Proverbs and their Discourse Relevance: Insight from Ehugbo Dialect of Igbo
Keywords:
Proverbs, Discourse, Ehugbo, Condiment, ConversationsAbstract
Nigerian languages thrive on the deployment of proverbs to ground the social import of [their] numerous conversational exchanges. The Ehugbo people likewise, particularly utilize these proverbs as a condiment to flavor and embellish their talks regardless of the general characteristics of the meaning of what is being discussed. Among the Ehugbo people of Igbo, proverbs are the heart of language use. Proverbs exist in all the cultures of the world and have invariable applications, as garments of thought; they imbue the speaker with the ability to make his or her expression more ornate and culturally relevant to the topic of discourse. Hence, Africans employ them in conversations to accomplish acts that ordinary words cannot realize. However, proverbs in Ehugbo dialect of Igbo are used in different settings for different purpose to overtly connect the tenor of discourse. Using data carefully gathered from numerous episodes of conversation among core native speakers of the dialect under study, the paper, using critical discourse analysis examines some proverbs and their discourse relevance.
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