THE CHARACTER OF THE FOX IN THE SMALL-SCALE SPEECH SAMPLES (PROVERB, RIDDLE, TONGUE TWISTER)

Abstract

The fox is one of the characters in animal fairy tales. It's characteristics - deceit, dexterity, cunningness is often used in the storylines of fairy tales, usually against relatively strong and aggressive animals. This topic has already been studied in animal and magical tales (Pikria Zandukeli, Ksenia Sikharulidze, Rusudan Cholokashvili, and others), but it has also been noted by researchers in smaller forms of folklore (spells). The aim of this article is to examine the name and function of the fox in small-scale folklore forms (proverbs, aphorisms, riddles, and witty tongue twisters).

It was found that in small-scale oral folklore, the “fox” appears for various purposes (to create rhythm, to highlight the fox’s characteristic traits, etc.).

It is evident that the “fox” appears exclusively in this function within oral samples, which are preserved in people’s memory in a highly original way and are noteworthy for the history of their study.

Key words:  Fox, Proverb, Riddle, Tongue Twister.