Turkish Proverbs From Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In the paper ‘Turkish Proverbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina’ the author presents the material of 214 proverbs in total. These have been gathered from texts Josip Dragomanović added to his translation of Osmanli grammar of Kavâid-i Osmâniye (Sarajevo 1873.?), and two Latin script manuscripts, stored in the Library of Holy Ghost Monastery in Fojnica (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The first manuscript (actually a codex) has the Monastery Library entry of 8, while the other, entitled the Letter Book (Slovnica, i.e. Grammar Book), has a new inventory number of 19572. In his list, the author of this paper does not include the ten proverbs recorded in the Histories (Ljetopis) of priest Nikola Lašvanin (18. c.), but does separately mention them and comments on them. The author has managed to track, through the contemporary Turkish proverb and idiom compendiums available to him, most of these proverbs (often in newer linguistic form and stylistic variation). However, for more than one-fourth of proverbs and expressions no substantiation has been found in the contemporary tongue. This fact makes the collection interesting, especially because of its containing so far unrecorded proverbs. Except from the Turkish Studies aspect, this material can prove to be worthwhile for cultural and historic research as well.