Cultural dimensions present in some famous Italian proverbs

Cultural dimensions present in some famous Italian proverbs

The first proverb considered will be:


'Lies have short legs'( in Italian le bugie hanno le gambe corte) as a proverb that draws attention to the fact that lies are discovered immediately and cannot be told for too long. This proverb that highlights the cultural dimension named in Hofstede terms 'short-term temporal orientation' because the most important events have happened in the past since the person wants to remain true to himself and you have his goals that make the person felling to lie to keep with this parameter. Furthermore, this proverb contains the cultural dimension of 'restricted' type because freedom of speech is not a necessity and one is unwilling to remember positive emotions.

This proverb implies the presence of the cultural dimension with a strong avoidance of uncertainty because the uncertainty of life is felt as a permanent threat that must also be fought with the use of lies. This proverb falls within the cultural dimension of the 'individualism' because one is forced to look after oneself, speaking for oneself is a good thing. However, in many cases, lies fall into the 'collectivism' cultural dimension because maintaining harmony is prevalent.

 Following, the next proverb taken into account will be: 

' All that glitters is not gold' ( Non e' oro tutto quello che luccica) is a proverb which should be understood as not all beautiful things are, in the end, the best choice. This proverb intends to adhere to a cultural dimension of low social distance because the power of 'gold' in this case must be legitimized. This proverb represents a form of 'questioning' and therefore represents a form of adhesion to a cultural dimension with weak avoidance of uncertainty as the uncertainty of life is accepted, with little stress and low anxiety, tolerance towards people and ideas divergent and changing your opinion is not a problem. This proverb is part of the long-term time orientation in term of cultural dimension because a person adapts to circumstances, what is good or bad depends on situations, traditions are modifiable and trying to learn from others is a good thing. Nonetheless, the use of this proverb can push towards a 'restricted' cultural dimension because there is a feeling of abandonment because things do not depend on my will and one is not inclined to remember positive emotions. The 'satisfied' cultural dimension could end up with a feeling of free speech as a relevant fact.

 The next proverb taken into consideration will be: 'Even the eye wants its part' ( Anche gli occhi vogliono la loro parte)

This proverb focused on the importance of the external aspect as a form of impact in our way of judging things or people involves a harmony with the cultural dimension of high social distance because the external aspect intended as beauty is a quality that cannot be legitimized. In this way, a strong avoidance of uncertainty prevails because beauty represents a way to 'fight' against the uncertainty of life, with a need for clarity in our choices. This proverb highlights a need to adhere to a cultural dimension of 'collectivism' in order to emphasize belonging to some parameters valid for a large part of the population, in this way it falls within an 'in-group' in harmony with the dominant mentality. This proverb contains the presence of the cultural dimension of 'masculinity' since beauty is an element present in the ambitious and assertive man and therefore there is a high difference in terms of social and emotional roles. The concept of beauty implicit in this proverb represents a way to adhere to a cultural dimension with a short-term temporal orientation because there are universal lines of behavior to follow in the various situations of life and you must be proud of your choices. The 'satisfied' cultural dimension can be seen again with a feeling of control over one's life, with a tendency to remember positive emotions and to declare oneself happy as an important fact.

The next proverb taken into consideration will be: 'Doing the math without the host' ( in Italian Fare i conti senza l'oste)


This proverb represents a way to adhere to a cultural dimension of 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' because we live with little stress, self-control, low anxiety and with easeness in ambiguity. If the host represents a way to adhere to a cultural dimension of 'low social distance' as the hierarchy is resentful as to legitimize. It is certainly a proverb that refers to a 'long-term temporal orientation' because 'the most important facts must take place in the future, a good person adapts to circumstances, traditions are modifiable to change. This proverb adheres to a "satisfied" dimension because there is a feeling of control over one's life, with freedom of speech as an important fact. This proverb is very useful for dealing with an approach capable of modifying existing practices in the various difficult moments in life.

