DOG and CAT proverbs

Abstract This study investigates the cognitive operations and cultural constraints in DOG and CAT proverbs in Taiwan Hakka and English. For understanding and interpreting proverbs, the target themes are categorized into fundamental human virtues, and the cognitive operations are exhaustively examined by Conceptual Blending Theory. It is found that temperance and humanity are the most prevalent virtues profiled in Taiwan Hakka, while wisdom and knowledge are the most dominant ones in English. The analysis explicates that Conceptual Blending Theory can serve as a universally explanatory model, and at the same time, contextual and cultural factors play crucial roles in providing parametric constraints for the use and creation of proverbs.