Context of Usage and Aesthetics of Selected Proverbs from Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Globally, proverbs are symbolic expressions of people. In Nigeria, proverbs are influenced, to a large extent, by the linguistic and socio-geographical experiences and orientations of the diverse peoples that make up the country. The imagery in proverbs, their form and context of use as well as aesthetics reflect the peculiar natural environment of the users, whether from the Northern or Southern regions of Nigeria where hundreds of languages are spoken or elsewhere in the world. Deploying Dell Hymes’ ‘SPEAKING’ model of speech analysis, twelve proverbs from Southern Nigeria are randomly but purposively selected and subjected to content analysis in this study. The selected proverbs are investigated in order to demonstrate that they have diachronically but aesthetically performed and still capable of performing certain socio-cultural functions of entertainment and education within communities of their significations. They make people in many Southern Nigerian communities conform to desired rules, mores and traditions of the land as well as teach a method of expressing life which is aesthetically flavoured. Drawing on the foregoing, this study recommends  that: (i) more research should be carried out on proverbs from Southern Nigeria; (ii) universities should make available grants for collection and documentation of Nigerian proverbs especially those from the South; (iii) proverbs from Southern Nigeria, especially those from the south-south area should be studied with a view to gaining insights into what could yield a possible solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta; and (iv) proverbs should be used in schools to instruct and delight the younger generations.

Keywords: Southern Nigerian proverbs, surface level of meaning, aesthetics, images, linguistic saltiness, deeper level of meaning, humanity, context of usage.