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1、Kate 2The Reflection of American Values in American ProverbsLanguage and culture are inseparable; language is the carrier of culture. As an important part of language, proverbs can reflect a nations values as a mirror; they can also note down the evolution of a nation. As is well-known, proverb is a
2、 condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people. http:/ “Proverbs are the form of language that has the closest connection with culture.” Hankins and Butts,1973 Although the number of words of a proverb is limited, they contain plenty
3、of rhetorical devices and vivid descriptions of lives of the people in the United States; they are the products of peoples great intelligence and ability of using language. There are many proverbs widely used in the daily lives of American people, from these proverbs, one can have a better knowledge
4、 of the American traditional values and the variation of them according to the development of society and history. Although the United States of America does not have long and diverse history, it is a nation composed of lots of different nationalities, it has origins of many countries in the world,
5、including France, Germany, Spain, China, Korea, Japan, Latin America, Russian, Poland, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavia, Italy, Philippine, India, Africa, Vietnam and Arabic countries. In other words, it is a country of immigrants from all over the world. In the fusion and assimilation of all these immigran
6、ts, the mainstream values of American characteristic emerged. When the first generation of immigrants set foot on this continent; they had to give up their old customs and behaviours to adapt to the severe living condition that is quite different from their original ones for a better life. Consequen
7、tly, they became more and more diligent, realistic, independent, and creative etc. People worked hard to overcome all the difficulties they faced in nature and compete with each other to get to the advantage position. As a result, the value of freedom and competition came into being. With the develo
8、pment of the American society and history, more and more traditional values of their own characteristic emerged and changed. The most typical and important ones are materialism, individualism, independence, equality, diligence, creativity, competition.Materialism can find expression in many proverbs
9、 used by American people. For instance“Money is the key that opens all the doors.” “Great gains make work easy.” “No money, no honey.” “God makes and apparels shapes, but it is money that finishes the main.” “A man without money is a bow without an arrow.” “Many a thing is made for money.” “Money is
10、 the god of the world.” “Gold is the sovereign of sovereigns.” All these proverbs mean that money is the most useful and powerful thing in the world that it can be used to achieve almost anything, they also indicate that capitalism consciousness has been inserted in American peoples heart and mind d
11、eeply. As a capitalism country, the citizens in the United States are fairly realistic and they attach great importance to their material content. To most Americans, it is a right to be well-off and physically comfortable, so they often judge people by their material possessions. Wealth is the sign
12、of being successful; it in some degree symbolizes a persons social status and reputation. There is a proverb that prevails in the United States “to go from rags to riches”; which is always used in news titles such as “iPhone Developers Go from Rags to Riches.” http:/ , it is also a slogan in the ear
13、ly days which showed that the aim of the first generation of explorers in the United States was to accumulate large amount of wealth to live a rich life, and the Gold Rush was the best evidence of the Americans value of materialism at that time. “Pull yourself up by your own boot straps.” “The baby,
14、 who always gets carried, will never learn to walk.” “Sweep before your own door.” “Keep your nose out of our business.” “Self-help is the best help.” “Do not expect strangers to do for you what you can do for yourself.” “Every man is the founder of his own fortune.” “He is a fool that forgets himse
15、lf.” The proverbs above illustrate two major values of American peopleindividualism and independence. Individualism is a doctrine originated from Europe; it was put forward by the renowned English philosopher and Enlightenment thinker John Locke, he pointed out that each individual is unique, specia
16、l, and completely different from all other individuals. This faith was accepted and has been followed by American people from then on. In the United States, self-concept is the centre part of the culture, and individualism influences nearly every aspect of American society. The political and legislative systems are established on this basis so that peoples personal rights and value could be well-a
