Examples of Proverbs and Idioms from Shahsavan Turks

Abstract

Proverbs are the guiding, advising public anonymous phrases that are produced by societies because of their long-term observations and experiences as well as containing general judgments, being included in the oral cultural heritage. Idioms, on the other hand, are stereotyped phrases that have partly or completely grown away from their real meanings, have an interesting meaning. Proverbs and idioms are the most outstanding products that reflect some concepts such as the universe perception, worldview, way of thinking and life of the Turks. The Shahsavans, an unexplored part of the Turkic world and the Turcology, are a Turkish community living in Iran's Ardabil, East Azerbaijan and Zanjan provinces today, maintaining a nomadic lifestyle. The Shahsavan Turks, consisting of Oghuz Turks who mostly migrated as tribes from Anatolia in the 16th century, are the second largest Turkish community that still maintains a nomadic life in Iran after the Qashqai Turks. In this study, firstly, brief information about Shahsavans is given and general definitions about proverbs and idioms are presented. Then, 109 proverbs, 113 idioms compiled from Shahsavans in Ardabil, East Azerbaijan and Zanjan are examined result the field studies conducted between 2018-2019. The idioms and proverbs compiled from the source people were transcribed and then discussed in terms of structure and concept. In the conclusion part of the study, a general evaluation is made about the Shahsavan proverbs and idioms, and the idioms and proverbs compiled from the Shahsavan Turks are transferred to Turkey Turkish and listed alphabetically