MATHEMATICAL MODEL
FOR THE DEFINITION ENGLISH NATIONAL
CHARACTER ON THE BASIS OF THE PROVERBS AND SAYINGS
Aghamehdi Mehdialiyev
Academy of Public Administration, Baku, Azerbaijan
aga_mehdi@mail.ru
In this paper, the author attempts to develop mathematical model for
definition of mentality of a given nation on the basis of its proverbs and
sayings. With this purpose all corps of proverbs and sayings of a given nation
is shared to the clusters and is allocated the most representative qualities of
each clusters. Here is used the Method of the analysis
of hierarchies developed by the American mathematician T.Saaty [1,2], which intends
the representation of a studied problem in the hierarchical form. This method
consists of the decomposition of a problem to more simple content parts and the
further processing judgments by the person making decision, on the basis of pair
comparisons.
Paremias (proverbs and saying) owing to the composite structure and
stylistic registration are symbolical unities of the language form and the
morally-utilitarian maintenance expressed in it. The moral and utilitarian
norms expressed in paremiae units, in the same culture, as well as in different
cultures, can coincide and diametrically differ by the estimations of this or
that behavior Cultural dominants of language have relative character and are
established at comparison of cultures on the basis of quantity of the
valuable-marked judgments. Absence or insignificant number of a certain theme
testifies about irrelevancy this theme for a valuable picture of the world of
the given people. As a result of semantic transformations of the concrete norms
of behavior containing in universal statements, is possible allocation standard
complexes or the axioms of behavior [3]. These axioms can be classified as
follows:
- Interaction axioms:
- It is impossible to cause harms, it is necessary to create well: They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.
·
It
is impossible to be ungrateful: When you
drink from the steam, remember the spring.
·
It
is necessary to help each other: Two
heads are better than one.
·
It
is necessary to be courageous, to go on certain risk: A bold heart is half the battle.
- Life-support axioms:
·
It
is necessary to work: No song, no
supper.
·
It
is necessary to be patient: Patient men
win the day.
·
It
is impossible to waste time: A stitch in
time saves nine.
·
It
is necessary to hope for the best, to be the optimist: Cloudy mornings turn to clear afternoons.
·
It
is necessary to hope for the best, to be the optimist: Greedy eaters dig their graves with their teeth.
- Intercourse axioms:
·
It
is not necessary to speak much: Words
have wings and cannot be recalled.
·
It
is necessary to be able to forgive to people of an error: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
·
It
is necessary to be fair: He that will
cheat at play, will cheat you anyway.
·
It
is not necessary to be excessively curious: He, who peeps through a hole, may see what will vex him.
- Responsibility axioms:
·
It
is necessary to be responsible for the one's acts: If you leap into the well, the providence is not bound to fetch you
out.
·
It
is not necessary to correct a bad act with other bad act: He that falls into the dirt, the longer he stays there the fouler he
is.
·
It
is necessary to observe laws: We live by
laws, not by examples.
- Management axioms:
·
It
is not necessary to break another's will: If
the lad goes to the well against his will, either the can will break or the
water will spill.
·
It
is not necessary to charge one business to the big number of people: Too many cookers spoiled the broth.
·
It
is not necessary to set a bad example to subordinates: An army of stags led by a lion would be more formidable than one of
lions led by a stag.
- Realism axioms:
·
It
is necessary to start with the possibilities and to hope for own forces: You cannot have your cake and eat it.
·
It
is impossible to rely on the first impression, it is necessary to aspire to
open an essence of things or people: Still
waters have deep bottoms.
·
It
is necessary to know about impossibility of correction of the taken roots lacks
and defects: The fox may grow gray, but
never good; The wolf may lose his
teeth, but never nature.
·
It
is not necessary to neglect the imperceptible phenomena as they can be of great
importance: The best things come in small packages.
- Safety axioms:
·
It
is not necessary to hasten, making of the serious decision: Don't count your chickens before they are
hatched; Don't sell the skin till you have caught the bear.
·
It
is necessary to be provident: Don't put
all eggs in one basket.
·
It
is necessary to adapt to environment: Who
keeps company with a wolf, should learn to howl.
- Prudence axioms:
·
It
is not necessary to indulge in cares and alarms excessively: You cannot prevent the birds of sadness
from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.
·
It
is necessary to be content with that you have: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Method of the analysis of
hierarchies demands representation of a surveyed problem in the form consisting of
various levels. As the first level hierarchy we will choose the following
clusters on which will classify all corps paremias of given nation: Moral
qualities, Human existence, Social sphere, Appearance, Emotionally-mental
conditions, Labour activity, Behavior, Physical characteristics, Mental
faculties, Morally-ethical representations, Speech, Individuality. The second
level of hierarchy we will consider the most representative qualities in
framework of each cluster. Thus the second level of hierarchy on each level
consists from:
Moral qualities: care; boldness,
resoluteness; greed; arrogance, pride; impudence; levity, carelessness;
cowardice; obstinacy; insidiousness, hypocrisy; animosities; curiosity;
cunning, flattery; mildness; annoyance.
Human existence: life experience; character of
a life; everyday difficulties;
Bad luck, good luck.
Social sphere: sociality;
subjective estimation; position in a society; children; marriage, family.
Appearance: appearance – essence; view;
growing; gait.
Emotionally-mental conditions: desire, wish; pleasure, fun; independence, freedom;
love; anxiety, fussiness; fright; grief; unwillingness; awkwardness.
Labour activity: work; skills;
idleness.
Behavior: acts; punishment,
censure; risk.
Physical characteristics: age; physical defects; force – weakness; movement;
health; satiety; dream; laughter.
Mental faculties: wisdom and
nonsense.
Morally-ethical representations: boasting; ingratitude; praise; hospitality.
Speech: garrulity, idle
talk; reticence, reserve.
Individuality: individuality.
Let us notice that
the same proverb under the maintenance can be included to several various
clusters. This fact are confirmed with following examples:
·
He that would have eggs
must endure the cackling of hens. This proverb can be included to the following
clusters: "Emotionally-mental conditions" (desire, wish) and "Human
existence" (life experience).
·
The rotten apple injures
its neighbours.
This
proverb can be included to the following clusters: “Physical characteristics” (physical defects) and “Social sphere” (position in a
society).
·
Can the leopard change his
spots? This proverb can be
included to the following clusters: “Appearance”
(appearance – essence) and category “life experience” of cluster “Human existence”.
·
You cannot teach old dogs
new tricks.
This proverb can be included simultaneously to the three
clusters: “Physical characteristics” (age), “Labour activity” (skills), and “Human existence” (life experience).
References
1. Saaty Thomas L. The analytic
Hierarchy process. New York
McGraw-Hill, 1980
- Thomas L. Saaty, Kevin P. Kearns. Analytical Planing. The Organizations of Systems, 1985.
3. Karasik V.I. Dissertation: “Linguistic
aspects of studying of the social status of the person (on a material of modern
English language)”. Moskow, 1992 (in russian)
The article was published in the "Journal of Mathematics. International Eco-energy Academy"
№ 7,
2008