«Тахиййат»: Сборник статей в честь Н. Н. Дьякова

Conceptualizing Stupidity and Ignorance in Arabic Idioms m 179 n It should be noted that there exists a parallel idiom without the negation to characterize an astute and knowledgeable person: (15) ya ░ rifu min ░ ayna tu ░ kalu l-katfu — a wise, clever, and socially expe- rienced person (lit., knowing where the shoulder [of a sheep] is to be eaten from) Consider the following idiom: (16) lā yarā ░ab░ada min ░arnabati ░anfi- hi — stupid, lacking insight (lit., not seeing farther than the tip of one’s nose). The image in the inner form of this idiom is well known as it exploits an idea shared with other cultures of a person incapable of seeing and understanding what is going on around him and how things may develop. The metaphor is based on an exaggerated and unreal situation. Connotations are, for example, narrowness, inadequacy, and selfishness. The rational and emotional evalua- tion is definitively negative, and a range of supplementary emotions, such as annoyance, anger, disdain, mockery, or scorn, may be involved. Another idiom (17) qalīlu l-bi ḍ ā░ati/l-zādi — not well educated, with little knowledge (lit., with few goods, commodities), although it belongs to the same semantic field of intellectual characteristics of people, cannot replace the pre- vious examples in one and the same context. It is consigned to a different level by characterizing “stupidity” as a lack of necessary knowledge and a primitive understanding of the surrounding world. Thus certain knowledge is presented as a commodity everyone who wishes to be considered a respected member of the community should possess. The image is fairly common and the motiva- tion easy to perceive, since it is based on the metonymy lack of a commodity to express stupidity or ignorance. The connotations are rather limited and con- centrated on a single characteristic. Idiom (18) ░a ṭ yashu min farāshatin — lightheaded, inconstant, thoughtless, helpless (lit., more thoughtless, inconstant than a moth) is noteworthy since the metaphoric association with the moth is made with reference to a specific activity. It is the disordered, thoughtless flight towards light that can end in the moth’s being burnt or killed. 1 The connotations involved are thus quite differ- ent from the previously mentioned idioms since the conceptual structure of the image is built on specific, but well known characteristics of the moth’s behav- ior. Consequently they suggest a different set of features within the concept of stupidity. The rational evaluation is negative as in most of the other idioms above, but the type of evaluation lies mostly in the areas of disapproval and ridicule. This idiom and the preceding one (17) are linked by the common idea of inanity and frivolousness. 1 Mu░jam al-░amthāl al-░arabiyya, compiled by Ma ḥ müd Ismā░īl Ṣ īnī, Nā ṣ if Mu ṣṭ afā ░Abdu-l-░Azīz and Mu ṣṭ afā A ḥ mad Sulaymān (Beirut: Maktabat Lubnān, 1996), 62.