The Syntax of Yoruba Proverbs

The Syntax of Yoruba Proverbs

Timothy Adeyemi Akanbi

Contact

Ekiti State University

Article Fingerprint

ReserarchID

14O03

AI TAKEAWAY

Connecting with the Eternal Ground

Abstract

Yorubá people relish in interspersing their utterances with proverbs . Hardly can a typical Yorubá man or woman utter three sentences without putting in a proverb. Hence, Yorubá say: ‘Òwelẹṣinọ̀rọ̀,ọ̀rọ̀ lẹṣinòwe, bọ́rọ̀ bá sọnu, oẁe la fi ń wa’ translated to mean that ‘proverb is the vehicle through which issues are resolved’ . However, Yorubá proverbs are not just strung together haphazardly; they follow some particular syntactic rules of the grammar of the language. These syntactic rules give some aesthetic values to proverbs usage in the languge. This paper is set to discuss the various syntactic forms that many of the Yoru bá proverbs manifest. We also look at the implication of the syntactic rules upon which these proverbs are hinged and how these rules are applied to structures to conform to the wellformedness condition of Yoru bá grammatical sentences.

References

21 Cites in Article

Reference Format

M Abíọdún (2000). Acknowledgement and the Use of Proverbs in Yorùbá: A Sociolinguistics Overview.
T Akanbi On the True Syntactic and Semantic Status of Yes/No question markers in Yoruba.
T Akanbi (2011). The syntax and semantics of interrogative markers 'da' and 'nḱọ ̀' in Yoruba.
K Ashipu (2013). Proverbs as Circumstantial Speech Acts.
O Awobuluyi (1978). a. Focus Construction as NP.
O Awobuluyi (1978). Essentials of Yorubá Grammar.
O Awobuluyi (1987). Projection of noun Phrases III: Binominal Constructions.
Noam Chomsky (1957). Syntactic Structures.
N Chomsky (1965). Aspects of the thory of syntax.
N Chomsky (1970). Remarks on nominalisation.
N Chomsky (1981). Unknown Title.
N Chomsky (1982). Some Concepts and Consequences of the Theory of Government and Binding.
N Chomsky (1986). Barriers.
R Jackendoff (1977). X′ Syntax: A study of phrase structure.
G Jejeniwa,G Babatunde (2013). Akojọpọ ̀ Yoruba: A Compendium of Proverbs for the 21 st Century.
Susie Jones (2006). Focus in Yorùbá: a semantic/pragmatic account.
T Olumuyiwa (2012). Yorubá Interrogative Proverbs.
K Owolabi (1987). Focus Construction as NP: A Critique.
K Owolabi (1989). The Non-existence of Topical Qualifiers in Yoruba. Yoruba.
O Oyelaran (1990). Anti-Focus in Yorùbá: Some implication for Creoles.
R Sonaiya (1988). WH-movement and proper government in Yoruba.

Download References

Funding

No external funding was declared for this work.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

No ethics committee approval was required for this article type.

Data Availability

Not applicable for this article.

How to Cite This Article

Timothy Adeyemi Akanbi. 2015. \u201cThe Syntax of Yoruba Proverbs\u201d. Global Journal of Human-Social Science - G: Linguistics & Education GJHSS-G Volume 15 (GJHSS Volume 15 Issue G8): .

More Citation Formats

Select Citation Style:

Download Citation

Download Article

GJHSS Volume 15 Issue G8
Pg. 27- 32

Explore Journals Explore Volume Read This Issue

Journal Specifications

Crossref Journal DOI 10.17406/GJHSS

Print ISSN 0975-587X

e-ISSN 2249-460X

Keywords

Not Found

Classification

GJHSS-G Classification: FOR Code: 200499

Submission ReceivedJune 14, 2015
Peer Review Double Blind
Handling Editor
Accepted July 2, 2015
Published July 15, 2015

Version of record

v1.2

Issue date

September 2, 2015

Language

Experiance in AR

Explore published articles in an immersive Augmented Reality environment. Our platform converts research papers into interactive 3D books, allowing readers to view and interact with content using AR and VR compatible devices.

