University of Baghdad

College of Education – Ibn Rushd for

Human Sceinces – Department of English

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Violence against Women in the Daily English Proverbs
Submitted by: Ali Shimal Kzar
Discourse Analysis
Supervised by: Asst. Prof. Bushra Ni’ma Rashid ( PhD )

2022 -2023
Abstract
In every language, proverbs are employed to convey specific messages. However, when
proverbs are translated from one language to another, translation difficulties arise due to
the cultural and linguistic connotations inherent to proverbs. The concept of power, and
more specifically the social power of organizations or institutions, is typically considered
to be one of the most important aspects of critical study on discourse. The role of women
that is wife, daughter, mother or sister is being described and analyzed throughout
discourse concepts such as power and social inequality.

Moreover, demonstrating that widespread feminism's commitment to liberal equality has

not been realized in a variety of settings, from the developed West to countries with new
or changing governments. There is a paucity of public space where radical feminist
opinions may be heard, there is little legal protection for women, and violence against
women is pervasive. The limited literacy rates of women are just some of the factors that
impede women's emancipation and full social citizenship in these varied societies.
Common English proverbs are used to examine these power and ideology shifts.

This study presents violence in critical discourse analysis of Proverbs of English to

examine how power relationships of different genders are determined through linguistic
choices in different languages/societies. So, according to this problem; the study seeks to
answer these questions: What are the forms of gender-based violence ? How are women
subjected to violence understood and conceptualized through the use of Critical Discourse
Analysis ? In what ways could these proverbs provide light on the causes and effects of
social stratification?
This study aims at identifying to what extent is the social values and respect between
women and men in proverbs. It also aims at , from discourse analysis point of view,
identifying the embodiment of the main notions of discourse analysis like power ,
dominance , social inequality , hegemony , as well as the relationship among the
members of a society
Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet: Women in Proverbs from Around the World by
Jessica Lee Schipper ( 2004 ) , Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs by Jennifer Speake (1999 )
and English proverbs Explained by Roberts Downey ( 2009 ) are the data used in this
study. Terminology of discourse analysis like power , dominance and social inequality and
how these notions are described in reference to violence against women in general. This
study is limited to shed light on violence against women in proverbs and the use of
violence against them. Van Dijk (1988/1995) Model of Dominance and Power is used:
When it comes to power problems, van Dijk (1995) tends to take a cognitive approach. He
thinks that no matter what tools are chosen and used, people who have power want to
control, change, and direct the thoughts and beliefs of others so that they can gain from it.
So, both discourse and social interaction are shaped by the way different mental
information, ideologies, and attitudes interact with each other.
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The study hypothesized that by looking at how English proverbs use critical discourse; this
study will show how English proverbs use degrading and racist language that puts women
down and limits their roles in society. Also, it will show that the chosen proverbs have a
lot in common when it comes to using bad language. There is function of the utterance
purpose in each proverbs analyzed and that the most used parts of Van Dijk’s model are
the micro and macro level of analysis and the cognitive processes as the social individuals
of a society. To achieve the aims of the study, the following procedures are adopted:
Firstly, presenting a complete theoretical survey of all the literature of the model.
Secondly, showing all aspects of the humiliation in the daily English proverbs so that how
they are controlled and misbehaved by men or specifically ‘ the husband.’ Finally,
conducting a selection of the data for the analysis and the data selected are three sources of
the English Proverbs Explained and Never Marry a Women with Big Feet and Oxford
Dictionary of proverbs. As far as analysis is concerned mixed method ( Qualitative and
Quantitative) are used.

1. Introduction

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is defined by Fairclough ‘’ as the relationships of causality

