Metaphors of Human-Flora-Fauna Symbiosis: Eco-Critical Discourse Expositions in Yorùbá Proverbial Analysis

Abstract

It has been emphasized that metaphors in general are crucial for
comprehending and interpreting ecological discourse. Numerous studies
on Yorùbá proverbs have been conducted (Jelili et al., 2022; Akanbi, 2020;
Anyachebelu, 2019; Olofinsao, 2018; Faleye, 2018; Ojo, 2015; Akanbi,
2015, etc.), but insufficient research has been done on human-flora-fauna
symbiosis, particularly in Yorùbá proverbs. This study uses ecocritical
metaphor analysis to look at the symbiosis of humans, plants, and fauna
in Yorùbá proverbs. The study focuses on how, according to the Yorùbá
worldview, particular plants and animals are used to symbolise various
human experiences, actions, and traits in Yorùbá proverbs. We use the
transitivity system from the Systemic Functional Linguistics approach to
eco-critical discourse analysis, along with Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual
Metaphor Theory (CMT) to explore human experiences with nature
through process types and illustrate the metaphorical “mapping” across
the conceptual domain. Other human experiences are conceptualised as
the target domain through the lens of flora and animals, which serve as the
source domain. Both primary and secondary sources of information were
carefully selected for this article. The study discovers that Yorùbá proverbs
use metaphors of animals such as dogs, cows, chameleons, doves, and
eagles as well as woods and trees like iróko and mahogany, to warn people
against negative attitudes towards the ecosystem, like destruction, laziness,
intolerance, and impatience among others. For harmonious coexistence in
the ecosystem, the proverbs urge humans to behave well toward nature.
According to the results of the transitivity analysis, the detected process
choices in the data can be seen as a positive discourse that motivates people
to conserve the environment.