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Abstract: This article examines anti-proverbs in Slovak media discourse from a phraseological and paremiological perspective. It pursues two aims: first, to define the working boundaries of the anti-proverb in relation to similar anti-paremiological forms, and second, to test whether the structural typology proposed by A. T. Litovkina, H. Hrisztova-Gotthardt, P. Barta, K. Vargha, and W. Mieder can be applied to Slovak material. The theoretical part contrasts the narrower conception associated with W. Mieder, according to which anti-proverbs are parodies, transformations, and variations of already existing proverbs, with the broader conception represented by H. Walter and V. M. Mokienko, which also includes humorous proverb-like innovations. The empirical material consists of approximately 150 Slovak examples excerpted from the Slovak National Corpus, print and digital media, social networks, humour websites, and other online sources. The analysis classifies the material according to dominant transformation mechanisms: addition, ellipsis and allusion, substitution, and blending. The results indicate that substitution and the replacement of the second part of the proverb are especially productive in Slovak media discourse; addition is also well represented, whereas ellipsis is usually dependent on contextual cues and blending is comparatively rare. The article argues that Slovak anti-proverbs function as compact means of humour, topical commentary, social criticism, and media satire, while their identification depends on knowledge of the proverb prototype and on the communicative context.

About the author(s) :

Samuel Žeňuch

University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (Trnava, Slovakia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1232-5810

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 23.06.2026; date of publication: 31.10.2026

References:

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