and determination" between (a) discursive practices, events, and texts and (b) larger
social and cultural structures, interactions, and processes. It is used to examine the ways
in which relations of power and fights over power both generate and ideologically affect
such behaviors, events, and texts . Furthermore, it is used to explore how the opacity of
these relationships between discourse and society is itself a factor securing power and
hegemony” ( Fairclough,1993:135). The present study investigates the area of violence to
know and describe how women were treated from the social point of view. This can be
shown by many of the problems that women face in the public space today, even though
they have access to education and paid work, are caused by gendered social structures
that don't change. For example, exclusion and alienation among peers and subordinates,
the lack of female role models and self-determined leadership styles for women
managers, silencing non-mainstream views in peer discussions, and women working
double shifts at the office and at home. Violence against women has been very influential
since the early times and the frequent twentieth century.
Any act of physical, sexual, or psychological aggression against a woman is considered an
act of violence against women. Both public and private acts, or threats of such acts, or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, fall under this category. The proposed parts concerning
proverbs about violence against women are tackled : treating women , women’s
appearance and the role of women in life. From the Sumerian clay tablets (about 2500
B.C.) to the postmodern Internet pop-ups of today, the proverb can be found just about
anywhere, as stated by Hildebrandt, T. (2005). It can be found in various collections of
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proverbs from all over the world, as well as in epics, poems, musicals, dramas, novels,
and even modern advertising.
2. Theoretical Background
2.1.1 Discourse
David Crystal (2008, p: 148) states that discourse is a phrase used in linguistics to refer to
a continuous stretch of (particularly spoken) language longer than a sentence -
nevertheless, various diverse uses may be found within this wide notion. At its most
general, a discourse is a pre-theoretical linguistic behavioral unit: It is a group of
utterances that constitute any recognizable speech event (no reference is made to its
grammatical organization, if any), such as a conversation, a joke, a sermon, or an
interview. To put it another way, The definition of the term ‘discourse’ usually refers to a
form of language use, public speeches or more generally to spoken language , or ways of
speaking, for example , referring to the discourse of former president Ronald Reagan.(Van
Dijk, 1997,p.2)
Turning to another crucial terms of that so called Discourse ‘ Whos’ and ‘Whats’
Beginning with the question of who you are when you speak and what you are doing.
When something is spoken or written , the resources of English are used to project oneself
as a researcher engaged in a certain kind of activity, a different kind in different
circumstances. If the researcher has no idea who he is and what he is doing, then he cannot
make sense of what he has said, written or done.( Gee, 2005 , p.22)
2.1.2 Microstructure of Discourse
Microstructures are the parts of the discourse that are actually and directly "expressed."
We use the term, however, more as a practical term for a group than as a theoretical term,
even though a theoretical term might have some cognitive validity. Using the terms
sentence and sequence of sentences to talk about certain ideas. The first term is well-
known from classical grammars, and the second term has been used mostly in so-called
text grammars. Text grammars are grammars of any kind that don't just describe individual
sentences but also take into account structures that go beyond the sentence level or
structures that make up discourses and conversations as a whole. By producing "text," it
means the abstract structure of a discourse. So, discourse is a way of looking at things,
while text is a way of thinking about things. Discourses should usually have sentence and
text structures to be acceptable in a language community, but this does not mean that they
always do. (Van Dijk,1980,p.26).
Talking about language use and cognitive processing , the word "discourse" refers to the
communicative event that includes a variety of oral interactions, written text, body
movements, pictures, and other semiotic signifiers, etc. instead of the word "text," which
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is only used in the abstract grammatical reconstruction of natural language discourses. In
fact, the word "sentence," which can be used either as a theoretical term or as an
observational term, is also used in two different ways. It is a general rule that controls how
the discourse is made or understood. This means that a deeper level of description is
needed to assign global semantic structures that, at the same time, put limits on how each
sentence in the text can be interpreted and how more coherence can be made. (Van
Dijk,1980,p.26).
2.1.3 Discourse Analysis
Zellig Harris came up with the term ‘discourse analysis’ ( henceforth DA ) in 1952 as a
way to look at how speech and writing fit together. Harris was mostly interested in two
things: Language beyond the sentence level and the connection between language and non-
language behavior. He spent the most time on the first one, with the hope of figuring out
how to describe the ways in which certain text types and styles make use of particular
language elements. His first and perhaps most crucial point was that:
Whether someone is talking, conversing, or sitting down several times a month to
produce a specific genre of book inside a specific academic or literary canon, they are
engaging in connected discourse. ( Paltridge ,2012:2)
DA looks at how language is used in different texts and how it relates to the social and
cultural setting in which it is used. DA also looks at how the way people use language
shows different ideas and ways of seeing the world. DA looks at how the relationships
between people affect how they use language, as well as how language use affects social
identities and relationships. It also looks at how discourse shapes how people see the world
and how they see themselves.
Firth (1935, 1957a, 1957b), Michael Halliday (1971, 1989a), and Sinclair (2004) have all
made significant contributions to the area of discourse analysis by focusing on the
interplay between language and context. Firth discusses this connection by using the
‘situational context’ and ‘culture context’ proposed by anthropologist Malinowski (1923,
1935). According to him, it is essential to understand the cultural and social setting in
which a person is speaking or writing in order to fully grasp the meaning of what they are
saying or writing. To rephrase, text cannot be made sense of unless you're familiar with the
customs of the people that inhabit it (Paltridge, 2012, p.9).
The order in which individuals often say things in a conversation or a piece of writing is of
particular interest to discourse analyzers. This is not the same in all languages, and it
varies greatly between cultural contexts. The first thing a Japanese professor or university
administrator may say an email is, "Greetings!" followed by a comment about the weather.
Wonderful weather has arrived in Kyoto today. What I mean is, I could mention this in an
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email to a coworker in another country, but is not it necessary, like it is in Japanese?
Hence, in different contexts, depending on the language and culture, using different words
and expressions.
A pioneer in the study of text structure, Mitchell (1957) was among the first to investigate
this topic. He analyzed the sequence in which individuals present their arguments while
bargaining for or selling an item. He examined the overall structure of such texts and
brought the concept of "stages" into the field of discourse analysis. Language users move
through distinct phases, or stages, depending on the nature of their interaction. He was less
concerned with the specifics of the language employed at each stage of a process and more
interested in how the process of interaction was put up in the text as a whole. Mitchell
explains that language is "cooperative action," and that its meaning changes depending on
the scenario in which it is used and the larger context of the text.
2.2 Critical Discourse Analysis
Brown and Miller (2013) state that definition of Critical Discourse Analysis ( henceforth
CDA ): "The analysis of texts in connection to social and political systems and power.",
especially in the light of Marxist theory” (p. 115 ).
Choosing either the text, structure, or discourse options, are limited in that they can only
be used in a specific place and time. Ideologies are not limited to certain situations or
institutions, so we need to be able to talk about how they go beyond certain rules or ways
of talking (a simple example would be comparing the country to a family) and how
ideology affects the way these things relate to each other. (Fairclough, 1989, P. 191 )
Foucault's "order of discourse" and the concept of "interdiscourse" can be useful here. "
(Foucault, 1971). Again, the structural focus on the order of discourse needs to be paired
with a focus on events, which are where these changes happen in the real world.
What factors go into (re)organizing discourse orders is an intriguing open subject. Without
attempting to provide a full explanation, to suggest that (a) the components of orders of
discourse are more or less well-defined, (b) they vary in size, and (c) they are involved in a
variety of connections, including complementarity, inclusion, and contradiction. It was
said up to that, people often mistakenly assume that a structure's edges are more distinct
than they actually are. It appears that there are some striking contrasts, while others reveal
striking similarities. The things that are talked about and talked about again in discourse
aren't always full-fledged codes or registers. Sometimes, they are smaller things, like
systems for taking turns, dictionaries that include certain categories, generic scripts for
stories, groups of social norms, and so on. Finally, it is important to recognize that the
orders of speech are diverse, meaning that they convey complementary and conflicting
ideas, such as varying grammatical structures and turn-taking conventions. French
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discourse analysts of the "second generation" agree with these suggested properties of
orders of discourse. So, ideology is found both in the structures that make up the results of
past events and the conditions for current events, and in the events themselves, as they
reproduce and change the structures that made them happen. Thinking about how language
is used and a way to think about how ideology affects economic and political relationships.
Both of these are in line with this position. ( Fiarclough,1995, p. 56)
Critical discourse analysis looks at how language is used and how it fits into the social and
political situations in which it is used. It looks at things like gender, race, cultural
differences, ideology, and identity, as well as how these things are made and shown in
texts. It also looks at how language shapes social relationships and how social
relationships shape language. Critical discourse analysis may include a detailed analysis of
the text, and then explain and explain how you understand the analysis. It could then go on
to break down and question the text(s) being looked at. This might involve figuring out the
underlying ideologies from the way a text is written, figuring out the biases and
ideological assumptions behind the text, and making connections between the text and
other texts and people's experiences and beliefs. ( Paltridge,2012:186)

