Proverbs
Proverbs and idiomatic (ilu in Igbo) expressions are highly valued by the Igbo people and proficiency in the language means knowing how to intersperse speech with a good dose of proverbs. Chinua Achebe (in Things Fall Apart) describes proverbs as "the palm oil with which words are eaten". Proverbs are widely used in the traditional society to describe, in very few words, what could have otherwise required a thousand words. Proverbs may also become euphemistic means of making certain expressions in the Igbo society, thus the Igbo have come to typically rely on this as avenues of certain expressions.
Read more about this topic: Igbo Language
Famous quotes containing the word proverbs:
“Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 13:3.
“He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”
—Bible: Hebrew Proverbs 28:23.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 20:1.