Abstract
Proverbs represent the quintessence of a people's collective wisdom sustained and transmitted from generation to generation. Due to the polymorphous nature of the context and competence needed to be reactivated in interpreting them, they also provide insight into some of the greatest pragmatic constraints in language use. The purpose of this study was to identify the illucutionary acts performed through the use of twelve Yoruba proverbs and then analyse the types of pragmatic context and competence which listeners have to invoke and deploy respectively to interpret them appropriately, and to also resolve the overt contradiction in each of the six selected pairs of proverbs. On the basis of the findings, recommendations have been made towards a more pragmatic teaching and testing of Yoruba proverbs in particular and of the language as a whole.
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