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:
“Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads, or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 22:24-25.
“Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 3:30.
“For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he shows no restraint when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation, and refuses a bribe no matter how great.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 6:34-35.