FAMOUS PROVERBS (SAYINGS) IN YOUR COUNTRY!

Julian, that was mirroring what I was thinking; one'd guess that Occitan is at least as significant as, say, Catalan, with the number of people posting things on here in Occitan.

Equinists, too!

Oops! The above was in response to Ed's post on the previous page.

Here are some proverbs from Hungary:

Ajándék lónak ne nézd a fogát.
Never look a gift-horse in the mouth.
(When you receive something out of gratitude, don't criticise it)

Csalánba nem üt a mennykő.
Lightning will never strike a nettle.
(Mean people will always get away unharmed)

Aki másnak vermet ás, maga esik bele.
He who digs a whole for others, will fall into it himself.

Egyik kutya, másik eb.
One is a dog and the other a hound.
(The one is nothing better than the other)

Sok bába közt elvész a gyerek
An eqivalent of: Too many cooks spoil the broth
(Literally: The child is lost among too many midwives)

Kinek a pap, kinek a papné.
For some: the pastor, for some: the pastor's wife.
(Tastes will always differ)

Cornwall (Kernow)

"My ny vynnaf cows Sawsnek!" - I will not speak Saxon (English)!

This very, very famous sentence is a quote rather than a saying, but it of it is in the same vein as the previous Cornic post :

"Tirez les premiers, Messieurs les Anglais"
"Shoot first, Messrs. the Englishmen"
Comte d'Auteroche (May 11, 1745)

Auteroche was an officer fighting with the Maréchal de Saxe, leading Franco-Irish troops against the Duke of Cumberland, leading Englishmen, Hanovrians, Dutch and Austrians. The former won cthe city of Tournai (Doornijk) and the rest of Flanders.

Hawiian proverbs:

O ka makapo wale no ka mea hapapa i ka pouli.
Only the blind gropes in the darkness.

Mai 'ena i ke kanaka i laka aku.
Do not shy away from a person who is attracted to you.

I ku ka makemake e hele mai, hele no me ka malo 'elo 'e.
If the wish to come arises, walk firmly.

Mai ho 'oni i ka wai lana mâlie.
Do not disturb the water that is tranquil.

Nana ka maka; ho 'olohe ka pepeiao; pa 'a ka waha.
Observe with the eyes; listen with the ears; shut the mouth.

Aloha mai no, aloha aku; o ka huhu ka mea e ola 'ole ai.
When love is given, love should be returned; anger is the thing that gives no life.

He lawai 'a no ke kai papa 'u, he pôkole ke aho; he lawai 'a no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho.
A fisherman of the shallow sea uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea has a long line.

Aia a pa 'i 'ia ka maka, ha 'i 'ia kupuna nana 'oe.
Only when your face is slapped should you tell who your ancestors are.

> Hawiian proverbs> correction: Hawaiian or Hawai'ian

Here is a japanese proverb,

Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
Even monkeys fall from trees.

even experts, like monkeys as in they are good at climbing a tree, sometimes make mistakes.

Más vale cápsula en mano que tos volando.

Another nice (filosofic) dutch one...

één gek kan meer vragen dan 100 wijze mannen kunnen beantwoorden.

A fool/idiot can ask more then a 100 wise men can anwser.

"I'll do that dreckly" (Cornwall)

Dreckly is a contraction of Directly as in 'later' - a bit like the Latin
American Manana but without the same sense of urgency ! It is still in widespread use in Cornwall and I believe in the Appalachian areas of the Southern USA.

>Never pee into the wind.

Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit.

>Culo veo, culo quiero.
If an arse is what I see, an arse is what I want.

In my neighbor country there's a saying very kewl : " Tiran más dos tetas que dos carretas ".

Traduce tú , xatufan, que tienes más arte para eso