LEARNING ABOUT “FAMILY RELATIONS” IN TURKEY THROUGH PROVERBS

Abstract

In Turkey, the family unit is regarded as the cornerstone of a healthy and balanced society. Family relations exhibited in Turkish proverbs deal with several aspects of married life and the persons making part of it. These include the functions of Husband and Wife, Mother, Father, Grandparents, Children, Grandchildren, and even In-laws and their relations with one another. Traditional values on Turkish family life based on Islamic moral standards have been upheld throughout generations by proverbs in this part of the world. While proverbs based on Qur’anic and prophetic teaching provide “advice,” “warning,” on one side, many mundane proverbs presenting “observations and justifications based on popular wisdom and personal experiences” teach morals in a unique format on the other. In this study, where only a sampling of 100 Turkish family proverbs are selected, such universal clichés as “Marriage is a lottery” “The apple does not fall from its bottom” “Like mother like daughter” “As the twig is bent, the tree is inclined” have been omitted as they exist in almost all cultures literally, and the unique Anatolian proverbs have been emphasized to give special regional flavor with a familiar tone to all.

Key words: Family relations, proverbs, Qur’an, Hadith, folk sayings.

References

American Heritage Dictionary, https://www.ahdictionary.com/

Duman, Prof. Dr. Tayip (2008): Türk Atasözlerinde Çocuk ve Eğitimi, Türk Halkları Edebiyatı II, Uluslar arası Çocuk Edebiyatı Kongresi, Kafkas Üniversitesi, Bakü 13-15Kasım 2008 

Glusky, Jerzy (1971). Proverbs: A Comparative Book of English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian Proverbs with a Latin Appendix. New York . Elsevier Publishing Company

Güner, Prof. Dr. Osman (2014): Hadisler ışığında çocuk terbiyesi: http://www.yeniumit.com.tr/konular/detay/hadisler-isiginda-cocuk-terbiyesi

Hegaard, Steven E. (1993). Introduction to A Dictionary of Turkish Proverbs, Ankara

http://www.firaset.net/y-50_kadin-ve-aile.html: Kadın ve Aile

http://www.islamic-world.net/parenting/parenting_page/family_relationships_in_islam.htm,

http://www.turkishculture.org/literature/literature/turkish-proverbs-133.htm?type=1

https://minikkelebek.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/ayet-ve-hadisler-isiginda-ailenin-yonetimi-gecimi-cocuk-bakimi-ve-ev-isleri/: Ayet ve hadisler ışığında ailenin yönetimi, geçimi, çocuk bakımı ve ev işleri

Muallimoğlu, Nejat (1993): The Turkish Delights, A Treasury of Proverbs and Folk Sayings (New York)

Sahih al-Bukhari (Dr. M. Muhsin Khan’s translation) http://sunnah.com/bukhari

The Holy Qur’an: (Picthall translation)

Veled Çelebi İzbudak (1936). Atasözleri, Istanbul 

Yılmaz, Muhsin (2010): Türkçe Atasözlerinde Eğitim Anlayışı: http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/40/132/921.pdf

Yurtbaşı, Dr. Metin (1993): A Dictionary of Turkish_Proverbs, Turkish Daily News, Ankara