El refrán en sus variantes. El caso de quien a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija

Abstract

In the present work we try to deep in the nature of the proverb through the study of its variants. In spite of being considered proverbs as “fixed structures”, we verify the existence of multiple variants among most  popular proverbs. We classify the variants in different levels with regard to a supposed zero form. Proverbs are structures that admit even ungrammatical variants. Next we try to find the motivation of these variants and the reasons why some are preferred to others. All this in-depth analysis of one of the most popular Spanish proverb: Quien a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija. We will use both, the main compilations from the Middle Ages to our days, as long as the analysis already carried out by some paremiologists, and eventually our own directly conducted surveys.