The Role Of Ethnic Component In The Formation Of Proverb Semantics

Hindsight mind in Western languages

A comparative analysis based on the proverbial condensate showed that a similar semantics is expressed by the Polish proverb — (lit.). The very old existence of this proverb is evidenced by the lines in “Song V” from the “Songs Book II” of the famous Polish poet of the 16th century, Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584), in which this proverb is given:

Niemiec w szkodziePolakposzkodzieprzychodzi k sobieAn Italian before trouble, a German while trouble, a Pole after a trouble comes to his sensesPo czasiekażdymądrySome time later everyone is smartPo fakcieigłupiradęznajdzieAfter the event even the fool will find adviceZamknąłstajnię, jak mu koniaukradliLocked the stable after his horse was stolenPeople are inconsiderateIn hindsight, the fool is strong.Co zaszkodziło, to nauczyłoWhat hurts you, teaches youStrata rozumunauczyLoss will teach you

In the Belarusian language the semantics is expressed by saying Паслябядыкожныразумны(After troubles everyone is smart). There are here no ethnic markers, and the proverbial idea expressed in general form. Everyone can make a mistake because of their carelessness, starting to think only after the trouble happened. There are corresponding Rusyn proverbs in which the ethnonym Rusyn comes to the fore: Русинповашарумудрый (lit. Rusyn becomes smarter afterwards the fair), Поярмарці й русинмудрий (lit. After the fair even Rusyn becomes the smart); Повашаруприходитьрõзум (lit. The mind comes after the fair) (Mokienko & Lomakina, 2016). Вашар (vashar) is a fair in Rusyn, as well as in Serbian. It is known that in Serbia, the main fairs are so important that they are even included in the Church calendar. For Rusyns, the fair is also an important event. A fair is always full of people, trade, and different entertainments. On the other hand it is also a dangerous event where a person can by something by mistake or sell for a lower price, spend too much money on drinking or someone in the crowd can steal their the money. So, if you get carried away with the fair, you may make a mistake, get into trouble, and repent of your carelessness later. Indirectly, the semantics of the dangers associated with the fair is expressed by a Russian proverb: Незевай, Фомка, нато и ярмарка(lit. Keep your eyes open, Fomka, that's what the fair is for). Another version of the Rusyn proverb with similar semantics contains two ethnonyms: Мудрийляхпошкоді, а русинпочасi (lit. The Pole becomes smarter after a loss, and Rusyn after some time). Here the proverb makes a comparison between the Polish men and the Rusyns, in which both have a “hindsight mind”. Another variant of the Rusyn proverb Непоправивпуть – типиртихобудь in certain contexts also contains semantics about the “hindsight mind”. Proverbial expressions of the XVII century with the mention of the ethnonym Rusyn, along with the ethnonym Lyakh, are indicated in the work of V. Perets “History of Proverbs. Historical and literary notes and materials”(Perets,1898): Русине, иляху, ивлоху, бытьтобѣтребавъпрохуилиРусинеиляхуваруйтесягрѣху. The author notes the South Russian origin of these expressions, some of which he believes came from Polish written sources. Thus, V. N. Perets refers the expression Небудетъ, якъсвѣетъсвѣтомъ, русинполяковибратом(lit.As the world is the world, Rusyn will never be a brother to Pole.) to Polish origin, because it rhymes in Polishświatom-bratom. The question whether the proverbial expressions mentioned above are proverbs and what Rusyns they refer to requires a separate study and is not part of the objectives of our study.

Ukrainian proverbs also include a “hindsight mind” idea, but they do not use ethnonyms: Якбименiтойрозум, щоприходитьопiсля (lit. If I had such a mind that comes after the event); Коли б тойрозумнаперед, щопотiм! (lit. If only we could have had that mind before!); Якбитойрозумспереду, щотеперззаду(ibid.); Якзагнавнаслизьске, топропiдковизгадав (lit. Only when stepped on slippery road, remembered about horseshoes). The last one uses the image of a horseman on ice who forgot to shoe a horse well. And only after getting into trouble, the person remembered what should have been done, but did not do it. Another Ukrainian proverb about the hindsight mind uses the image of bread making: Шкодаперемiшуватитiсто, вийнявши з печi (lit. No need to knead dough, after removing it from the oven). Firstly, the dough is kneaded, and then bread and pies are baked. This is also a kind of hindsight mind.

After losses, everyone is wiseDopoilfattoognuno è savioafterthe eventDel senno di poi ne son piene le fosseWith the hindsight mind the pits are full)cosafatta, capo hawhat is done is donewhat has been done cannot be undone or changed.Inferno, XXVIIICapo ha cosafatta”

The English say: After-wit is everybody's wit or Everybody is wise after the event. Americans replace the event in paremia with danger: After the danger everyone is wise.

Such semantics are found in the Latvian paremia (lit. ). There is an additional semantic aspect: deed (work) gives a person new experience – this is how this proverb can be interpreted. Other Latvian variants clearly speak of a “hindsight mind”, people's awareness of their own lack of foresight, which led to unpleasant consequences: , (lit. ); (lit. When the bowl is turned over, everyone is smart) and ().

