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1、The Reflection of American Values in American ProverbsLanguage and culture are inseparable; language is the carrier of culture. As an important part of language, proverbs can reflect a nations values as a mirror; they can also note down the evolution of a nation. As is well-known, proverb is a conde
2、nsed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people. “Proverbs are the form of language that has the closest connection with culture.” Hankins and Butts,1973 Although the number of words of a proverb is limited, they contain plenty of rhetorical
3、 devices and vivid descriptions of lives of the people in the United States; they are the products of peoples great intelligence and ability of using language. There are many proverbs widely used in the daily lives of American people, from these proverbs, one can have a better knowledge of the Ameri
4、can traditional values and the variation of them according to the development of society and history. Although the United States of America does not have long and diverse history, it is a nation composed of lots of different nationalities, it has origins of many countries in the world, including Fra
5、nce, Germany, Spain, China, Korea, Japan, Latin America, Russian, Poland, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavia, Italy, Philippine, India, Africa, Vietnam and Arabic countries. In other words, it is a country of immigrants from all over the world. In the fusion and assimilation of all these immigrants, the mains
6、tream values of American characteristic emerged. When the first generation of immigrants set foot on this continent; they had to give up their old customs and behaviours to adapt to the severe living condition that is quite different from their original ones for a better life. Consequently, they bec
7、ame more and more diligent, realistic, independent, and creative etc. People worked hard to overcome all the difficulties they faced in nature and compete with each other to get to the advantage position. As a result, the value of freedom and competition came into being. With the development of the
8、American society and history, more and more traditional values of their own characteristic emerged and changed. The most typical and important ones are materialism, individualism, independence, equality, diligence, creativity, competition.Materialism can find expression in many proverbs used by Amer
9、ican people. For instance“Money is the key that opens all the doors.” “Great gains make work easy.” “No money, no honey.” “God makes and apparels shapes, but it is money that finishes the main.” “A man without money is a bow without an arrow.” “Many a thing is made for money.” “Money is the god of t
10、he world.” “Gold is the sovereign of sovereigns.” All these proverbs mean that money is the most useful and powerful thing in the world that it can be used to achieve almost anything, they also indicate that capitalism consciousness has been inserted in American peoples heart and mind deeply. As a c
11、apitalism country, the citizens in the United States are fairly realistic and they attach great importance to their material content. To most Americans, it is a right to be well-off and physically comfortable, so they often judge people by their material possessions. Wealth is the sign of being succ
12、essful; it in some degree symbolizes a persons social status and reputation. There is a proverb that prevails in the United States “to go from rags to riches”; which is always used in news titles such as “iPhone Developers Go from Rags to Riches.” , it is also a slogan in the early days which showed
13、 that the aim of the first generation of explorers in the United States was to accumulate large amount of wealth to live a rich life, and the Gold Rush was the best evidence of the Americans value of materialism at that time. “Pull yourself up by your own boot straps.” “The baby, who always gets car
14、ried, will never learn to walk.” “Sweep before your own door.” “Keep your nose out of our business.” “Self-help is the best help.” “Do not expect strangers to do for you what you can do for yourself.” “Every man is the founder of his own fortune.” “He is a fool that forgets himself.” The proverbs ab
15、ove illustrate two major values of American peopleindividualism and independence. Individualism is a doctrine originated from Europe; it was put forward by the renowned English philosopher and Enlightenment thinker John Locke, he pointed out that each individual is unique, special, and completely di
16、fferent from all other individuals. This faith was accepted and has been followed by American people from then on. In the United States, self-concept is the centre part of the culture, and individualism influences nearly every aspect of American society. The political and legislative systems are est
17、ablished on this basis so that peoples personal rights and value could be well-assured and protected. Traced back to the time of the first immigration in American, most people arrived there with the intention of breaking away from the constraint of the European government and church to build a new a
18、nd different society where the value of individual could be acknowledged and protected. Thus the new America is established on this the basis of the principles of freedom and democracy. From that moment on, the spirit of individualism has always been embedded in American peoples mind. Independence i
19、s a value that subordinates to the value of individualism, as every individual is unique, special, Americans would not be willing to rely on other people and accept their help to finish whatever he or she is supposed to do, in their opinion, it is a manifestation of inability and lack of confidence.
