The semantics and pragmatics of proverbial dialogue

Abstract

Language communicates the speaker’s intention to the hearer in every instance of human interaction. Linguistics maintains that language use carries both semantic and pragmatic content, and in Nigeria, language is often enriched with proverbs. However, there has been little investigation into the communicative value of the semantic and pragmatic content of proverbial language. This study seeks to determine whether the semantic and pragmatic content of proverbs is crucial for effective communication. A pragma-semantic approach is employed to analyze selected proverbs, using an arithmetic progression method for their selection. The findings confirm that proverbial expressions possess both semantic and pragmatic content. Importantly, the study reveals that the pragmatic content of proverbs plays a central role in conveying the speaker’s intention and is therefore essential for successful communication between the speaker and the addressee.