Turkish proverbs in the grammatik der Turkisch-Osmanischen umgangssprache of P.J. Piqure

Abstract

Some products of oral culture - story, proverb, idiom, anecdote, riddle, lullaby, folk song, etc. - which belong to a nation and are passed by word of mouth throughout history have been forgotten in time; some have undergone changes; some have reached the present day as in their first form. Proverbs are the best products of oral culture reflecting view and experience of a nation. To name proverbs sav (claim) was used in earlier sources, then the terms of mesel (adage) and darbı mesel (saying) were seen to be used. In the 11th century, Kasgarlı Mahmud recorded some proverbs in his work DivânÜ Lugâti't Turk. After reform era, Sinasi compiled a part of proverbs in his work named Durûb-u Emsâl-i Osmaniye. Besides these works, it is also possible to encounter products of oral culture belonging to Turks in transcription texts written by foreigners. In these texts prepared with the aim of teaching Ottoman Turkish to their own public, Ottoman Turkish grammar rules and vocabulary were given. Moreover, spoken sentences listed thematically in some texts, exercises, riddles, proverbs, stories and anecdotes were added. Codex Cumanicus, Institutiones Lingvae turcicae libri quatuor by Megiser and Praktische Handbuch der osmanisch-tÜrkischen Sprache by A. Wahrmund and Grammaire Turque by Preindl are some of these works. Grammatik der tÜrkisch-osmanischen Umgangssprache by P.J. Piqure is a transcription text published in 1864. A hundred and forty proverbs were included in the products of oral culture. In this study, the proverbs in the work of P.J. Piqure'Ün will be introduced and compared with our present proverbs. Also, the proverbs forgotten or undergone changes will be investigated. © 2018 Gazi Universitesi, Turk Kulturu ve Haci Bektas Veli. All rights reserved.