A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Selected African- American Women Proverbs

Abstract

The status of women has witnessed remarkable shifts in European and American history. These changes did not take one form or similar directions, but rather they differed from one place to another and from one civilization to another. With regard to America, the focus of this research is mainly on the status of women in the Afro-American community and how to use language and proverbs to show the reflections of society and its view of women. Feminist proverbs are often used by men in all societies, and they are used by women at the same time with the same meanings used by men. Since the study is related to the representation of women in Afro-American proverbs, it begins with a definition of what proverbs are, their uses, characteristics, and functions. It is then followed by a brief introduction of what the Afro-American dialect is to help the reader understand the proverbs within the context in which they are used. Therefore, the Dale Himes model has been used as a sociolinguistic framework for analyzing some selected African-American proverbs