As They Say in Zanzibar

Book excerpt: "As They Say in Zanzibar is the first new selection of global proverbs compiled in nearly eighty years. Researched and edited by David Crystal, the world's leading commentator on language, it is a captivating tour of humanity's bank of received knowledge." "Proverbs are fascinating in what they tell us about a culture's view of everyday life: they highlight the differences in perception of the world around us and show the varied weight and importance cultures attach to different aspects of their experience. But they also highlight how much experience is common to us all and it is this fact that makes As They Say in Zanzibar so endlessly interesting. As David Crystal notes in his Introduction, 'Proverbs do more than express a general truth or universal belief Each in its own way adds a tiny bit more to our understanding of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity, and thus helps us grasp more fully what it means to be human.'" "There are over 2000 proverbs here from 110 countries making this wide-ranging new selection the very best available. Whether you agree that "The end of an ox is beef and the end of a lie is grief (Madagascar) or prefer the Ugandan view that "Those who do not lie never grow up', the proverbial world that this book represents will entertain and inform equally."--BOOK JACKET.