Semantic Analysis of Proverbs and its usage in Persian Lexicography: A Cognitive Approach

The way of arranging proverbs in dictionaries has been one of themost important problems for lexicographers and paremiographers. Therefore in this study, based on cognitive semantic approach,the way of arranging proverbs in dictionaries was considered. The purpose of the current study is to organize proverbs in dictionaries in anew, non-linear and non-alphabetical way and according to a scientific and theory-based approach.Toachievethepurposeofthestudy, the following research question was proposed: How to use a way other than the usual alphabetical and linear way based on which proverbs are presented in dictionaries? To do this, based on descriptive-analytical method and cognitive semantics approach and its mechanisms, such as conceptual metaphor, conceptual metonymy and conventional knowledge, the authors have examined the data extracted from The great two-volume Dictionary of Persian Proverbs (Zolfaghari, 2009),The famous Proverbs of Iran (Soheili, 2005) and internet resources. The results indicated that according to semantic motivation and the concepts of target domains of the proverbs,a non-linear and non-alphabetical way can be proposed for arranging proverbs and their equivalents in order to reflectthe conceptual structures of mind and language and to help language learners to learn and remember them easily.