2.3 Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis

The epidemic of violence against women affects every region and every socioeconomic
group. This means that the notions of abused women vary greatly from case to case. But,
in the realms of language, research, literature, and law, women have historically and
continue to be viewed as a vulnerable group with shared needs and wants and as victims of
similar oppression (Mohanty, 1988, p. 81).
Furthermore, the discourses of the law, social standards, and media coverage all reveal the
extent to which individuals are affected by and react to the problem of violence. These
discourses show how violence is conceived of and who is included through conversations,
shifts, and actions. Intimate partner abuse is primarily experienced by women, yet this fact
is obscured by policies that treat all genders equally (Nixon & Tutty, 2009).
This means that the language used to describe violence sets the stage for how the problem
is portrayed and what aspects of it are prioritized in efforts to reduce or end the violence
(Hearn & McKie, 2010). As a result, these regulations influence the way that practitioners
like social workers must consider their work and the world around them. According to
Krizsan and Popa (2014), the General Recommendation of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the 1993 United Nations General
Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women both represent a

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structural approach to achieving gender equality. From this vantage point, violence is a
universal problem that cuts across socioeconomic and cultural boundaries.
Nonetheless, it does highlight the heightened vulnerability of women, examine the root
causes of violence through the lens of gender inequality, and make recommendations such
as holding perpetrators accountable, encouraging bystander intervention, and raising
awareness about domestic violence. One of the few places in Europe, whose laws and
policies are based on this point of view (Krizsan & Popa, 2014). In Sweden, violence
against women is called "violence in close relationships." Both women and men can be
victims or perpetrators of violence in close relationships. Abuse of any kind is
unacceptable, whether it be physical, mental, sexual, emotional, or monetary (Hoppstadius,
2018). There are still subtle and overt ways of discriminating against women, despite the
fact that more women have reached top positions in their fields. This is mostly due to the
fact that many workplaces continue to be controlled by men. There is no way to fix it.
Even at the highest levels of society, women face "two discourses" (Rojo and Esteban,
2003), which means that they are held to different standards than men and are always
asked to defend their presence and achievements. There isn't equivalent treatment
according to all parties with similar qualifications.
An interdisciplinary lens is required to fully understand the complex phenomena outlined
in the first two claims. The findings of disciplines such as organizational studies, gender
studies, language studies, cultural studies, discourse analysis, and political science all
influence and are influenced by one another. (Fairclough,2005:96)
One of the most important insights for a feminist CDA is that there is as much variation
and diversity among "women" (and "men") as there are people in the world, and that the
ways in which power is exerted in many modern countries are complex, with implications
for analyses of gender and sexism that vary by historical period and cultural context.
Despite the fact that gender roles and sexism have altered and taken on new forms over the
years, the basic structure of gender (and the power imbalance that comes with it) has
remained largely stable across cultures and time periods. According to Rubin, the goal of
feminist critical discourse analysis is to look at the "endless diversity and repetitive
similarity" of women's oppression (quoted in Fraser and Nicholson ,1990, p. 28).
When there is an imbalance of power, there are a wide range of interests at play that can be
used, expressed, maintained, and rejected. Overt sexism and other forms of gender
discrimination include harassment, violence, and public humiliation. Despite laws
prohibiting overt sex discrimination, ‘rape culture’ is ubiquitous in Western countries like
the United States, making overt displays of dominance (or the fear of them) a reality for
women in many cultures. Nevertheless, a more pervasive and dangerous form of authority