View in VR

Read in 3D

Your published article is automatically converted into a realistic 3D book. Flip through pages and read research papers in a more engaging and interactive format.

View in 3D

Article Matrices

Total Score: 101

Country: Nigeria

Subject: Global Journal of Human-Social Science - G: Linguistics & Education

Authors: Timothy Adeyemi Akanbi (PhD/Dr. count: 0)

View Count (all-time): 179

Total Views (Real + Logic): 4099

Total Downloads (simulated): 2089

Publish Date: 2015 09, Wed

Monthly Totals (Real + Logic):

Month 1: 65 views
Month 2: 27 views
Month 3: 60 views
Month 4: 49 views
Month 5: 43 views
Month 6: 35 views
Month 7: 38 views
Month 8: 18 views
Month 9: 23 views
Month 10: 40 views
Month 11: 53 views
Month 12: 43 views
Month 13: 32 views
Month 14: 34 views
Month 15: 28 views
Month 16: 23 views
Month 17: 20 views
Month 18: 47 views
Month 19: 29 views
Month 20: 32 views
Month 21: 21 views
Month 22: 21 views
Month 23: 20 views
Month 24: 27 views
Month 25: 24 views
Month 26: 45 views
Month 27: 30 views
Month 28: 32 views
Month 29: 33 views
Month 30: 24 views
Month 31: 38 views
Month 32: 27 views
Month 33: 44 views
Month 34: 36 views
Month 35: 26 views
Month 36: 21 views
Month 37: 10 views
Month 38: 34 views
Month 39: 26 views
Month 40: 25 views
Month 41: 44 views
Month 42: 13 views
Month 43: 23 views
Month 44: 38 views
Month 45: 31 views
Month 46: 44 views
Month 47: 32 views
Month 48: 23 views
Month 49: 18 views
Month 50: 36 views
Month 51: 22 views
Month 52: 43 views
Month 53: 22 views
Month 54: 38 views
Month 55: 40 views
Month 56: 20 views
Month 57: 20 views
Month 58: 24 views
Month 59: 26 views
Month 60: 28 views
Month 61: 38 views
Month 62: 33 views
Month 63: 19 views
Month 64: 20 views
Month 65: 34 views
Month 66: 44 views
Month 67: 25 views
Month 68: 22 views
Month 69: 29 views
Month 70: 32 views
Month 71: 41 views
Month 72: 21 views
Month 73: 37 views
Month 74: 34 views
Month 75: 24 views
Month 76: 25 views
Month 77: 35 views
Month 78: 22 views
Month 79: 26 views
Month 80: 26 views
Month 81: 19 views
Month 82: 47 views
Month 83: 42 views
Month 84: 38 views
Month 85: 29 views
Month 86: 31 views
Month 87: 44 views
Month 88: 27 views
Month 89: 12 views
Month 90: 30 views
Month 91: 24 views
Month 92: 25 views
Month 93: 19 views
Month 94: 36 views
Month 95: 33 views
Month 96: 30 views
Month 97: 30 views
Month 98: 17 views
Month 99: 24 views
Month 100: 37 views
Month 101: 24 views
Month 102: 30 views
Month 103: 35 views
Month 104: 22 views
Month 105: 24 views
Month 106: 37 views
Month 107: 33 views
Month 108: 30 views
Month 109: 25 views
Month 110: 49 views
Month 111: 37 views
Month 112: 35 views
Month 113: 31 views
Month 114: 23 views
Month 115: 24 views
Month 116: 23 views
Month 117: 20 views
Month 118: 38 views
Month 119: 39 views
Month 120: 27 views
Month 121: 30 views
Month 122: 20 views
Month 123: 32 views
Month 124: 25 views
Month 125: 40 views
Month 126: 59 views
Month 127: 52 views
Month 128: 28 views

Total Views: 4099

Total Downloads: 2089

2026 Trends

Published Article

Our website is actively being updated, and changes may occur frequently. Please clear your browser cache if needed. For feedback or error reporting, please email [email protected]