The uses and functions of the Czech word příslovečný, the German sprichwörtlich and the English proverbial
2012
Abstract
Based on data extracted from language corpora and the internet, the paper analyzes the use of the English words proverbial and proverbially and their equivalents in German (sprichwörtlich) and Czech (příslovečný, příslovečně). The focus is on their use in their different meanings ('of a proverb', 'typical of proverbs', 'expressed in proverbs'; 'prototypical', 'archetypal'; 'well-known', 'characteristic') as well as their different functions (proverbial(ly) and its German and Czech equivalents being used used as introducers of phrasemes, as pointers to fables, anecdotes, stories and situations, and as euphemisms).