Abstract
The study is about the etymology of proverbs that are no longer relevant in the 21st century. These proverbs are used and are against the Constitution of The Republic of South Africa. In modern life, where things have changed, some proverbs need to be investigated and amended to suit the present situation. Language, as the carrier of culture, needs to be understood by every community member, young and old. Every community member must agree with what it says. