Paremiological Analysis of Francisco Franco’s New Year messages

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the New Year messages delivered by Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and his mandate as chief of state (1937–1974) from a paremiological perspective to determine the frequency of use of proverbs in them and establish the characteristics and purpose of these paremiological uses in relation to the principles of the “National Movement,” the socio-political framework enforced by the francoist-regime. Although Franco’s speeches do not show a strong stylistic awareness, paremias find their way into them, usually as allusions to proverbial wisdom. In relation to this, some recurring items and themes have been found, among which, those with a religious origin or motivation stand out as the most frequent. This is coherent with the ideals that his regime imposed on the Spanish population during his rule and which will be commented on in relation to the paremias used and how they reflect those ideals.