Nigerian Proverbs as Integral Parts of Language and Culture: The example of Ganmanganzhi (Nupe Proverbs) in Nigeria

Abstract

Language is a living thing capable of being actively used to produce limitless expressions of thoughts in life. The dynamism with which language and proverbs in particular, yield themselves to various uses in man’s attempt to communicate his thoughts and feeling is evident. Proverbs are old ways of expression developed to encapsulate and caption present new ways of life. This article attempts to examine proverbial language used in the Nupe community for communication and acculturaisation it serves as a supplement to the existing data in the area of poetry as a form of language use pregnanted with meanings and interpretable into many deep and surface structure levels. This studies on the poetry of an ethnic group is also an exposition into the linguistic contents and frames of the language of the Nupe ethnic setting. Part of the findings of this work is that from the exposition of the poetry of Nupe Language (Ganmangazhi), one can reconstruct the people`s world view, livelihood, existence, codes of conduct expected ways of behavior, taboos, tradition e.t.c