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in modern culture is based on the vocabulary used to discuss taboo subjects. This sort of
sway is rooted in and spreads via networks of dependency. To put it another way, it is self-
sufficient in the sense that it can generate subjects in both directions (Foucault, 1977).
2.4 Violence against Women in English Proverbs
To put it simply, power dynamics are a fight over opposing interests that can be expressed,
reflected, perpetuated, and rejected in different settings and to differing degrees of
overtness. Sexism is most visible in the form of discriminatory legislation and practices,
unpleasant work environments for women, and insulting language directed towards female
coworkers. Yet, a pervasive "rape culture" remains in Western societies like the United
States, making overt exhibits of dominance (or the danger of them) a reality for women in
many places, despite legislation forbidding overt sex discrimination. Present day politics is
characterized by a more ubiquitous and damaging type of power, one with discursive roots
but far from benign outcomes. That sort of power is all-encompassing and dispersed across
networks; it polices itself; and it creates subjects (in the broadest sense) (Foucault, 1977).
Discursive power, which is both subtle and seemingly harmless, is surprisingly ubiquitous
and dangerous in contemporary society. As a kind of authority, it is all-encompassing, self-
sustaining, and productive, producing subjects in the fullest sense (Foucault, 1977). The
feminist perspective stresses the need of realizing that although power is "everywhere," it
affects people of different genders in diverse ways. The idea of power relations as
dominance, especially in Gramsci's hegemonic terminology, is a useful addition to the
current understanding of power from the standpoint of critical discourse analysis
(Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999).
Access to forms of discourse, such as specific communicative events and culturally valued
genres (van Dijk,1993:1996), that may be empowering for women's engagement is
explored through the lens of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, which examines textual
representations of gendered social practices to learn more about the multiple ways in
which power and dominance are produced and/or contested.
2.5 The Meaning of Proverbs across cultures and Contextualization
Women are subjected to "two discourses" (Rojo and Esteban, 2003), which indicates that
they are expected to justify their existence and accomplishments at every level of society,
even at the highest levels. People of equal or similar credentials are not always given the
same weight.
The basic structure of gender (and the power imbalance that comes with it) has stayed
fairly stable throughout cultures and time periods, despite the fact that gender roles and
sexism have changed and taken on new forms over the years. Feminist critical discourse

8
analysis seeks, as stated by Rubin, to investigate the "endless diversity and monotonous
similarity" of women's oppression (quoted in Fraser and Nicholson 1990: 28).
This proverb has been summed up in several ways, including "The wisdom of many, the
wit of one" (as expressed by Lord Russell) and "Short phrases derived from immense
experience" k(as described by Cerv , p. 22). Ibn Ezra (p. 19 ) cites the proverb's brevity,
logic, and evocative power in his praise. According to Wolfgang Mieder, the foremost
paremiologist in the world, a proverb is "a brief, generally known utterance of the folk that
imparts information, truth, morals, and customary concepts in a figurative, fixed, and
memorable form that is passed on from generation to generation" (Mieder, 2004,p. 3).
Mieder ( 1970 , p. 219 ) ‘ a proverb’ is short sentence of wisdom. Determining the
proverb's literal meaning is necessary if it is a metaphor. The proverb "don't weep over
spilled milk" advises that one not dwell on the past because it cannot be changed. So, this
literal interpretation can be used in various settings. A football coach would say this to
her /his team after a tough loss. A friend who has just lost a game of scrabble may be
mocked by another friend who has just won by quoting this proverb as he lays out the
winning letters for "milk."
There is an interesting interaction between authority and ideology that emerges from the
study of proverbs. The assumption of power might be lawful or illegitimate (van Dijk,
2001, p. 355).
3. Methodology
After giving an overview of the study's theoretical foundation, data description, data
analysis tools, and the model used to analyze the data will be briefly tackled in this
section.
3.1Data Collection and Description
It is necessary to provide an overview of the data that will be analyzed in this study. Never
Marry a Woman with Big Feet: Women in Proverbs from Around the World by Jessica Lee
Schipper ( 2004 ) , Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs by Jennifer Speake (1999 ) and English
proverbs Explained by Roberts Downey ( 2009 ) are the selected sources of proverbs to be
analyzed in this study. The twenty proverbs are distributed among the three sources
equally to make the study valid and reliable. Seven proverbs are selected from Schipper ,
seven proverbs are selected from Ridout and six proverbs are selected from Speare.
Twenty proverbs from the aforementioned text are the focus of the present investigation.
The context in which the selected proverbs were first used is the key to understanding their
meaning. This paper therefore analyses the proverb's meaning and contextualizes it within
the culture in which it is utilized.

