USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Developing the Database of Proverbs and Postproverbials

Undoubtedly, a good project!! But it will help if the vernacular spellings are accurate. Please, note that there are many versions of the spoken Akan or Twi language in Ghana. However, only two of them--- Asante Twi and Akuapem Twi were actually written and studied in schools. So, it might be important to specify which one of the two written Twi is being used in the Akan proverbs.  I am not sure the Asante or Akuapem would say "biaanu" (two). I never saw that written anywhere in all the Asante Twi or Akuapem Twi books I read in school. What I saw was "baanu."

On logs, people, travel, migration, diaspora and the lure of Home, the Asante and Akuapem Akans have a powerful proverb:

"S3 duf)kye3 ky3re nsuom s3 de3n a, 3rennane nkawa." (No matter how long a log stays in a river, it will never turn into a fish).

Quite a warning to those of us who have stayed too long abroad.

Congrats on the project. I was born and bred in a Ghanaian village where ability to speak in proverbs is still regarded as a mark of good breeding, a sign of intellectual maturity, and a qualification for a seat in the palace. I have something to contribute to this worthy project.

Edward Kissi

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Friday, February 1, 2019 6:27:43 PM
To: dialogue; Yoruba Affairs
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Developing the Database of Proverbs and Postproverbials

 

https://postproverbial.com

A good project. Congrats to the collaborators. The site  should be arranged thematically, as well, at some point,  with links to the vast ocean of African proverbs embedded in song, verse, narratives and legends across the continent. This is a vast field  for data mining. In a 1992 article,   "Proverbs as repositories of medical practice," Olowo Ojoade  had eighteen subheadings including:

1.  The traditional practitioner
2.  Fees
3.  Treatment
4.  Ingredients
5.  Efficacy
6.  Health
7.  Prevention
8.  Diseases  etc.

I imagine that post-proverbials can also be subdivided.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali

     

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 9:18 PM
To: dialogue; Yoruba Affairs
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Developing the Database of Proverbs and Postproverbials

 

From: Remi Raji <remraj1@gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 5:53 PM
To: Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>
Subject: Developing the Database of Proverbs and Postproverbials

 

******

Friday, February 1, 2019

Launching the African Postproverbial Web Database Project – https://postproverbial.com

This is a database project devoted to the tradition of alternate proverb creation which has been defined as the practice of postproverbials. The web data records the production of radical sayings which exist side-by-side, or which collide with the use of traditional or conventional proverbs in contemporary African speech communities.

Basic Information

An entry contains at least a pair, of conventional and radical proverbs. The postproverbial may be more than one, with versions, so that an entry may contain two or more proverb statements. In some instances, each entry is supplemented by a short commentary to aid understanding and interpretation.

The entries are arranged under specific African language panels with translations into English. There is the possibility of interactive check using keywords (labels) that allow researchers find related postproverbial entries across languages.

Please access the website @ https://postproverbial.com

Contributions, suggestions and interests are welcome.

 Sincerely,

Aderemi Raji-Oyelade

Department of English

University of Ibadan

Ibadan, Nigeria

+2348088636663

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