Editing Proverb (section)

===Conservative language===
[[File:Latijnse tekst boven portaal.JPG|left|thumb|Latin proverb over doorway in Netherlands: "No one attacks me with impunity"]]
Because many proverbs are both poetic and traditional, they are often passed down in fixed forms. Though spoken language may change, many proverbs are often preserved in conservative, even [[Archaism|archaic]], form. "Proverbs often contain archaic... words and structures."<ref>p. 21. Norrick, Neal R. "Subject area, terminology, proverb definitions, proverb features." ''Introduction to paremiology: A comprehensive guide to proverb studies'', edited by Hrisztalina Hristova-Gotthardt and Melita Aleksa Varga, (2014): 7-27.</ref> In English, for example, "betwixt" is not commonly used, but a form of it is still heard (or read) in the proverb "There is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." The conservative form preserves the meter and the rhyme. This conservative nature of proverbs can result in archaic words and grammatical structures being preserved in individual proverbs, as has been widely documented, e.g. in Amharic,<ref>p. 691. Michael Ahland. 2009. From topic to subject: Grammatical change in the Amharic possessive construction. ''Studies in Language'' 33.3 pp. 685–717.</ref> [[Nsenga language|Nsenga]],<ref>p. 64. Christopher J. Pluger. 2014. ''Translating New Testament proverb-like sayings in the style of Nsenga proverbs.'' Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics MA thesis.</ref> Polish,<ref>Szpila, Grzegorz. 2001. Archaic lexis in Polish Proverbs. In Władysław Witalisz (ed.), ''"And gladly wolde he lerne and gladly teche": Studies on Language and Literature in Honour of Professor Dr. Karl Heinz Göller'', pp. 187–193. Kraków 2001.</ref> [[Venda language|Venda]],<ref>pp. 33-37. Mafenya, Livhuwani Lydia. ''The proverb in Venda: a linguistic analysis.'' MA Diss. University of Johannesburg, 1994,</ref> [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]],<ref>p. 36. Watson, Wilfred GE. ''Classical Hebrew poetry: a guide to its techniques.'' A&C Black, 2004.</ref> [[Giriama]],<ref>p. xviii. Taylor, W(illiam) E(rnest). 1891. ''Giriyama Vocabulary and Collections.'' London: [[Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge]].</ref> [[Georgian (language)|Georgian]],<ref>Tea Shurgaia (2020) The Proverbial Wisdom of a Georgian Language Island in Iran, Iranian Studies, 53:3–4, 551–571, {{doi|10.1080/00210862.2020.1716189}}</ref> [[Karachay-Balkar]],<ref>Ketenchiev, M.B., Akhmatova M.A., and Dodueva A.T. 2022. “Archaic Vocabulary in Karachay-Balkar Paroemias”. ''Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices'', 19 (2), 297–307. {{doi|10.22363/2618-897X-2022-19-2-297-307}} [in Russian]</ref> [[Hausa language|Hausa]],<ref>Merrick, Captain G. 1905. Hausa Proverbs. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., p. 6,7.</ref> [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]],<ref>Madiyorova Valida Quvondiq qizi. Analysis of Archaic Words in the Structure of English and Uzbek Proverbs. ''EPRA International Journal of Research and Development'' 6.4.2021: 360–362.</ref> [[Budu language|Budu]] of [[Democratic Republic of Congo|Congo]],<ref>{{cite thesis |page=113 |last=Frieke-Kappers |first=C. |date=2007 |title=The Creative Use of Genre Features Continuity and Change in Patterns of Language Use in Budu, a Bantu Language of Congo (Kinshasa) |type=PhD thesis |publisher=[[Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam]]}}</ref> [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]].<ref>p. 109, Omarbekova, Gulnara and Erik Aasland, eds., ''Contemporary Kazakh Proverb Research: Digital, Cognitive, Literary, and Ecological Approaches.'' (2022), New York: Peter Lang.</ref> 

In addition, proverbs may still be used in languages which were once more widely known in a society, but are now no longer so widely known. For example, English speakers use some non-English proverbs that are drawn from languages that used to be widely understood by the educated class, e.g. "C'est la vie" from French and "[[Carpe diem]]" from Latin.

Proverbs are often handed down through generations. Therefore, "many proverbs refer to old measurements, obscure professions, outdated weapons, unknown plants, animals, names, and various other traditional matters."<ref>p. 33. Wolfgang Mieder. 2014. ''Behold the Proverbs of a People: Proverbial Wisdom in Culture, Literature, and Politics.'' Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.</ref>
Therefore, it is common that they preserve words that become less common and archaic in broader society.<ref>Issa O. Sanusi and R.K. Omoloso. The role of Yoruba proverbs in preserving archaic lexical items and expressions in Yoruba.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100716115043/http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/publications/omoloso/THE%20ROLE%20OF%20YORUBA%20PROVERS%20IN%20PRESERVING%20ARCHAIC%20LEXICAL%20ITEMS%20AND%20EXPRESSIONS%20IN%20YORUBA.htm]</ref><ref>Eme, Cecilia A., Davidson U. Mbagwu, and Benjamin I. Mmadike. "Igbo proverbs and loss of metaphors." PREORC Journal of Arts and Humanities 1.1 (2016): 72–91.</ref>  Archaic proverbs in solid form{{snd}}such as murals, carvings, and glass{{snd}}can be viewed even after the language of their form is no longer widely understood, such as an [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]] proverb in a [[stained glass]] window in York.<ref name="Lisa Reilly 2016">Lisa Reilly & Mary B. Shepard (2016) "Sufferance fait ease en temps": word as image at St Michael-le-Belfrey, York. ''Word & Image'' 32:2, 218–234. {{doi|10.1080/02666286.2016.1167577}}.</ref>