"No tickee, no washee": subtleties of a proverbial slur
Article Abstract:
Proverbs such as "No tickee, no washee" should not be purged from the language but should be used carefully and not in an offensive sense. There should be respect for people of all ethnicities without legislating political correctness. The origin of this proverb was the Chinese laundrymen of the 19th century, most of whom could speak only Pidgin English. This added fuel to the proverbial stereotype of their lingustic and mental inadequacies. There are many other proverbs based on the formula of "No x, no y." This proverb can be used metaphorically without giving offense.
Publication Name: Western Folklore
Subject: Regional focus/area studies
ISSN: 0043-373X
Year: 1996
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"(Don't) throw the baby out with the bath water": the Americanization of a German proverb and proverbial expression
Article Abstract:
The proverb 'Don't throw the baby out with the bath water' comes from Germany, and its migration into the English language occurred relatively recently. First appearing in an awkward translation by Thomas Carlyle in 1849, the proverb did not gain general currency in English until the 1940s. Chronological citations from German-English dictionaries, German-English and English phraseological dictionaries, contextualized references, headlines and citations from folklore archives are included as well as pictorial illustrations of the phrase.
Publication Name: Western Folklore
Subject: Regional focus/area studies
ISSN: 0043-373X
Year: 1991
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"In lingua veritas": Proverbial rhetoric in Victor Klemperer's diaries of the Nazi years (1933-1945)
Article Abstract:
The book written by philologist and literary scholar Victor Klemperer, 'The Language of the Third Reich: A Philologist's Notebook' started the ongoing debate on the role of the German language that is considered as a key figure by the scholars of language and culture who study the use and misuse of the German language during the twelve years of the Nazi reign. Victor Klemperer's diaries about the Nazi regime represent the autobiography of one of the Jewish victims.
Publication Name: Western Folklore
Subject: Regional focus/area studies
ISSN: 0043-373X
Year: 2000
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