The proverb 'Even the eye wants its part'  ( anche gli occhi vogliono la loro parte) is a proverb in which the social distance is very high because beauty does not need to legitimize itself. A strong avoidance of uncertainty prevails as "beauty" is a way to fight against uncertainty, it is a way to obtain clarity in one's choices. This proverb intends to highlight a need for collectivism as a form of belonging to a collective mentality where 'beauty' means 'being' within the dominant in-group. This proverb also highlights a need to adhere to a dimension of 'masculinity' because men must be ambitious in their requests and there is a high difference in terms of social and emotional roles. The concept of beauty present in this proverb implies adherence to a 'short-term temporal orientation' because there are universal lines to be followed for better or for worse in various situations, one must be proud of one's choices. The 'satisfied' dimension is found with a feeling of control over one's life, with a tendency to remember positive emotions and to declare oneself happy.

The proverb 'far from the eyes, far from the heart' ( in Italian lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore) is a proverb in which the adjective 'far' involves adhering to a cultural dimension with 'high social distance' because it becomes irrelevant to legitimize one's choices. This proverb becomes a way to adhere to a dimension of strong avoidance of uncertainty because with the use of the adjective 'far' one tries a way to live with tranquility and with a tendency towards one's own personal well-being. It also represents a way to adhere to an 'individualism' dimension because it implies a right to privacy, everyone is required to take care of themselves. This proverb adheres to the cultural dimension of the 'femininity' type because men and women can cry but both must fight. It also involves the presence of a long-term temporal orientation because the most important facts of life must happen in the future, a good person adapts according to the circumstances, the traditions are modifiable and trying to learn from situations is a good thing. This proverb allows you to adhere to a 'satisfied' cultural dimension because you return to having a feeling of control over your life, with a tendency to remember positive emotions and with free speech as an important fact.

The proverb 'take the longest step of the leg' ( fare il passo più lungo della gamba) represents a proverb in which we find the cultural dimension of 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' since we tend to live with little stress and anxiety. The 'individualism' dimension is present because it is necessary to speak for oneself when this proverb is addressed to a person and everyone is required to look after themselves.

In this proverb the 'masculinity' dimension is important because it is necessary to show assertiveness and ambitiousness in one's work, with work and self-realization as prevalent data. In this proverb there is a long-term temporal orientation because the most important facts must happen in the future, we must adapt to the circumstances, what is good or bad depends on the situations and the traditions are modifiable. This proverb allows to adhere to the 'satisfied' dimension because freedom to do is an important fact. Nonetheless, the proverb indicates that the result achieved is instead in full harmony with the 'restrain' cultural dimension because things do not depend on me, one is unwilling to remember positive emotions and it becomes difficult to say to be happy.

The proverb 'warned man half saved' ( uomo avvisato uomo mezzo salvato) highlights the cultural dimension of 'strong avoidance of uncertainty' in order to understand the meaning of this proverb. This 'warning' is a way to continue adhering to a dimension of 'strong avoidance of uncertainty' since uncertainty is perceived as a threat that must be fought, with an intolerance towards people and divergent ideas, there is a need of clarity and to maintain their positions even if they do not like them and to see the other as incompetent. This proverb implies a high degree of social distance in terms of cultural dimension because the legitimacy of my request is irrelevant and obedience as well as existential inequality present in the hierarchy are taught. The 'collectivism' dimension is important because in this motto the maintenance of harmony is relevant, the transgression of the rules leads to a feeling of shame and relationships are more important than the tasks. This proverb has a 'masculinity' dimension since men must be assertive and ambitious, men must manage the facts, with a clear gender difference in terms of social and emotional roles. This adagio involves a cultural dimension composed of a 'short-term temporal orientation' because the most important facts of life are in the past or in this period, the stability of the person is in force as always equal to itself, with universal lines by the way of what is good or bad in situations and the life of a group is guided by imperatives. This proverb refers to the notion of 'restricted' cultural dimension because there is a feeling of abandonment as things depend on my will, freedom of speech is not necessary, one is unwilling to remember positive emotions and therefore people to whom this proverb is addressed cannot be said happy.