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Women Related Proverbs and violence against them is a very broad topic , so a certain
theme concerning the status and value of women are tackled and the themes are the
following :

1. Women’s Appearance
2. Treating Women
3. Women’s Roles in Life

3.2 Method of Analysis

To get the best findings, each study must have a clear, disciplined, systematic
(coordinated, planned and public) methodology. Mixed method is used in this study.
3.3 Model of Analysis
3.4 Van Dijk’s Model (1988/1995) Model of Dominance and Power
van Dijk (1995) approaches power issues cognitively. He believes all power-exercising
devices aim to control, modify, and guide to benefit more powerful, domineering people.
Hence, he believes that mental information, beliefs, and attitudes generate language and
social interaction (van Dijk, 2009, p.64). CDA is more concerned with power, dominance,
and social inequality and focuses on individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions,
therefore, it must explore the diverse types of social cognition shared by these social
collectivities (van Dijk, 2001: 113).
van Dijk (1995, p. 22) believes that powerful participants can influence recipients' minds
for their own benefit. Some actors' mental models "embody social information and
attitudes" and influence others' actions directly or indirectly . In general, van Dijk (1995)
offers two CDA framework analysis dimensions:
i. Micro and Macro Levels
ii. Discourse, Cognition and Society.
Those two dimensions interact , discourse, communication, and language use are
examined at the micro level, whereas social order, power, dominant hierarchy, and
inequality are examined at the macro level. Hence, CDA techniques must reconcile the
micro-macro divide, which is a sociological construct (van Dijk, 2000, p.354).
van Dijk (2000) also views that discourse and society are, first represented through the
presentation of the ties between society members and the structure of society, and second
through the two levels of micro and macro situation and interaction of society and
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discourse. Van Dijk proposed a triangle as follows: work and consumption are defined in
terms of their social and cognitive contexts. In fact, there are two kinds of context: big and
small. Macro context refers to the larger historical, cultural, political, and social structures
in which a communicative event happens and is produced and consumed, while micro
context shows the different aspects of the instant interaction and situation in which a
communicative event happens. van Dijk calls micro context a contextual model because
he thinks of it as a mental model or picture of a communicative situation. Van Dijk's
triangle includes:
i. Discourse, which encompasses spoken and written communication,
body language, visuals, and other semiotic signifiers. van Dijk
(1995) believes that ideology analysis requires dialogue. According
to him, speech and communication rarely express and reproduce
ideologies, and social cognition mediates society and discourse.

ii. Cognition—beliefs, values, emotions, objectives, and other mental

structures—can be personal or social.

iii. Society, which encompasses local micro structures and political,

social, and universal macro structures defined by groups and their power,
dominance, and inequality.

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 Figure 1: Van Dijk’s Discourse Model
One of the goals of van Dijk's (1988/1995) models of dominance and power relations,
manifestations, and conflicts is to connect the linguistic or discoursal level or layer with
the social and cognitive structures. This goal will eventually lead to a study of the
discursive aspects of power abuse, unfairness, inequality, control, and authority that come
from how discourse is made and used (van Dijk, 2003). According to van Dijk (2009:67),
discourse is made, understood, and processed based on the above cognitive structure. This
means that the parts of discourse, like words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs,
turns, etc., are processed, represented, and sometimes even controlled by mental models,
knowledge, and sometimes ideologies.

4.Data Analysis
4.1Women’s Appearance
It seems that women’s appearance is frequently emphasized in English WRPs. However, it
is not important in as much as proverbs care about women’s well-being. In fact, it is
common because English WRPs usually look at women as if they are part of men’s
property. That is, these proverbs make it look like men own women; and as a result, men
should make sure that their property is beautiful and pleasant so as to keep it around. To
illustrate this, consider the following proverb:
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 “Never pick women or horses by candlelight.” (Kerschen, 1998, p. 68)

This proverb is somehow straightforward. The second level macro analysis can be clearly
seen when the proverb is analyzed. This proverb glorifies the importance men as opposed
to the misshapen and deforming importance of women in society by comparing women to
animals. In other words, women are violated by likening them to livestock. The last
prepositional phrase “ by Candlelight’’ indicated that men must choose their wives in the
daytime but not at night and darkness where everyone could hardy sees everything.
Therefore , women’s appearance is crucial to men and when a women is ugly, she is
disregarded from the choice. Another prover which enhances the appearance and violence
of women is as follows:
“A man is as old as he feels, and a woman is as old as she looks.” (Ridout and
Witting, 1983, p.115)

The discourse which refers to personal believes and goals is noticed. The relation between
the members of society , as for instance between a husband and a wife , can be also seen.
This relates to the second point of the triangle. The different ageing matter is compared
between man and women. The proverb summarizes the fact that men are appreciated and
respected for their inner self even when they are old. On the other hand , women are only
desired and demanded when they are young and physically attractive. This is a cognitive
process which Van Dijk called as relations between the members of the society.
A woman's tongue wags like a lamb’s tail. .” (Ridout and Witting, 1983, p.117)
Women are frequently mentioned in the same breath as animals when people talk about
them.
The goose, a type of bird, is frequently connected with women. In general, a "talkative"
goose who goes around the town yelling, much as those who live in groups and like gossip
and slander. According to a physiological research, women's brain capacity for language is
far more than men's, thus their ability to communicate with others is not a flaw. Nagging is
a means for women to express their unhappiness. Men, on the other hand, do not grasp this
need of women, do not listen to their voices, and instead criticize them blindly.
A man of straw is worth of a woman of gold (Kerschen, 1998, p. 68)
Man, woman and devil are three degrees of comparison (Kerschen, 1998, p. 70)
The aforementioned proverbs are replete with male chauvinism and are indicative of the
oppressed and bullied position that women hold in society. If a poor guy is better than a
woman, his wife is nothing more than a piece of clothing he can discard whenever he
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chooses. Others even go so far as to say that women aren't actually human and are instead
some sort of supernatural being on par with the devil. According to the Bible, man is God's
first creation, the one from whom all else originates, and the one who rules over the rest of
creation. One may see that when God created humans, he gave the man authority and
paired the woman with him.
Social ana macro structure which entails the relationship between the members of the
community is noticed and utilized. In other words , dominance of men over women , social
inequality that men had received more education and training. Unlike them, women is
portrayed as being mistreated in terms of power , goals , and mental structure.
“A man without ambition is like a woman without looks.” (Speare , 2000, p.45)

