sensitive job by learning proverbs of the foreign language”^36 that they will be inter-
preting. As Mieder notes,“Studying proverbs can offer insights into a culture’s world-
view regarding such matters as education, law, business, and marriage.”^37 Roy offers a
summary as to why understanding cultural proverbs is a valuable tool for students of
intercultural communication:“Examination of these orally transmitted traditional
values offers an excellent means of learning about another culture because these oft-
repeated sayings fuse past, present, and future. These sayings focus our attention on
basic principles accepted within the culture.”^38
Because all people, regardless of their culture, share common experiences, many of
the same proverbs appear throughout the world. For example, in nearly every culture,
some degree of thrift and hard work is stressed. Hence, in Germany, the proverb
states,“One who does not honor the penny is not worthy of the dollar.”In the
United States, people are told,“A penny saved is a penny earned.”Because they
value silence, the Chinese have a proverb that says,“Loud thunder brings little
rain.” Taking responsibility for one’s actions is also a universal value. Thus, in
English, it is“God helps those who help themselves.”For Indians, the proverb is
“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.”However, our concern is not with the
commonality of cultural proverbs but rather with the use of these proverbs to teach
lessons that are unique to that particular culture. By examining some of these prov-
erbs, you will be able to accomplish two purposes at once. First,you will discover the
power of proverbs as a teaching device. Second,from an examination of proverbs, you learn
about other cultures’worldviews, beliefs, values, and communication patterns.
The following are but a few of the hundreds of proverbs and sayings from the
United States, each of which attempts to instruct about an important value held by
the dominant culture:- Timeis money,Strike while the iron is hot,Actions speak louder than words,There is no
time like the present, andHe who hesitates is lost. These proverbs underscore the idea
that in the United States, people who do not waste time and make quick decisions
are highly valued. - God helps those who help themselves,Too many cooks spoil the broth,Pull yourself up by
your bootstraps, andNo pain, no gain. These sayings highlight the strong belief held in
the United States that people should show individual initiative, engage in important
activities on their own, never give up, and endure hardship for the desired outcome. - A man’s home is his castle. This expression not only tells us about the value of pri-
vacy but also demonstrates the male orientation in the United States by implying
that the home belongs to the man. - The squeaky wheel gets the grease, andFortune favors the bold. In the United States,
people are encouraged to be direct, speak up, and make sure their views are heard.
While we could have selected thousands of proverbs to illustrate our point about
the link between these sayings and the teaching of key elements of a culture, we have
chosen but a few from non-U.S. cultures^39 that stress important values associated with
intercultural communication: - Many cultures prefersilencerather than an abundance of talk. They believe that
silence is associated with wisdom. German:Speaking comes by nature, silence by
understanding. Tanzanian:The wisest animal is the giraffe; it never speaks. Thai: A
wise man talks little; an ignorant one talks much. Peruvian:From the tree of silence
46 CHAPTER 2•Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo
Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).