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Political grandstanding and the use of proverbs in African political discourse

UNIVERSITY OF FRANKFURT, GERMANY, orwenjo{at}yahoo.com

In Africa, the transmission of the overwhelming complexity of the people's day-to-day experiences are deeply rooted in the continent's rich cultural artistry. Proverbs are the most widely and commonly used in the continent's long standing history of oral arts. Proverbs are regarded as repositories of the people's collective social, political and cultural wisdom and as analytic tools of thought. This paper analyses how different Kenyan politicians and political parties used proverbs to strengthen and further their respective political positions with regard to the then proposed new constitution of Kenya, during the various countrywide campaigns in public political rallies and through the media. More specifically, the paper looks at how politicians and political parties used proverbs to further their different ideologies, to woo potential voters and to discredit opposing views.

Key Words: campaigns • critical discourse analysis • politics • proverbs • referendum

Discourse & Society, Vol. 20, No. 1, 123-146 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0957926508097097


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