Here, the proverb implies the notion that men are extremely respected and valued only
when they have ambition, otherwise they resemble the ugly women without appearance
and pretty look. Violence against women is any act of gender-based violence that causes or
is likely to cause physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women. It has been seen ,
disvaluing social status of women , in Van Dijk model as social inequality. The represent
the relationship between a man who is unambitious and a plain woman as a factual one.
Creating this relationship may be considered as a way to encourage men to do their utmost
in order to have a success in life, but it is definitely derogatory since it stresses what
women look like as if this is all what women have in their armory to give to the world.

“A blind man’s wife needs no paint.” ( Spear , 2000 , p. 323)

It's because blind individuals can't see what's going on around them. In other words, a
blind man does not need to know whether his wife is attractive or not; her body does.
Another interpretation of this pre-modifier is that it is a metaphor. To repeat, this blind
man may not be actually blind; he may simply be blinded by love. As a result, his
appearance is unimportant to him.
In regard to implying, the sensual implicature which exists in the proverb above can
also be found in other proverbs which are constructed with different diction. Nevertheless,
other proverbs may be more explicitly implicit than the one above: being explicitly
implicit seems like an oxymoron, but those proverbs do exist. To clarify this, the proverb
below is provided:

“Dirty water will quench fire.” ( Spear , 2000, p. 135)

14
 According to “The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs”, the proverb at hand is usually
used to refer to women’s physical ability to satisfy men. And what makes this one
offensive is the hostile sexism that it contains. That is, it uses the noun phrase dirty water
as metaphor to refer to women. The last thing to touch on here is the process of the action.
Although it seems like women are able to control men’s lust, the co-text of the proverb
makes the action (quench) look like an event occurring without the existence of an animate
Actor (women).

Men make houses, women make homes.” Ridout Witting (1983)

This proverb prioritizes men because it is believed that men should make efforts to
build houses, and then women come to make this house warm and full of love homes.
Another thing to note here is the use of the verb make. In the co-text of this adage, there
could be two implications. Although make is employed in both phrases, its metaphorical
roles and meanings are likely to differ. That is, it alludes to men's efforts to go out and earn
a living, but it also relates to women's established duty to offer love and comfort in the
home. For this reason, verbs like build or provide are not used. The relation between the
members of society , as for instance between a husband and a wife , can be also seen. This
relates to the second point of the triangle. The different ageing matter is compared between
man and women. According to Van Dijk(1995) the powerful principle between the
participant is fulfilled. This refers to one of the triangles if the model referring to believes
and emotions.

“A good wife is a perfect lady in the living room, a good cook in the kitchen, and a
whore in bed.” (Ridout , 1983, p. 216)

According to the cognitive perspective of power relations , there are three characteristics in
this proverb. Macro-structures which describe the social relation not only between husband
and a wife but also between for example , employee and his boss , maid-housewife et…
Therefore , if the woman does not fulfill theses three condition , then she would be a bad

15
wife. This is because enumerating indicates that a list is complete. Therefore, the three
characteristics/activities stated in the list are not just some desired examples which should
be found in a wife. According the proverb, they are all what a woman needs in order to be
a good wife. As far as the content of the list is concerned, the reader/hearer will find three
salient characteristics a woman should have: a perfect lady, a good cook, and a whore.
These three noun phrases are tinged with a good wife. In the absence of the proverb's
context, these noun phrases lose much of their clarity. That's right—the sex worker is what
the disapproving and pejorative epithet "whore" actually means. It follows that her
husband is a procurer. But the original sense of the phrase was a wife who does her
husband's bidding.

4.2 Treating Women

In the last section, some proverbs about how women can only do so much in life have been
tackled. Another thing that people who study proverbs often talk about is the wisdom and
advice that English proverbs give about how to treat women, especially wives. So, this is
what the part at hand will be about. Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs” (2008) is selected to
have some proverbs regarding the aspect of treating women, especially wives.

“A woman, a dog, and a walnut, the more you beat them the better they be.” (Scipper
1998, p. 510)

CDA analyses texts and dialogues concerning social practices, social interactions, and
personal identities to determine how gender ideology and gendered power relationships are
constructed, modified, negotiated, and contested. In this proverb , women are equated with
animals and trees. In this proverb several features related to treating women are not
coincidental, particularly with regards to walnut trees. And it is not uncommon for
women-related proverbs to involve animals or things. Hence, women are typically
compared to inanimate objects and living things (e.g., livestock and dogs). Obviously,

16
comparing a human (in this case, a lady) to an animal (in this case, a dog) is a disparaging
statement.

Like the proverb analyzed above, some English proverbs seem to be interested in equating
women with animals and objects. However, some of them have gone to the extent that they
portray women as inferior to animals. For instance, some proverbs say that animals are
more trustworthy than women. To clarify this, consider the following proverb from
Kerschen’s (1998):

“Trust your dog to the end, and a woman to the first opportunity” (Scipper , 1998 , p. 95)

This proverb starts with the verb trust which relates to the cognitive portray and relation
between a husband and a wife , for instance. This is a micro level analysis which is
specified to the social relations instead of generalized matters like politics and
parliamentary debates. It is extremely concerned with treating women only. How bad or
good the relation is between the man and his wife. This proverb shows two ends. The first
one the dog’s end and the second is the women’s end. It entails that animals and women
are of equal value. Moreover, if dogs are highly relying on them in daily issues , they may
be treated better than women.