20、 The value of independence had the greatest space to blossom in the process of Westward moment, people were lead to a new broad land to develop and build their future. All the people had full energy and confidence to work at their own wills so they chose to make their own decisions and to take the i
21、nitiative rather than be employed. This are all resulted from the value of individualism and independence. In the American family, the children are taught to be independent at a very young age; they learn to look after themselves, to make decisions on their own, to work and earn money to support the
22、ir education, etc. Thus, children in the United States are always given the more freedom and right to do their own business, no matter in study or life.Equality is another mainstream value in the United States; it is emphasized in almost everything from government to social relationships. “We hold t
23、hese truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that they are among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The Declaration of Independence “Among the novel objects that attracted my attention duri
24、ng my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more fiercely than the equality of conditions.” Alexis de Tocquevill, 1835,volumn 1,19 People in America believe that each person is equal by virtue of his or her individuality, no person is better than any other. In the American society, every indi
25、vidual has the equal rights to be educated, to vote, to compete and so on, the opportunity to become successful is the same and no one is a certain winner because of his or her splendid family background, and no one is a certain failure due to his or her humble birth or religion faith. This value ca
26、n be summed up from a lot of proverbs, such as “Remember the roots of your family tree, but you are known by your fruit, not by your root.” “Great birth is a very poor dish at table.” “The best charity is justice to all.” “Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.” “Many great
27、men have arisen from humble beginnings.” “Your fathers honour is to you but a second-hand honour.” “Six feet of earth make all men equal.” “We are by nature all as one, all alike, if you see us naked.”“Diligence is the mother of good luck.” “No pains, no gains.” “Genius is one percent inspiration an
28、d ninety-nine percent perspiration.” “He who labours diligently need never despair, for all things are accomplished by diligence and labour.” “Business may be troublesome, but idleness is pernicious.” “Work is the grand cure of all the maladies and miseries that ever beset mankind.” “Action speaks l
29、ouder than words.” “It is neither wealth nor splendid, but tranquillity and occupation which give happiness.” All of them are proverbs about the Americans attitude towards work; they emphasize the importance of working hard, and make diligence a great virtue.Ones self-identity and social status as w
30、ell as reputation depend on ones work achievements. In the United States, one could achieve success in life so long as he or she pays enough perspiration and gains the required skills. Therefore, only by working hard, will people be able to realize their individual values, win the respect of other p
31、eople and change their destinies. As for those idle and lazy people, they are always looked down upon and forgotten by the majorities of Americans. “Competition is the primary method among Americans for motivating members of groups. Americans, with their orientation toward individualism and achievem
32、ent, respond well to this technique. “ Edward C. Stewart and Milton J. Bennett, 1991,79 Under the influence of individualism, in the United States, it is within the individual that the achievement is measured instead of community. To achieve great success and realize ones individual value, people al
33、ways work hard to be the best at what they do, therefore, competition in each occupation is inevitable, and to most Americans it is exciting to enjoy the process of competing for the victory. The free economic system in the United States allows all the corporations to compete with each other; the eq
34、ual opportunity to success makes it possible for everyone to succeed. Most children are nurtured to cultivate the consciousness of competition as well as the qualities and skills of being a winner. The following proverbs can be utilized to express the value of competition in America. “Competition is
35、 the life of trade.” “The early bird gets catches the worm.” “Men live like fish; the great ones devour the small.” “Who first comes to the mill first grinds.” “In the world, who knows not to swim goes to the bottom.” “A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace.”
36、“A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner.” “Diamond cut diamond.”“Life never stands still, if you dont advance, you recede.” “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeding reptiles of the mind.” “Nothing is certain but uncertain.” “Opportunity does not wait.” “To stand
37、still is to move back.” “Variety is the spice of life.” The proverbs above are used to show the importance of change. In the United States, people tend to believe that human nature is perfectible. “Modern American religion inclines generally toward a remarkable perfectionism and optimism.” Robin M.
38、Jr. Williams, 1961,338They believe that the new is better than the old; people can be better by changing gradually. “The Americans are never satisfied with a constant and steady life and always attempt to realize their dreams by moving from one place to another,” Luo Xuanming , The Society and Cultu
39、re of the Uk and the US (Central China University of technology press, 1996)Generally, the people in the United States prefer to live a life filled with change and challenge, they often get bored and weary if there are not many challenges and everything remains unchanging.Language and culture are in
40、extricably woven together; we can not comprehend either of them without the other. Most of our speeches reflect the values inserted in our mind that have been learned through the socialization process. Proverbs contain the great intelligence of the general public; they show abundant philosophies and
41、 the characteristic of a nation. Through the study of the proverbs which are frequently used in the everyday life of people in the United States, we have further comprehended the mainstream values of America and the development of their culture. One can learn from the positive aspects in the America
42、n values, such as diligence, independence, equality, competition and so on. By learning, taking in and assimilating some beneficial values with the native culture, the culture of different nations will be more diverse and richer. BibliographyChang, Yaoxin. (1990).A survey of American Literature. (Nankai University Press)Sheng, Shaoqiu and Li Yongfang. (1989). A Dictionary of English Proverbs. (China, Shanghai: Knowledge Press)Xu, Chaochi. (1984). An introduction and Translation of English Proverbs (China, Fujian Education Publishing House)
