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:
“One who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 24:26.
“A gift opens doors; it gives access to the great.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 18:16.
“Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies; for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 23:6-7.