“Handle with care women and glass.” (Ridout , 1983, p. 70)

The proverb at hand begins with the verb handle, followed by the prepositional phrase
with care, which works as a postmodifier of the verb handle. These two phrases (handle +
with care) are commonly found on packages containing fragile items. This phrase also
serves as the title of a song by the English-American band The Traveling Wilbur’s. The
singer communicates his unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the song. As a result, he
desires that his beloved "handle [him] with care" because he is fragile and in need of care.
Hence, the term treat with caution implies that the thing that follows the statement is
fragile. Furthermore , the phrase ‘ handle with care ‘ may treat women as fragile and
sensitive as glasses so this is indirect comparison ( hence a metaphor is used). So , women
17
are dealt with as an object or a pattern but not as a human being which must be respected
and honored.

“He knows a little who tells his wife all he knows.” (Kerschen,1998, p.20)

Groups and their relationships, such as control, power, dominance, and inequality,
characterize society at all scales, from the individual to the global. it appears that the
proverb as a whole implies that women are not to be trusted. And if a man confides in
them, he will not be considered wise enough to understand how cunning they are.

The last proverb to be tackled in this theme (Treating Women) has almost a similar
proposition to the ones analyzed above. However, different metaphors are used in order to
convey a slightly different message. This proverb also places emphasis on the importance
of treating women carefully because they might turn against their husbands without any
prior warning.

“If you make your wife an ass, she will make you an ox.” ( Ridout , 1983 , p.
200)

This proverb hypothesizes what will happen if a husband treats his wife a certain way. An
ass and an ox must be discussed to properly grasp these analogies. First, the proverb's
author named the wife an ass (donkey) since donkeys are associated with stupidity. Oxen
are draught animals like water buffaloes and mules, and this foolish wife can turn her
husband into one. Donkeys, unlike oxen and other draught animals, make decisions and
will not work if they feel insecure. They suffer in silence, so people don't notice they're
sick. This naming symbolizes that a husband who takes his wife for granted may be
betrayed without notice.

4.3Women’s Role in Life

The guiding concept of feminist critical discourse analysis is that feminists should engage
in self-reflective assessments of their theoretical perspectives, and that they should care

18
about progressive institutional activities (including subversive uses of feminism). What we
do and how we act. There are two main topics discussed. The first is what we call
"institutional reflexivity," which encompasses both progressive measures like
implementing gender programmed in institutions like businesses and schools, and
restorative practices like making good use of feminist concepts for non-feminist or anti-
feminist objectives. In the second section, we move our attention to feminist researchers
and the necessity of feminists critically evaluating their own analytic stances and
behaviors, lest they unwittingly aid in maintaining hierarchically unequal conduct towards
women's groups rather than eliminating it. (Lazar, 2008 , p. 92).

It's worth noting that this theme uses the same structure as the last one, but it's about
something different. This theme might be harder than the last one because it's about what
women are expected to do over the course of their lives. This theme will start with a
proverb from Ridout Witting (1983) to show this point:

“A prudent woman studies the comfort of her husband and house; whereas a scold and
spendthrift thinks of parties and fashions.” (Downey,1858, p. 19)

It has just been mentioned above that these two clauses express two opposite propositions.
The first clause is about a type of woman who is different from the one found in the
second clause. Importantly, in this world, if a woman is interested in parties and fashions,
this means she is not prudent. This is a cognitive analytical level that is the second level of
analysis in Van Dijk’s discourse model. Verbs that belong to the mental cognition category
are those that have to do with thoughts and not with actions. Maybe this is why this wife is
such a nag: she cares a lot about clothes and going to parties, and she keeps bugging her
husband to get her what she wants, but she doesn't always do these things, she just thinks
about them. How a lady might earn her husband's praise as a worthy wife. Being that it is
not an overt attack on women, it can also be seen as an expression of benign sexism.
Simply put, it advises wives on how to avoid appearing shallow to their partners.

19
 “A wife is a young man’s slave and an old man’s darling.” (Spear , 2000,p. 19)

To begin with, women, and especially wives, are portrayed as slaves and beloved things at
the same time, and that they belong to men. This implies that women are generally
considered men’s property. This view must be considered in CDA and particularly in the
model being used. Likewise, this proverbs does not mention whether the girl or women is
poor or rich. It is in common-sense knowledge it is a man’s property. Domination ,
inequality , power are well-taken in consideration in contemporary critical discourse
analysis. There are also two men in the proverb not one , the young and the old. Man’s
slave and old man’s darling. Finally, if a young man is described as having a slave, it could
be seen as an indication that he is confident enough in his good looks and physical
condition to resist being dominated by his wife. In contrast, an elderly man needs to tread
lightly so as not to offend his lovely young wife.

“Any woman can keep a secret, but she generally needs one other woman to help her.”
( Spear , 2000 , p. 200 )

According to van Dijk (2000: 354), there are two levels of micro and macro situation and
interaction between discourse and society. The first level is represented in the depiction of
the interactions between members of society and the structure of society.

