (aptalın) üzerine doğar (the sun rises on lazybones).” A significant part of the aim to describe a particular situation based on common code: “kardaş değil, kara taş (not a brother, blackstone).” Those which express rebuffing are also common: “Ben onun çobanı mıyım? (am I the shepherd of him/her?). Although the proverbs and formulaic expressions obtained for this study are not recorded in written sources, it is accepted that they might be in use in other regions of Turkey as well.

Keywords

Proverbs, formulaic expressions, intangible cultural heritage, folklore, Emirdağ