Eighteenth century proverbs in M.A. Trotz’s "Nowy dykcjonarz" in a contemporary perspective

Beata Kuryłowicz

Uniwersytet w Białymstoku

Abstract

The subject of the article are proverbs excerpted from M. A. Trotz’s "Nowy dykcjonarz" which, for different reasons, have not stood the test of time, have been forgotten or replaced by other, easier to understand and more recent constructions, or which are still present in the contemporary language but in a changed form. The proverbs included in M. A. Trotz’s lexicon aremanifestations of a colloquial language. Therefore, in a sense, they imitate the 18th century "paremiotic" system, which was once used but is now largely forgotten. The presentation and characterization of obsolete proverbs do not only fulfill a documentary and cognitive purpose but, above all, visualize dynamism of changes in a language and the world as well as an ensuing need to reach such areas of the language and culture that have been weathered by history.

Keywords:

forgotten proverbs, "Nowy dykcjonarz", Michał Abraham Trotz, contemporary perspective, 18th century