Our Project
The Proverbs Project is an anthropological and sociolinguistic exploration of seven diverse cultures and languages of the world, using proverbs as a tool to gain insight into human nature and behavior.
Our Mission
To answer a rather novel question: Does the culturally accepted wisdom embedded in a particular Spanish proverb have an equivalent in all of these widely spoken languages?English / Russian / Chinese / Arabic / Hindi / Swahili
To create a community of collaborators around the world
How we did it
Step 1: We randomly selected 56 commonly used Spanish proverbs
For example:
Vístame despacio, tengo prisa / Dress me slowly, I am in a hurry
A perro flaco, todo son pulgas / To a skinny dog, everything is fleas
A la tercera, va la vencida / On the third time goes the winner
Step 2: Then, we searched for and found the equivalent proverbs in all 6 other languages
English / Russian / Chinese / Arabic / Hindi / Swahili
Step 3: We realized the answer to our mission question was a resounding – Yes.
The wisdom conveyed by every one of the 56 Spanish proverbs do have an equivalent expression in the other 6 other languages.
One example of this shared human wisdom
(ES): Tanto va el cántaro a la fuente, que al final se rompe
(RU): Повадился кувшин по воду ходить – там ему и голову сложить.
(ZH): 常在河边走哪有不湿鞋
(AR): كل ماء كان فيه زاد، فإنّه يتحطم
(SW): Ngoma ivumayo haikawii kupasuka
(HI): आग के पास जाएंगे तो हाथ जलेंगे
Proverb of the Day
If you overuse X it is going to break
71% coincidence (5 of 7 languages)
Water
57% coincidence (4 of 7 languages)
Break / split
29% coincidence (2 of 7 languages)
Jar / pitcher
29% coincidence (2 of 7 languages)
Fire
29% coincidence (2 of 7 languages)
Burn
Key Search Words
JOIN THE CONVERSATIONHow to navigate the full list of 56 proverbs in 7 different languages?
1. If you click on any of the 56 proverbs, you’ll see the equivalent proverbs in all 7 languages, just like you see in the example above.
So, each proverb on the list is displayed like above and you are encouraged to make comments on the proverb. Click here to learn more about how to collaborate.
2. If you click on any language below, for ex. Swahili, you’ll to see the full list of 56 proverbs in Swahili, which are the Swahili equivalents of the original 56 Spanish proverbs
So, the list of 56 Swahili proverbs are NOT translations of Spanish nor English proverbs. They are Swahili proverbs that convey the same meaning as the other 6 languages.
You will see a literal English translation below each Swahili proverb on the full list of 56. The same is true for Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi.
Full List of 56 Proverbs in 7 Languages
The Universality Index
The striking conclusion of the Proverbs Project is that every proverb on our list of 56 randomly selcted Spanish proverbs has an equivalent in all of the other 6 languages:
English / Russian / Chinese / Arabic / Hindi / Swahili (Total number of proverbs = 392)
To measure how close the seven versions of a proverb are, we have developed a
Universality Index.
The Universality IndexAra: ﺔَﺘِﺑﺎﺛ ُ ﺔَﺜِﻟﺎﺜﻟا
The third is certain
100% coincidence in the use of professions (blacksmith / shoemaker / street vendor /
barber / weaver)
43% coincidence in shoemaker (Spanish / Russian / Hindi)
Proverb #34: In the house of the blacksmith, wooden spoonLet’s use the following example below to explain what we mean by universality.
Proverb #34 expresses the idea that quite often people don’t apply in their personal
life things they know or do well.
What we want to do
To create a community of collaborators around the world
Become part of an engaging community dedicated to exploring the anthro-linguistic significance of proverbs and how they reflect the common values and beliefs of billions of people around the globe!
Learn more about how the multiple ways you can collaborate and contribute to the Proverbs Project