Make a Distinction Between Quotes & Proverbs, and Attribute Properly!

14 465
Avatar for Mictorrani
4 years ago

I see many posts here showing quotes and discussing quotes, yet it is not always a matter of quotes and they are not always properly attributed.

A quote is something said or written by an usually identified individual. It should always be attributed to that individual. If the individual is not known, it should be attributed to “anonymous” or “unknown”.

Proverbs and sayings are traditional expressions whose individual source is unknown. However, they, too, should be attributed somehow. That can be done as “Proverb from Russia”, “Saying from England”, etc.

This, for instance, is a quote:

“If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”

(Anatole France, French author)

Or this:

“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.”

(Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut)

And this is a proverb:

“What you see in yourself is what you see in the world.”

(Proverb from Afghanistan)

It is not okay just to list quotes and proverbs without attributing them, and that is especially important with quotes. The original author has right to get credit for his words.

Related articles: "Proverbs - Some Favourites" and "Some Favourite Quotes".

Copyright © 2020 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.

(If you liked this, please consider leaving a tip, either here or via CoinTr.ee)

If you are interested in words and expressions, join my community The Power of Words (4be2).

You find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic, here.

24
$ 0.20
$ 0.18 from @TheRandomRewarder
$ 0.01 from @marblely
$ 0.01 from @Princesstj
Sponsors of Mictorrani
empty
empty
Avatar for Mictorrani
4 years ago

Comments

I agree with you. People who contribute a lot in this nation should be credited or known even though they are extinct.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Thank you a lot for sharing this article 😊❤️

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Many many thanks to you my dear for sharing the article.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Wow dear this article is really helpful thank you dear so sharing...

$ 0.00
4 years ago

There are many proverb which we use as usually in our everyday life. You can share more proverb with us. I want to know more which I don't know actually.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Ok, I will make an article about that.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Okay dear.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Thanks for this I Neva knew u must acknowledge quires and proverbs.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Proverb is a border case. It is not illegal to use them without any attribution, because they belong to the public domain, but it's proper to provide one with the information that is available about it. Let's say it is good taste.

For a quote, it is necessary. What sort of quote is it if you don't say whom you are quoting? Moreover, if you are quoting a text with valid copyright, it is a crime to quote it without attribution. It would be a copyright violation. But it is held that every creator, even if copyright would be expired, has the moral right to be credited for his work. So that's what you have to think of for quotes.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

I hope I won't be jailed for not attributing anyone in a quote 😜

$ 0.00
4 years ago

Thank you for sharing these proverbs and quotes; I have not come across them before.

The one from Afghanistan is particularly useful.

From Egypt to literature; where to next?????

$ 0.00
4 years ago

We will see.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

I have always thought of quotes to be something said by famous people and sayings or proverbs are more of a cultural thing. Thank you for highlighting the distinction between them.

$ 0.00
4 years ago

But then you were perfectly right!

$ 0.00
4 years ago