Women in this proverb is treated like a child who needs help to play or do something.
Similarly , women’s role in life summaries the way they do so. A woman needs another
one to share a secret. In short , there are two characteristics related to women being
mentioned in a hand proverb: 1- they are unreliable and 2- they are not confident because
of their talkativeness in sharing a secret , unlike men who have been shown as they can
keep secrets and also, they are vulnerable.

Women’s role in life and how they are portrayed in the above mentioned proverbs show
the nature of CDA and its importance in society and the relationship among the members
of society. This is what Van Dijk and other discourse analyst concentrate on. Beside this ,
20
there are other aspects of critical discourse like women sexist , political speeches ,
debates , interview and spoken and written discourse.

5 . Results and Discussion of the Results

The three-dimensional model of discourse ( Van Dijk’s model ) was adopted to answer the
questions of the research method as well as the study concerned. Firstly, answering to the
first question that women were treated as one of the man’s property , were degraded ,
humiliated and disrespected. This have been shown through the eighteen proverbs
analyzed. Issues of power , inequality and social member classes were explored by using
the above-mentioned model of analysis. Secondly, women were subjected to violence in
discourse analysis by considering them as women how to avoid being shallow for the sake
of their husbands. Some other English WRPs which have to do with women‘s roles are
also hostile. That is, some people might consider them impolite. Thirdly, levels of
stratification in society were tackled through the micro level which contain the linguistic
items and branches , whereas the macro , the part is highly recommended in this study ,
was discovered women as humiliated and mistreated human beings and even they were
portrayed and compared to animals. Qualitative method was used by accounting for
subject matters and themes of linguistics but not numbers and percentages because the
issue concerned was dealt as socially acquired knowledge and moralities on how to deal
with women. In the analysis of proverbs, an interesting interplay of power and ideology is
noticed. Power can either be legitimate or coercively assumed (van Dijk, 2001, p. 355).

Dimension of Women’s Appearance Treating Women’s Role in Life

the Model Women
( Frequency , ( Frequency and
Percentage ) ( Frequency Percentage )
and Percentage
)

21
 Discourse 7 0.35 7 0.3 6 0.4

Cognition 7 0.35 7 0.3

6 0.4

Society

7 0.4
7 0.35 7 0.3

First, when compared to the other tools of the models, the proverbs' emphasis on women's
physical attractiveness ranks higher, as does the proverbs' emphasis on their roles in
society and how they should be treated. The proverb's co-text and the traditional
interpretations of the linguistic components utilized in the proverb were significant factors
in generating discourse about women's appearances based on the model of male
dominance and power. In proverbs, for instance, a threshold of 0.35 is reached in order to
convey an extremely strong idea of authority over women. Furthermore, another
prominent discoursal device, the role of women in life, was identified in the proverbs and
used six times (0.4) in the data, indicating the reliability and validity of both the data and
the model. This suggests that the role of women is degraded in society, with women
making homes while men are the dominant and are responsible for everything pertaining
to all aspects of life. When compared to the other two ideas, the idea of respecting women
is far more frequent, appearing seven times. This is due to the fact that their processes (i.e.,
whether physical, mental, etc.) can be affected by the environment in which they occur.

6 . Conclusion

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In proverbs, a woman is always dependent on her husband for her well-being. Women are
often portrayed in relation to men as wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, etc., while males
are either depicted as solitary figures or as protectors and providers in the roles of husband,
father, son, and brothers. Few proverbs include women outside the context of the home or
the management of a family. The majority of proverbs have derogatory depictions of
women and their behavior. When women are praised for their admirable traits or
accomplishments, men usually get the most benefits. The matter of violence against
women and social inequality van be concluded as follows:

 Women and animals both contribute to society, thus they should be treated fairly.
 After a woman reaches a certain age, she is no longer as valuable as she once was.
 Men, unlike women, deserve admiration for their aspirations.
 To be blunt: women are property.
 Women should not be involved in the construction process at all, while men should
take the lead.
 She is not a suitable wife material if she is preoccupied with her appearance and
social life.

References

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Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University
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Dijk, T. (2008). Discourse and Power. Red Globe Press.

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 Litovkina, A. (2019). Women through Anti-Proverbs. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Appendices
1) Never pick women or horses by candlelight
2) A man is as old as he feels, and a woman is as old as she looks.
3) A woman's tongue wags like a lamb’s tail
4) A man of straw is worth of a woman of gold
5) Man, woman and devil are three degrees of comparison
6) A man without ambition is like a woman without looks
7) Dirty water will quench fire
8) Men make houses, women make homes
9) A good wife is a perfect lady in the living room, a good cook in the kitchen, and a
whore in bed
10) A woman, a dog, and a walnut, the more you beat them the better they be
11) A good wife is a perfect lady in the living room, a good cook in the kitchen, and a
whore in bed
12) Trust your dog to the end, and a woman to the first opportunity

25
13) Handle with care women and glass
14) He knows a little who tells his wife all he knows.
15) If you make your wife an ass, she will make you an ox.
16) A prudent woman studies the comfort of her husband and house; whereas a scold
and spendthrift think of parties and fashions
17) He knows a little who tells his wife all he knows
18) A wife is a young man’s slave and an old man’s darling
19) A blind man’s wife needs no paint
20) Any woman can keep a secret, but she generally needs one other woman to help
her

26
27
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