Proverbs have usually been considered the preserve of the elders in the society because they are seen as the repository of the wisdom of the race. However, the creativity that comes with the youthful incursion into proverbial expression is not considered a serious communicative occurrence in Nigeria. This paper thus investigates the use of proverbs as a sign of communicative creativity by the youth as well as linguistic dynamism. Ethnographic and linguistic instruments were employed in investigating different proverbs from a Nigerian language, Yoruba. The original proverbs and their post-proverbial forms were presented and the essence of modern adaptation as a feature of linguistic dynamism as well as communicative creativity were presented. It is argued that this linguistic posturing exposes the communicative dynamism that exists in Nigerian languages to fit into the postmodern context and relevance of proverbs in the twenty-first century world of the Nigerian society.
1. Proverbs and Modernity:
Taking the Proverbs out of
the Mouth of the Elders
Iyabode Omolara Akewo DANIEL, PhD
Associate Professor of English
English Unit, School of Arts and Social Sciences,
National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.
+234-8052786823
akewoauthe@gmail.com, idaniel@noun.edu.ng
3. Proverbs as a Form
Definitions
Proverbs
a short, generally known sentence …, which contains
wisdom,
truth,
morals, and
traditional views in a metaphorical,
fixed and memorisable form and
which is handed down from generation to generation
4. Modernity and the Elders Wisdom
Proverbs
The old wisdom oppressive
Narrow and coercive
Considered normal
Traditional and grave
acceptable
Modernity
Challenging the status quo
Unfair representation of others
Playful
Blasphemous
rebellious
Colonial mentality
uncouth
5. Post-proverbials as the Modern Reality
New ways of self expression
New realities
New communication choices
The real future
6. Ethnographic and Linguistic Applications
Data Source
Colleagues
Self
Books
media
Linguistic Analysis
Propositional content
Semantic extensions
CDA application
Speech act theory
7. Proverbial Examples, their Semantic
Relativity and their Communicative
Responsiveness
Post-proverbs
Igi gogoro ma gun mi loju, ma dooji e ni
(For the tall pointed tree not to pierce my
eye, I will dodge it)
Koju ma ribi, gbogbo ara loogun e (For one
not to see (encounter) evil, all the being is
the solution (medicine) for it)
Eni to jin si koto, oju e lo fo (A person that
falls into a ditch must be blind).
Traditional Proverbs
Igi gogoro ma gun mi loju, a tokere lati
nwo (For the tall pointed tree not to pierce
my eye, I will watch it from afar off)
Koju ma ribi, ese loogun e (For one not to
see (encounter) evil, the leg is the solution
(medicine) for it)
Eni to ji si koto, o ko ara yoku logbon (A
person that falls into a ditch is a lesson to
others coming behind)
8. Findings
Post-proverbs have sensible propositional contents that reflect modern realities.
The communicative contents of the post-proverbs are inspired and sensible
There is nothing playful in the contents of the post-proverbs.
Some traditional proverbs have actually lost their relevance to modern realities.
9. Conclusion
Wisdom is not the preserve of elders
The 21st century with its new challenges require new communicative techniques
that advance humanity
There human experience is universal and the post-proverbs have used modernity
to unravel this reality
The fact of linguistic dynamism cannot be denied
Cultural puritanism is unrealistic and cannot be sustained.