Proverbs

 

A proverb is a concise statement in a fixed form of an apparent truth which has currency among the people.
      The Western Yugur use the vernacular term khip s'oz, "traditional word", to designate the proverb; khip is a loanword from Eastern Yugur, meaning "tradition, custom"; s'oz means "word, speech". In Eastern Yugur, the term khep, "proverb, saying, norm", is used.
      Many Western and Eastern Yugur proverbs consist of two parallel statements. Often, these two-part proverbs consist of a metaphor and its application, but the line citing the application may be dropped. In Chinese, similes of this structure are called xiehòuyu.
      Western Yugur proverbs do not display the traditional Turkic verse structure which most commonly consists of seven or eleven syllables, although many two-part proverbs have lines with an equal number of syllables. Some proverbs consist of four-syllable lines, the typical form of the Chinese idiom called chéngyu.
      Eastern Yugur proverbs commomnly display vertical alliteration, i.e. rhyme of the initial consonant and vowel of the first words of the two statements. Horizontal alliteration, i.e. rhyme of the initial consonant and vowel of words within a verse occurs incidentally in both Western and Eastern Yugur.
      Some proverbs are widespread; they occur in many Turkic and Mongolic languages, and also in Chinese and Tibetan. Proverbs similar to a number of Western Yugur proverbs are already attested in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century dictionary Compendium of Turkish Dialects.

Now read or hear some examples:

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