Proverbs in pedagogical speech

Authors

• Liisa Granbom-Herranen Jyväskylän yliopisto

Abstract

This article focuses on the relationship between proverbs and pedagogical occasions in bringing up children. The research deals with the life-stories, which tell about the childhood in the early 20th century in Finland. As research material I have used two collections from the Folklore Archives of Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki. The themes of the proverbs in pedagogical speech were to be: 1) Control of one's own life and living with others; 2) Work; 3) Livelihood, support and care; 4) Christian way of living and 5) Proverbs without a context. As a conclusion it can be said that for the child the proverbs are combinations of socio-cultural context, people, emotions and information in various situations. For the child as a listener the content of the proverb is first of all connected with the matter and the person at hand. For the child a proverb seems to be primarily a piece of concrete advice.