Editing Proverb (section)

== Interpretations ==
Interpreting proverbs is often complex, but is best done in a context.<ref>Jesenšek, Vida. 2014. Pragmatic and stylistic aspects of proverbs. ''Introduction to Paremiology: A Comprehensive Guide to Proverb Studies'', ed. by Hrisztalina Hrisztova-Gotthardt and Melita Aleksa Varga, pp. 133–161. Warsaw & Berlin: DeGruyter Open.</ref> Interpreting proverbs from other cultures is much more difficult than interpreting proverbs in one's own culture. Even within English-speaking cultures, there is difference of opinion on how to interpret the proverb "[[A rolling stone gathers no moss]]." Some see it as condemning a person that keeps moving, seeing moss as a positive thing, such as profit; others see the proverb as praising people that keep moving and developing, seeing moss as a negative thing, such as negative habits.<ref>p. 224,225. Flavell, Linda and roger Flavell. 1993. ''The Dictionary of Proverbs and Their Origins''. London: Kyle Cathie.</ref>

Similarly, among [[Tajik language|Tajik]] speakers, the proverb "One hand cannot clap" has two significantly different interpretations. Most see the proverb as promoting teamwork. Others understand it to mean that an argument requires two people.<ref>p. 158. Evan Bell. 2009. ''An analysis of Tajik proverbs''. Masters thesis, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics.</ref> In an extreme example, one researcher working in Ghana found that for a single Akan proverb, twelve different interpretations were given.<ref>Sjaak van der Geest. 1996. The Elder and His Elbow: Twelve Interpretations of an Akan Proverb. ''Research in African Literatures'' Vol. 27, No. 3: 110–118.</ref> Proverb interpretation is not automatic, even for people within a culture: Owomoyela tells of a Yoruba radio program that asked people to interpret an unfamiliar Yoruba proverb, "very few people could do so".<ref>Owomoyela, Oyekan. 1988. ''A Kì í : Yorùbá proscriptive and prescriptive proverbs''. Lanham, MD : University Press of America.</ref> Siran found that people who had moved out of the traditional Vute-speaking area of Cameroon were not able to interpret Vute proverbs correctly, even though they still spoke Vute. Their interpretations tended to be literal.<ref>pp. 236–237. Siran, Jean-Louis. 1993. Rhetoric, tradition, and communication: The dialectics of meaning in proverb use. ''Man'' n.s. 28.2:225–242.</ref>

Children will sometimes interpret proverbs in a literal sense, not yet knowing how to understand the conventionalized metaphor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lamport |first=Mark A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6xVDwAAQBAJ&dq=Children+will+sometimes+interpret+proverbs+in+a+literal+sense,+not+yet+knowing+how+to+understand+the+conventionalized+metaphor.&pg=PA45 |title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South |date=2018-06-01 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7157-9 |pages=45 |language=en}}</ref> Interpretation of proverbs is also affected by injuries and diseases of the brain, "A hallmark of schizophrenia is impaired proverb interpretation."<ref name="Michael Kiang 2007">Michael Kiang, et al, Cognitive, neurophysiological, and functional correlates of proverb interpretation abnormalities in schizophrenia. ''Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society'' (2007), 13, 653–663. [Futuristic paremiography and paremiology: a plea for the collection and study of modern proverbs. Online access]</ref>