This article focuses on Armeno-Turkish proverbs. Proverbs are believed to reflect the societies in which they are produced and perpetuated, and Ottoman-era proverbs are assumed to also reflect the cultural interactions in Ottoman society in linguistic terms. Therefore, this article limits its scope to proverbs written in the Armenian alphabet. People from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in Ottoman society facilitated communications using the Turkish language. Armenians in particular preferred Turkish in their daily lives. They not only frequently used Turkish proverbs but also compiled Turkish-Armenian dictionaries. 

This article examines three books containing Armeno-Turkish proverbs that have yet been analyzed in any other study. After identifying the proverbs and idioms in these three books, the article investigates whether they had been previously published as Armeno-Turkish proverbs. Additionally, the article determines if the same or similar proverbs can be found in commonly used Turkish proverb dictionaries.

The first book examined in the article is Kıssadan Hisse [Moral of the Story]. Kıssadan Hisse does not function as a complete dictionary but rather includes proverbs alongside moral and religious topics. It has a total of 40 proverbs. What makes this book significant is that it provides the meanings of the proverbs along with the proverbs themselves. After presenting the proverb, the author also conveys its meaning through verses and a small number of quatrains. Recording proverbs with their meanings was uncommon in the pre-Republic era, making this book a rare examples. Furthermore, the brief introduction Dadıryan wrote about the proverbs before conveying them is valuable. He mentions that, while the proverbs are commonly used, their true meanings are often unknown.

Some of the proverbs found in Kıssadan Hisse are still widely used in the Turkish language today. However, some proverbs in this book such as “Hastalar başında ölüler yatar” [The dying are laid at the head of the ill], “Ahz u ita mihenk taşıdır” [Keeping one’s word is the touchstone], and “Ölüm kaş ile kirpik arasındadır” [Death is between the eyebrow and eyelash] should be noted as absent in commonly used dictionaries. Additionally, some proverbs in this book have slightly different meanings from their modern interpretations. For instance, the proverb “Baskısız yongayı yel götürür” [A swing with no weight is carried away by the wind] is interpreted differently in the book. While the contemporary meaning emphasizes that young people not under strict guidance can go astray, Kıssadan Hisse emphasizes that leaving individuals to themselves leads to laziness. Apart from a few examples like this, most of the proverbs align with their modern interpretations.

The second book examined in the article is Hazır Cevap [Readied Answers]. In Hazır Cevap, proverbs and idioms are presented under the headings of darb-ı mesel [strinking proverbs] and durub-ı emsal [similar idioms]. The book, written in Turkish with Armenian letters, includes a total of 30 proverbs and idioms. However, not all expressions presented as darb-ı mesel or durub-ı emsal can be classified strictly as proverbs or idioms. For example, the saying “Temiz lisan kişinin şanu şerefi olduğu gibi, fena söhbet dahi söyleyenin badi-i mezelleti olacağı aşikârdır” [Just as clean language shows one’s honor and glory, bad conversation clearly shows the speaker’s disgrace] is neither a proverb nor idiom. Nevertheless, these expressions are understood to have been colloquial phrases known and used at that time. Moreover, some expressions presented as darb-ı mesel in this book, such as “Kulak kalbin yoludur” [The ear is the path to the heart] and “İtaat etmek bilmeyene emr etmek lazım değildir” [Orders need not be given to one who does not understand obedience] should be noted to have been absent in the dictionaries examined herein.

The third book this article examined is 50 Aradzabadum [Collection of 50 Proverbs]. This book contains 48 proverbs and their stories. The book states that the stories accompanying these proverbs were taken from La Fontaine, Ezop, Khigar, Krilov, and Nasreddin Hodja. Of these 48 proverbs, 42 are also written in Turkish using Armenian letters. The book does not specify which proverb belongs to which source. Only two of the proverbs with stories in this book are attributed to Nasreddin Hodja in Turkish sources. Additionally, some of the phrases presented here such as “Ya doğra, ya bas, ya çanakdan elini kes” [Either chop, squeeze, or cut your hand from the jug], “Sen kekligi endir yüze / Deveyi endirem düze” [You can’t lead quail to the front / I can’t lead camel straight], and “Göç yolının bekmezi, kimine yarar kimine yaramaz” [What is unexpected on the migration path, benefit some and not others] should also be noted as absent from Turkish dictionaries. In conclusion, Armeno-Turkish proverbs and idioms reflect the cultural interactions in Ottoman society. Armenians who used Turkish for common communication frequently used Turkish proverbs and at times even made changes to them.