IDEAL INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

Proverbs are effective means of passing along culture from one generation to the next. Thus, the cultural substance and utility transcend generational proverbs and performances. Proverbs are expressions of people's cultures, indigenous knowledge, cosmology, values, spirituality, and essence expressed metaphorically. They offer pathways for the transfer of knowledge from older to younger members of the community. It is said to be the oil that words are consumed by the Igbo people in southeast Nigeria. Using Lakoff's notion of critical discourse and women's language, this paper uses analytical theory to investigate how women are viewed and understood in Igbo proverbs. Examining the relationship between language, gender, and culture is the aim. It focuses on analyzing the roles, customs, attitudes, and perspectives of women in both traditional and modern Igbo society. A collection of fifteen Igbo proverbs pertaining to women was chosen from written and spoken sources. These comprise Igbo proverbs that explore the literary representation of women and make reference to them, all while paying little regard to the meaning that is contextualized and subject to change depending on the setting in which they are used. Results show that the cultural meanings and assumptions associated with these proverbs remain pure despite the evolving roles of women in Igbo society. Proverbs are still used to perpetuate the stereotype of women as weak, bad, submissive, and defenseless.

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