We see the same semantics in the Finnish proverb Jälkiviisausparasviisaus (lit. Belated wisdom is the highest wisdom). The Finnish “belated wisdom” in this proverb is identical to the Russian “hindsight mind”.

Hindsight mind in paremias of other nations

We have considered examples of analogs of the Russian proverb about the hindsight mind in Western languages. If we take paremias of other nations, we will also see similar semantics. So, the Tatar proverb says: Tатаракылы – төштәнсоң (Tatar man's mind appears in the afternoon). Another proverb recorded in dictionaries says: lit. The Tatar mind appers after the event, but the Russian has a mind always under his mustache. Two ethnonyms: Tatars and Russians in comparison are used here. It is interesting that some researchers ( Karimullin, 1989) believe that this proverb is not about modern Tatars, because it is no good to talk about yourself like this. But the ancestors of the today's Tatars, Bulgars distinguished themselves from the Mongols, known as Tatars , and did not mingle with them. That is why a number of modern proverbs actually express the attitude of the Bulgars to the MongolsTatars . A. Karimullin gives examples of such proverbs, which in his opinion, are anti-Mongol Bulgarian: Татаратасынсатар (lit. Tatar can sell even his father ; Татартурәбулса, чабатасынтургәэлә (lit. If Tatar will become a chief, he will hang his sandals in the red corner put them in the spotlightТатараткаменә, атасынтанымас (lit. the Tartar on a horse, has no fatherwhen Tatar rides the horse, he does not even notice his father

This list also includes the proverb about the “hindsight mind” of the Tatar. Hard to say if it is true. As a rule, it is quite difficult to trace the proverb's origin and history in a separate language. It seems that Tatar proverbs listed above may have a proper Tatar origin, since it is known that all people are different, and proverbs record a variety of experiences, including negative ones. Thus in the Russian language there are phraseological units like Радикрасногословцанепожалеет и отца(He would rather lose a friend than a jest) or Изгрязида в князи (From rags to riches). As for the proverb with a Tatar on a horse, there is a one with similar semantics in the Turkish language: Türkatabinincebeyoldumsanır (lit. A Turk on a horse, thinks of himself as a master). Although on the Internet there are more disapproving Tatar proverbs that may lead the researcher to the idea that they could be talking about the Mongol conquerors. However, this is a very complex question that requires deep study. We study the “hindsight mind” and we see that not only the Tatars, but many other nationalities have this feature. The Bashkirs say: Аҡылhyңтөшә, hyңтөшhәлә, мултөшә (lit. Mind comes late, but if it does, you will have too much of it), means that hindsight mind can not fix your mistake, but this mistake will teach you a lesson. The Turks are no exception. There is no guarantee that a person will never fall into a trap, because it is impossible to predict everything. That's why the Turks say: Türk'ünaklısonradangelir (lit. The mind comes to the Turk after the event). The semantics of this proverb is identical to the Russian Rusak has strong hindsight mind.

The Chuvash proverb, which expresses the semantics People are inconsiderate, mentions not only the ethnonym Chuvash, but also the hydronym Volga, the river on the banks of which the Chuvash people live. ЧăвашăнАтăлурлăкаçсантинасакилет(lit. Chuvash started thinking only when he moved across the Volga). The Chuvash name of Volga is Атӑл. Moving across the Volga means getting new experience. Also crossing a wide river takes time and involves some effort. There are still a number of variants of the Chuvash proverb with similar semantics, in which the Chuvash ethnonym is no longer used, but the Volga hydronym is present, which is also an ethnolinguistic marker: Атӑлурлӑкаҫсассӑнӑскӗретt (lit. If you cross the Volga, you will get smarter); Атăлурлăкаçсассăналăтĕслĕăскĕрет(lit. When you move across the Volga, you will get fifty new thoughtsin your head), Атăлурлăкаçсан tin ăскĕнĕ (lit. Only crossing of the Volga, he started thinking).

The merry Afandi (also known as NasreddinAfandi, a character in Tajik folklore) also does not always can think a quickly and cannot foresee everything. Sometimes he is wise, and sometimes he appears to be a fool. A Tajik proverb says: АқлиАфандӣбаъдазпешинмедарояд(lit. Afandi's mind appears in the afternoon).Afandi here stands for the whole nation. There is another version of this proverb about the hindsight mind: Ақлигулом (подабон) баъдазшоммедарояд (lit. The mind of a servant (shepherd) comes after dinner). In Tajik proverbs, as in the Tatar paremia, we see the time of day as an image (afternoon = late; after dinner = very late).

A Mongolian proverb also says: Өнгөрсөнюмандхүнбүрмэргэн (lit. Every person is accurate about what was in the past). It is interesting because, according to I. Kulganek, in this proverb there is a hidden comparison, since мэргэн (a sharp shooter, smart, prudent) is also the name of a mythological hero. After the Sun was eaten by evil forces, Mergen (Мэргэн) went in search of them to strike with a well-aimed bow and free the Earth from darkness (Kulganek, 2017).