Original scientific paper
Variability and Modification of Proverbs in the Bulgarian Mass Media: A Systematic Approach
Marina Vager
Abstract
The present research deals with the variability and modification of Bulgarian proverbs in terms of a systematic approach in linguistics. A detailed analysis of proverb usage in the mass media shows that a proverb system undergoes both quantitative and qualitative alterations (in Aristotle’s sense), quantitative alterations resulting from proverb variability, qualitative alterations from proverb transition to a phraseme and unproverbial application of a proverb to the mass media. Proverb variability is regarded in the paper as a mechanism of a proverb system to renovate itself, while proverb modification is a mechanism of proverb transition to another linguistic unit. Following the mechanism of proverb variability, new variants of proverbs and new potential proverbs are created within the discourse of the mass media. The linguistic and stylistic means of proverb variability and modification are examined in the paper. The study strives to provide a theoretical foundation for the key notions of proverb variability, modification, proverb variant, variation and invariant, as used in the present paper.
Keywords
Bulgarian National Corpus; definition; linguistics; proverb; open system; qualitative changes; quantitative changes; invariant; variability; variant; variation; modification
Hrčak ID:
278342
URI
Publication date:
31.8.2015.
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