Metaphors in Lango Proverbs

Abstract

The research focused on investigating the effective use of metaphors in relaying the message in the selected Lango proverbs as well as the choice of words and nature of words employed in these proverbs. The research was based on the fact that even though other researchers have done a lot such as categorizing Lango proverbs and studying their meaning; little has been done to show how effectively metaphors have been used to relay the messages and ideas in the selected Lango proverbs. This is despite the fact that the use of figures of speech is important in communicating meaning in Lango proverbs. The study was informed by the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), concepts are systematically governed in terms of other concepts. Hence, metaphors are tools that connect two conceptual domains; the source domain and the target domain.The acquired data were analyzed and described qualitatively with the guidance of tenets of language. In the analysis of data, l identified metaphors and analyzed how effectively they relayed the message in relation to the context they were used. The beneficiaries of the study findings will be researchers in the field of oral literature by expanding their knowledge on the relationship between language and content depending on the context used. This study will inspire a further investigation on the role played by language in relaying message in various genres such as riddles in different communities.