Relatives are like shoes, the tighter they are, the more they hurt. ( I parenti sono come le scarpe, più sono stretti e più fanno male)


This proverb highlights how having too daily and intimate relationships with relatives can cause problems. This motto highlights the critical aspects of the 'collectivism' dimension present in the concept of kinship understood as a social space where people join extended families in exchange for loyalty. In this proverb the admonition is to look after oneself mainly. In general, the concept of relative should allow to face the uncertainty of life by adhering to a dimension of 'strong avoidance of uncertainty' since there is a need for clarity and to structure one's own life. The collectivism present in the dimension of kinship usually allows one to adhere to a 'satisfied' type dimension but in this case the proverb highlights the role of relatives as carriers of the 'constrained' type dimension because it is difficult to say to be happy, things are not depending on my will, you are unwilling to remember positive emotions and freedom of speech is certainly not important. The world of relatives should ensure adhesion to a society with a low index of social distance between family members since people are usually treated equally. The proverb places kinship in the cultural dimension called 'short-term temporal orientation' because the most important facts of life have occurred in the past, traditions are sacrosanct, family life is guided by imperatives and being at the service of others is a good thing and important.

The proverb 'whoever sows wind collects storm' ( chi semina vento raccoglie tempesta) can be explained how negative actions have harmful consequences. This proverb leads to an adherence to the 'restricted' dimension because we are unwilling to remember positive emotions and in the end things do not depend on our will. Certainly the prevailing dimension is that of 'individualism' in which speaking for oneself is a good thing, 'I' is an indispensable word in my language and my purpose is more important than relationships with others. The 'masculinity' dimension is found with the parameter that sees men being ambitious.

The proverb 'the game is nice when it lasts a little' ( il gioco è bello quando dura poco) understood as the beautiful things in the end stew highlights how the excess of the 'satisfied / satisfied' type with a tendency to say happy, remembering positive emotions must not be prolonged for too long to avoid transforming this dimension into its opposite side, that is the 'constrained' type dimension. In this dimension it becomes difficult to say to be happy and to remember positive emotions. The game represents a way to adhere to a cultural dimension of 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' because you live with peace of mind, with little stress, self-control, with a tendency towards personal well-being and well-being. In the end, the proverb argues that this dimension of 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' will turn into a 'strong avoidance of uncertainty' showing strong stress in the face of uncertainty in life, a form of intolerance towards people or divergent ideas and with a strong need for clarity.

'Quiet water breaks the bridges' ( Acqua cheta rompe i ponti) as a proverb intends to emphasize that one should never underestimate things or people who seem calm because they could prove to be much more dangerous than they seem. This proverb refers to an initial adhesion to a cultural dimension of 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' because one lives with calm, little stress and self-control, with tolerance towards divergent people.

'Acqua cheta' is in line with the 'collectivism' dimension because there is a need to maintain harmony and to emphasize belonging. Certainly the cultural dimension of the 'femininity' type prevails because men and women must appear modest and intentioned. Furthermore, ' acqua cheta' adheres to a cultural dimension with a 'long-term temporal' orientation because a good person adapts to circumstances and what is good or bad depends on circumstances. In this proverb, the 'restrain' dimension prevails because freedom of speech is not essential, one is unwilling to remember positive emotions and say that he is happy. Within this motto we move from the cultural dimension of initial 'weak avoidance of uncertainty' to a 'strong avoidance of uncertainty' with a desire to combat uncertainty, a strong presence of stress, with an intolerance towards people and divergent ideas. Therefore we move to a short-term temporal orientation because the most important facts are happening at the moment. Instead, the 'long-term temporal orientation' parameter is found in the possibility of changing traditions. This allows us to adhere to a 'satisfied' cultural dimension as a way to have a feeling of control over your life, a way to declare yourself happy and freedom of speech becomes an important fact.