Cross- cultural Communication This page intentionally left blank

Proverbs and cultural values
This exercise can be used to explore cultural assumptions and values by 
examining proverbs which often express values that are broadly accepted 
within a cultural group. Proverbs are often paradoxical or metaphorical. We 
can also examine them for their exaggeration of attitudes commonly held by 
a cultural group. Each has a quality of permanence in the culture and recurs 
in its folklore. Proverbs, like metaphors, can provide valuable insight into a 
culture, with vivid imagery and material for discussion. They must, however, 
be used with caution, as, like metaphors, they do not always apply to every 
individual or even every sub- group within a society. Nevertheless, they do 
highlight national differences in an easily understandable way and provide a 
rich vocabulary for discussion. Figure 15.2 provides some British examples.
Example Values
Cleanliness is next to godliness 
Cleanliness
Time is money 
Value of time
Birds of a feather flock together 
Guilt through association
Waste not, want not 
Frugality
Early to bed, early to rise 
Diligence
God helps those who help themselves 
Initiative
A man’s home is his castle 
Privacy, property
No rest for the wicked 
Guilt, work ethos
Figure 15.2 British proverbs
An example of a proverb exercise
Below is a list of proverbs from different cultures. Next to each proverb, 
students should write the cultural value they think the proverb teaches 
and indicate the country/countries where similar proverbs are used. Some 
may apply to several countries/cultures. Where possible, students should be 
asked to write in the version they would use in their own country and give 
the English translation.

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286 Cross-Cultural Communication
Proverb Meaning
A penny saved is a penny earned 
Thrift (for example, France, Germany 
and the UK, who all use a similar 
metaphor)
There is no time like the present 
Opportunism (for example, France, 
Germany, Italy and the UK)
When in Rome, do as the
Adaptation (for example, France,
Romans do 
Germany, Slovakia and the UK)
Every cloud has a silver lining 
Optimism (for example, France, 
Germany and the UK)
Children are a staircase to paradise 
Children are a gift of god (for exam-
ple, Arab cultures)
A house without an elderly person 
Reverence for the elderly in a
is like an orchard without a well 
family (for example, Arab cultures)
The eye is an organ of aggression 
Eye contact may be hostile (for 
example, in Zulu culture)
Students can also be asked to draw up a list of well- known proverbs from 
their own culture and ask the other nationalities in the group to compare 
them with similar proverbs in their own culture. It is also interesting to 
see if the translations into different languages match the English words or 
whether different words are used to express the same meaning.