Truisms and Proverbs: Contextual Truth, Universality and Discursive Usage

Abstract

Proverbs and truisms are commonly perceived as the wisdom of the people, yet their universality is in question. LiteraryTerms.net (n.d.) defines truisms as obvious, banal statements, while there are paremiological and cognitive perspectives that point to the consistency, effectiveness, and cultural value of the truisms. This paper analyzes the intersection of proverbs and truisms by addressing two research questions: (1) Why are examples and definitions of truisms in LiteraryTerms.net controversial from a paremiological perspective? (2) How do certain proverbs relate to or differ from the definition in LiteraryTerms.net? A mixed-methods approach was applied to sources from historical, empirical studies from the past few decades, and contemporary sources (corpus-based studies, weather lore, social psychology research, public rhetoric). The results showed that truisms and proverbs are context-related and culture-bound. Some are apparent statements, while others derive their sources from rhetorical function, shared knowledge, and usefulness across discourses. The paper highlights the mixed value of truisms and the need for careful interpretation. Recommendations are proposed for online content creators to provide at least a link to competing definitions of terms like truisms.