PROVERBS: WRITING FLAVOUR AND SPEECH SWEETNER LOADED WITH MORALS.
Ralph Waldo Emerson in one of his essays entitled 'Society and Solitude' said " The true test of Civilisation is not the census, nor size of cities, nor the crops- NO, but the kind of man the country turns out". The so called civilization has affected us both positively and negatively.
Perhaps, one of the negative effects of civilization is the neglection of culture and it's constitute ; specifically, tradition, norms, proverbs amidst others they have been largely overshadowed by civilization.
Apparently, the weakness of our culture as a result of civilization is partly traceable to the failure of family as the first agent of socialization/ institution and point of contact of a child which is expected to arm the child with some cultural values, social norms and etiquette but due to one reasons or the other such as meeting family demands, economic depression and lots more which had led to a tight schedule had created little or no time for Parent-children relationship which would have aided the inculcation of some certain values norms and tradition their wards; they would have been regaled with different folktales and proverbs that are rich in morals, motivating and inspiring.
Majority of the children borne in the late 90's up till date were nurtured in daycares, crèches and other fostering homes; this has consequently affected our culture as it could be obviously observed in our semi-nude mode of dressing,ill-mannered way of talking and other prevalent vices in the society.
Like socrates said " No evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death", a child baptised in proverb could aptly remember a yoruba proverb that says "awo Pele kii fo, igba Pele kii ya" i.e "things done with patience do not get destroyed or becomes harmful" or "Ija o dola oruko nii so ni" " for one to have engage in a fisticuffs can not dignify one, rather it would demean one" ( though there is no a better way to impeccably translating a yoruba proverb into English language) same goes to he English proverb, "The patient dog eats d fatest bone"; with this alone a child can avert mayhem or chaos.
Wofgang meider(1985:117) defines a proverb as a phrase,saying, sentence, statement or experience of folk, which contains above all wisdom,truth,morals,experience,lessons and advice concerning life and has been handed down from generation to generation.
Similarly, Daniel Egbe(1996:193) explains proverb to be short witty sayings. They are usually popular,pithy and very sensible. They also convey pieces of advise and warnings.
Proverbs are an integral part of African culture, passed on from generation to generation for centuries, they are still in wide use today and are very much part of everyday speech, they are used to illustrate ideas, reinforce arguments and deliver messages of inspiration, consolation, celebration and advice.The great Nigerian author Chinua Achebe once wrote: "Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten."
In this regard, proverb carries an air of authority and appeal to fundamental laws of nature and so their injunctions are predictions appear to be unopposable and inevitable; speakers/writers tend to use proverbs to comment on a situation, often at d beginning or end of a true story someone as told or written, or in a response to some event.
A case study of #THE_NATION_NEWSPAPER of Monday,June22,2015 in its Hard Ball column opened with a lead characterised by proverbs in expressing it's grievances and condemnation of mindless killing in Lagos state by hoodlums which has got gruesome, more rampant and more brazen, it goes that " An okra plant can never grow taller than its Planter, No matter how tall it ever grows; a wooden oracle is but a piece of wood on the day of its demystification. It is said that only. The foolishly brave would mistake the stealth movement of the tiger for cowardice; does a proper fish catch cold in the deep? When the duck swallows pebble, would it not pass water still? And no matter how large a tail is would it wag the dog?" The issue discussed had got so aggravated and alarming that the write up was presaged with proverbs and gave a full insight into the matter in an expressive, comprehensive yet in a breezy and clear manner for those who have understanding to appreciate it's full import. The aforesaid proverbs according to the write up simply enunciate the fact that government is superior to anyone, groups or cabal "Ijoba amuni moogun" ; it beautifies the write-up by broadening or raise the scope or standard of communication in the speech or writing. It served as an important aid in the act of describing objects as an effective way of putting across the message.
As with all proverbial expressions, they are useful, enjoyable to know and understand, but should be used with care to avoid a mundane speech/write up and or a misused proverb would glaringly distort the meaning of the message.
Certainly, proverbs are laden with warning,advise and morals, The English proverb "Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves" could be paraphrased to mean " take care of small sums of money and they will become large sum" this is obviously advisory and mind-illuminating; same goes for a yoruba saying tha "Akii fowo mewewa jeun" i.e " one should embrace the act of saving" as being covetous,gluttionious, greedy or even extravagant can wreck or impoverish one. Most Nigerian culture treasure proverbs a great deal.
Alas! Yoruba proverbs are on the wane and are gradually becoming unused and if care is not taken it may get endangered or even extinct, a yoruba proverb says "Osa ti abanle omode ni di e, iru oosa na kii pe parun" , Yoruba Language as a subject is rarely taught in school this days, perhaps children in most homes are ordered to communicate in English Language, it's not outlandish seeing a young person of Oyo origin speaking yoruba language like a Chinese man( his/her diction) even some from royal background who should have been an ambassador of the culture may not be an exemption as we yoruba of nowadays prefer to communicate using the Queens Language.
The talks on ensuring that our indigenous languages are being taught in schools is a discussion that goes everywhere but gets nowhere. Sometime ago I think our lawmakers were at the phase. For weeks they passionately deliberated on it, all of a sudden they backtracked like an elected politician and his tweets went from self-assured to diffident. All they could do was to hum and haw till the matter disappeared into the thin air.
Conclusively, "oni nkan oni fe ki nkan oun baje", "Bolode oke, ita e kii wu gbegi" parent should enlighten and educate their wards on our culture, make it fascinating to them and arose their interest in it. Yoruba dun lasa, yoruba dun lede, yoruba dun pupo.
#FOLORUNSO FATIA ADISA
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