This handbook introduces key elements of the philological research area called paremiology (the study of proverbs). It presents the main subject area as well as the current status of paremiological research. The basic notions, among others, include defining proverbs, main proverb features, origin, collecting and categorization of proverbs. Each chapter is written by a leading scholar-specialist in their area of proverbial research. Since the book represents a measured balance between the popular and scientific approach, it is recommended to a wide readership including experienced and budding scholars, students of linguistics, as well as other professionals interested in the study of proverbs.

This book initiates the reader into the study of Akkadian literature from ancient Babylonia and Assyria. With this one relatively short volume, the novice reader will develop the literary competence necessary to read and interpret Akkadian texts in translation and will gain a broad familiarity with the major genres and compositions in the language. The first part of the book presents introductory discussions of major critical issues, organized under four key rubrics: tablets, scribes, compositions, and audiences. Here, the reader will find descriptions of the tablets used as writing material; the training scribes received and the institutional contexts in which they worked; the general characteristics of Akkadian compositions, with an emphasis on poetic and literary features; and the various audiences or users of Akkadian texts. The second part surveys the corpus of Akkadian literature defined inclusively, canvasing a wide spectrum of compositions. Legal codes, historical inscriptions, divinatory compendia, and religious texts have a place in the survey alongside narrative poems, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma elish, and Babylonian Theodicy. Extensive footnotes and a generous bibliography guide readers who wish to continue their study. Essential for students of Assyriology, An Introduction to Akkadian Literature will also prove useful to biblical scholars, classicists, Egyptologists, ancient historians, and literary comparativists.

"This book presents a composite picture of the richness of proverbs as significant expressions of folk wisdom as is manifest from their appearance in art, culture, folklore, history, literature, and the mass media. The book draws attention to the fact that proverbs as metaphorical signs continue to play an important role in oral and written communication. Proverbs as so-called monumenta humana are omnipresent in all facets of life, and while they are neither sacrosanct nor saccharine, they usually offer much common sense or wisdom based on recurrent experiences and observations."--BOOK JACKET.

Organizational Wisdom in 100 African Proverbs introduces a new field of study and practice called Organizational Paremiology. Based on many years of practice the author demonstrates how we can use the wisdom in African proverbs in efforts to improve the performance of organizations of all types. Building on the proverb, "Until the lions have their own writers, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter", the book aims at putting the often ignored and marginalized African indigenous wisdom at the center of global development discourse and agenda.

How many languages are there? What differentiates one language from another? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? These are some of the questions considered in this Very Short Introduction. By examining the science of languages, we find that the answers are not as simple as we might expect.

This issue of Scientific Collection «InterConf» contains the materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners and scholars to present and discuss the most recent innovations and developments in modern science. The aim of conference is to enable academics, researchers, practitioners and college students to publish their research findings, ideas, developments, and innovations.

This volume explores changing norms and conventions in the English language, as displayed in a broad range of historical data from more than five centuries. The contributions discuss the interplay of sociocultural conditions, specific discourse traditions and structural aspects of language, paying special attention to the communities where norms and conventions are displayed and shaped in verbal interaction. The volume is enriched by systematic terminological clarifications, interdisciplinary approaches and the introduction of new methods like network analysis and advanced analytical tools and forms of visualisation into the diachronic investigation of historical texts.