AN ANALYSIS OF FLORA RELATED PHRASEMIC TERMS IN JUKUN

Abstract

This work examines the communicative meaning and uses of selected flora terms that are used as phrasemic terms (i.e. umbrella term for proverbs, metaphors and idioms) in the Jukun society. Data for the work were drawn from the researcher’s experience as a native speaker of the language.  In order to draw a logical conclusion, the work adopts some semantico-pragmatic variables such as: contexts, culture, social values, beliefs, background knowledge, entailments, presuppositions, and conversational maxims. The work is able to discover that besides their natural uses as food, shelter, medicine as well as economic value, plants in Jukun land serve as one of the sources of proverbs, idioms and metaphor, the crux of this paper. The ten isolated sayings in this work centred on the themes of caution/warning, punishment, discipline as well as precautions. On this basis, the work concludes that these sayings serve as a controlling mechanism as well as a means through which people’s behaviours in the society can be regulated.