Investigating the kabyle and english proverbs to promote efl student's awareness and understanding

Abstract

Proverbs play a crucial role in language learning as they serve as a bridge between language and culture. By learning proverbs, learners gain deeper insights into the culture of the target language. This study aims to uncover the aspects and values reflected in proverbs using a qualitative method. It involves collecting and comparing 40 Kabyle proverbs with 40 English proverbs to create a list of equivalents that clarifies their meanings. The analysis also explores how English and Kabyle cultures crafted their proverbs and the cultural elements each one conveys. The findings reveal that, although the two cultures have almost identical values of an honest society, they differ in the origins and formation of their proverbs. English proverbs predominantly derive from the Bible, while Kabyle proverbs come from various (such as personal experiences) and sometimes unknown sources. The grammatical structures are mostly different, with only a small minority sharing similarities. However, the purposes behind the proverbs are generally similar in both languages. This suggests a significant level of similarity despite the cultural differences. The 40 proverbs were selected based on their cultural values, representing a small sample compared to the vast number of expressions in both Kabyle and English. Therefore, it is important to analyze additional proverbs to fully reveal the various cultural aspects they embody