Comparative study of Maltese and Egyptian proverbs

Abstract

This is a collection of Egyptian proverbs which the author knows personally as they are spoken in various parts of Egypt. A.Talaat is a native of the district of Sharqzyya, and it is from this area that he has drawn the larger number of Egyptian proverbs. This list is not a complete collection of Egyptian proverbs, but only of such as are found also in Maltese, sometimes literally and sometimes less so, but otherwise substantially equal in usage. For Maltese proverbs, the author has based himself on the "Comparative dictionary of Maltese proverbs", the largest collection so far, compiled by Professor J. Aquilina and published by the Royal University of Malta in 1972. The Maltese proverbs are given with their sections and numbers as they occur in this work. Professor Aquilina has included Arabic comparisons from various parts of the Arab world; whereas the author's Egyptian proverbs are intended as a supplement to the comparative section of his paremiological surveys.