[Lexicog] Re: Proverbs and their cross-cultural equivalents

[David Frank]

Countdown of some favorite St. Lucian Proverbs:

10.
Ou wè i jòn, ou kwè i bè.
You see it's yellow, you think it's butter.
(All that glitters is not gold.)

9.
Chyen pa ka fè chat.
Dog doesn't give birth to cat.
(Like father, like son.)

8.
Piti hach ka bat gwan bwa.
A little ax can cut down a large tree.
(Big things come in small packages.)

7.
Chat pa la, wat bay bal.
The cat is not there, the rat gives a ball.
(While the cat's away, the mice will play.)

6.
Wòch ki an dlo ka mandé atè;
    wòch ki atè ka mandé an dlo.
The stone in the water asks to be on land;
    the stone on land asks to be in the water.
(The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.)

5.
Kouwi pou lapli, tonbé an gwan wivyè.
Run from the rain, fall into a big river.
(Out of the frying pan, into the fire.)

4.
Di bouwo-a bonjou, it kay pann ou;
    pa di'y bonjou, i kay pann ou.
Greet the hangman and he will hang you;
    don't greet him and he will hang you.
(You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.)

3.
Lè ou fouyé lanmen'w an fawin fwans, i kay sòti blan.
When you dig your hand into some flour, it will come out white.
(If you start slinging mud, you will get some on yourself.)

2.
Balyé nèf ka balyé nèt, mé vyé balyé konnèt tout kwen.
A new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows all the corners.
(A familiar proverb, but with something added.)

1.
Tout cochon ni samdi yo.
Every pig has its Saturday.
(This looks deceptively like "Every dog has its day", but there is a twist.
The important cultural information is that Saturday is the day that the
local butcher shops are in operation.)

-- contributed by David Frank



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