A Linguistic Study of Jordanian Folk Rhymed Proverbs and Idioms

Abstract

Folk proverbs and idioms are a basic part of the cultural heritage, as they are intangible document that reflects the deep-rootedness of civilizations and the originality of their cultural roots. The folk proverbs and idioms vary in their linguistic structure, and their functions as they are used to express different cultural, economic, social and religious values, etc. Jordanian folk proverbs and idioms occupy an important part of the national linguistic heritage, as they are used by people no matter their social and scientific backgrounds. The present study aims to explore the Jordanian folk rhymed proverbs and idioms in order to bring to light their linguistic structure and social functions. The corpus was selected from different sources and was subject to thorough investigation. The study showed that various means and tools were used in forming these proverbs and idioms and that they were used to serve different social purposes and functions.