The elderly in proverbs : comparative analysis of Estonian and Slovene proverbs

Babič, Saša (author), Voolaid, Piret (author)

From a methodological and folkloristic perspective, the article explores attitudes toward older people and aging in Slovene and Estonian proverbs based on archival paremiological material collected from the second half of the 19th century to the present day. Various aspects of old age and ageing are also reflected in the rich tradition of proverbs. As can be seen from the examined material, proverbs related to the elderly and to ageing reflect established cultural stereotypes or attitudes that are full of controversy and ambivalence. On the one hand, there are many negative stereotypes that emphasize the vulnerability and needs of the elderlz and portray them as a passive group in need of help. This stereotype is extremely common in proverbs, where young people are portrayed as capable of learning and adapting to change, while the elderly are not. On the other hand, some proverbs reflect a highly positive attitude towards older people, suggesting that they deserve respect and are to be regarded as full members of society. The other extreme approach is active ageing, which suggests that the solution lies in older people acting young. The proverbs analysed stem from two different languages (Estonian and Slovene), two different language families (Uralic and Indo-European), and two different regions of Europe (northern and southern), but their embedded stereotypes and messages are similar – emphasizing physical decline, wisdom, mental decline, grey hair, walking canes as well asrespect. If the understanding of universal signs and stereotypes of old age in proverbs often varies across cultures, it can also be argued that it is often actually rather similar, especially in countries that were historically connected to and influenced by the same “centre,” i.e., the historical area of German culture in the case of Estonian and Slovene.

• Language: English
• Keywords: proverbs, ageing, Estonian, Slovene, ethnolinguistics, folkloristics
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 24.12.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 11-25
• Numbering: Letn. 65, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180621
• UDC: 398.91(=163.6:=511.113)
• ISSN on article: 0024-3922
• DOI: 10.4312/linguistica.65.1.11-25
• COBISS.SI-ID: 263475715
• Publication date in RUL: 12.03.2026

Record is a part of a proceedings

• Title: Frazeologija v digitalni dobi
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262399235

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Linguistica
• Shortened title: Linguistica
• Publisher: Filozofska fakulteta, Filozofska fakulteta, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 0024-3922
• COBISS.SI-ID: 16075264

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Staranje v pregovorih : primerjalna analiza estonskih in slovenskih pregovorov

Abstract

Članek z metodološkega in folklorističnega vidika raziskuje odnos do starejših in sta­ranja v slovenskih in estonskih pregovorih na podlagi arhivskega paremiološkega gra­diva, zbranega v drugi polovici 19. stoletja pa vse do danes. Različni vidiki starosti in staranja se odražajo tudi v bogatem izročilu pregovorov. Kot je razvidno iz kategorij, pregovori, povezani s starejšimi ljudmi in staranjem, predstavljajo uveljavljene kultur­ne stereotipe ali odnose, ki so polni kontroverznosti in ambivalentnosti. Po eni strani obstaja veliko negativnih stereotipov, ki poudarjajo ranljivost in potrebe starejših ljudi ter jih prikazujejo kot pasivno in odvisno skupino. Ta stereotip je globoko zakoreninjen v pregovorih, kjer so mladi prikazani kot sposobni učenja in prilagajanja spremembam, starejši pa ne. Po drugi strani nekateri pregovori odražajo zelo pozitivno stališče do starejših, saj nakazujejo, da si starejši zaslužijo spoštovanje in so polnopravni člani družbe, oz. kažejo na spodbujanje t. i. aktivnega staranja, tj, da starejši ljudje delujejo mladostno in aktivno. Analizirani pregovori so iz dveh različnih jezikov (estonski in slovenski), dveh različnih jezikovnih družin (uralski in indoevropski) in dveh različnih regij Evrope (severne in južne), vendar so si njihovi vgrajeni stereotipi in sporočila po­dobni – poudarjanje fizičnega upada, modrosti, duševnega upada, sivih las, hoje, palice in spoštovanja so le nekateri ključni izrazi, ki izhajajo iz analize. Če se razumevanje univerzalnih znakov in stereotipov starosti, obravnavanih v pregovorih, razlikuje glede na kulturo, lahko trdimo, da je razumevanje znakov starosti v Evropi precej podobno, zlasti v državah, ki so bile v preteklosti povezane z istim »centrom« in so bile pod nje­govim vplivom, tj. nemško kulturno-zgodovinsko okolje.

• Keywords: pregovori, staranje, estonščina, slovenščina, etnolingvistika, folkloristika