Abstract

This study examined the pragmatics of proverbs in Ola Rotimi's Kurunmi. The study focused particularly on the interpretation of the proverbs used in the text, based on the contexts in which they were used. The study used content analysis as its design, which gave room for a critical analysis of the proverbs in the text. Thirty proverbs were extracted from the text and interpreted based on their contextual use. The findings revealed that the contextual use of proverbs in the text served different role such as warning, commending, insulting, encouraging, abusing, advising, correcting a wrong doing and asserting. The study concluded that proverbs can be best understood when interpreted according to the contexts of their use. Thus, the context of culture and situation help to inform the true meaning of Yoruba proverbs when used in interactions and the knowledge of pragmatics can help linguists, especially pramaticians, to understand and interpret proverbs from any culture.