[Ads-l] "old" proverb?

[Jonathan Lighter]

As I suspected....

JL

On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 8:51 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "old" proverb?
>
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> We could say it's a proverb, probably an Anglo-American proverb of the
> pres=
> ent century or so;  not "old."  The "African" aspect is problematical as
> we=
> ll.  In the first place, "African" covers a multitude of languages,
> countri=
> es, and cultures.  In the second place, there's a tendency to "attribute"
> p=
> roverbs, new or old, often to persons or places renowned for their
> trenchan=
> t wisdom--perhaps in an effort to enhance the perceived insightfulness or
> a=
> uthority of the saying.  We may compare the famous "It takes a village to
> r=
> aise a child":  It too is often called an African proverb, but no African
> s=
> ource or identity has been discovered.
>
> --Charlie
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Jonath=
> an Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 7:55 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: "old" proverb?
>
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> ----
>
> Se. Cory Booker cites "the old African proverb,
>
> 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.'"
>
> Could be legit, but is it?
>
> JL=
>
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