SOCIOHISTORIC DISCOURSE OF LINGUISTIC METAPHORISATION IN SELECT IGBO PROVERBS

Abstract

Proverb often oscillates between two extremes to modulate meanings by special creative use of language, through the aesthetic restructuring of lexical items to create and foreground meaning, value and interest; and to stimulate attention. It accounts and sways the sociocultural norms of experiences and conducts, by giving social prominence to the ancient beliefs and powers of divine inspiration, and also perpetuating the traditional order of oracular discourse. Though, many works have been done on proverbs, but this paper seeks to investigate the critical intelligence in the proverbs discourse in Igbo cosmogony which identifies and highlights the subtleties in the style. This evokes cultural and traditional linguistic habits through rhetorical rendition of native intelligence, to demonstrate rich cultural norms or values. Relevance theory was applied, as an inferential approach to pragmatics. It is one of the Grice’s central claims in Co-operative Principles, which has the essential feature of most human communication, in verbal and non-verbal, is the expression and recognition of intentions. It stimulates possible interpretation at the cognitive level and at the culture-specific context. One hundred proverbs were reviewed and ten were selected through stratified sampling. The paper underscores the inherent African intelligence and philosophy found in the aphorisms, and their relevance to the performer, the addressee, the sociocultural context and socio-psychology of the discourse.