One of the most wonderful, but at the same time, difficult parts of learning any foreign language is the study of sayings, proverbs and various established expressions, which often add zest to speech, and the speaker is presented as a master of the language.
But which of the sayings can be easily remembered and applied in colloquial speech?
Difference between proverbs and sayings
First, before approaching the study of the folklore elements of the language, it is worth understanding the terminology itself.
For English-speaking people, there is no difference between the words "proverb" and "proverb" (by-word, saying). For Russians, a proverb means just a complete sentence (phraseological unit or idioms), often containing some kind of folk wisdom, while by a proverb, Russian speakers mean just a phrase or a colorful expression ("big shot!").
It is worth noting that sayings are often identified with idioms, although this is not correct. A saying is just a phrase, not a sentence. And an idiom is a phraseological unit that is indivisible into parts. What they have in common is that they cannot be translated into foreign language. language.
The main difficulty in studying foreign proverbs, sayings and idioms is that they cannot be logically memorized, because idioms often cannot be divided into component parts without losing their general meaning. The same thing happens in the Russian language: expressions that are easily understood by Russian people, such as "to beat the thumbs up" or "carelessly" when translated, will be completely incomprehensible to an American, Australian, or any English-speaking person.
So, the English "To show the white feather" will not make sense either in English or in Russian, if you output each of the values of the elements that make up this expression.
The only option for memorizing any proverbs and sayings is cramming. If it is required to translate a foreign expression into another language, without losing the author's expressiveness, the translator tries to find the corresponding idiom or proverb in the language into which the translation is carried out.
Examples of sayings in English
In the speech of English speakers, due to the prevalence and development of the English language, many sayings have taken root and are used very often.
To be broke - have no money, be bankrupt. You should be careful when using this expression, because the word "broke" in this case is used in this form, and not in the form "broken". If you confuse and say "I'm broken", you get the slang "I'm upset / I'm sick / I'm broken".
An apple of discord - an apple of discord. One of the few sayings that is extremely easy to translate from English into Russian.
Example usage: Our different political views were an apple of discord - Our different political views were an apple of discord.
Black sheep - a black sheep, the same "freak", without which in any family. Not to be confused with rara avis.
Example: I'm always conforming with my relatives because I don't want to be a black sheep - I always agree with my relatives because I don't want to be a black sheep.
Turn over a new leaf (lit. "to turn over a new leaf") - to start life from a new leaf.
Example: Jack turned over a new leaf: he quit his job, left his wife and moved to Ghaiti - Jack started life from a new leaf: he quit his job, left his wife and went to Haiti.
Under the weather (lit. "under the weather") - "unwell."
Example: I'm a trifle under the weather today - I'm a little unwell today.
To be on the edge (lit. "to be on the edge") - to be nervous.
Usage example: I was on the edge before the finals - I was very nervous before the final exams.
