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FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS

Authors: IDOWU Olubunmi

Publication Type: Journal article

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Abstract

The language of Proverbs has been studied from stylistic and sociolinguistic perspectives to reveal the social roles of language use in explicating the value and belief systems of its speakers. However, little attention has been paid to the meaning relations of this linguistic variety, especially the lexical semantic features as unique to the Yoruba language and culture. Therefore, this study investigates the lexico-semantic features in selected Yoruba proverbs. In the process of the analysis the cultural implications of the proverbs are established. The work will further explicate the transition between orality and literacy by examining the use of proverbs in folklore and how it is used in contemporary times by writers like Ola Rotimi in Kurunmi and Our Husband has gone Mad Again to show the enduring relevance and functions of these Proverbs. Using the Lexical semantic properties of the nature of metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, pun in the proverbs, this study projects the rhetorical and sociocultural values of the Yoruba language and culture with the purpose of transforming the contemporary society. The metaphorical and compressed forms of the proverbs are explicated and made attractive for use, especially for the younger generations of the Yoruba speech community. Consequently, a context and meaning-oriented study of Proverbs is expected to familiarize and integrate the language users into the Yoruba culture, with the purpose of transforming the contemporary society, based on the relevant themes and functions of the selected data. Ultimately, this work is expected to facilitate more researches in the proverbs of other speech communities in Nigeria and West Africa. .

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IDOWU,O. . (0000). FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS, 0 (), 0-0.

IDOWU,O. . "FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS" 0, no (), (0000): 0-0.

IDOWU,O. and . (0000). FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS, 0 (), pp0-0.

IDOWUO, . FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS. 0000, 0 ():0-0.

IDOWU,Olubunmi , . "FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS", 0 . (0000) : 0-0.

I.Olubunmi , "FROM ORALITY TO LITERACY: A LEXICAL SEMANTIC STUDY OF SELECTED YORUBA PROVERBS" vol.0, no., pp. 0-0, 0000.

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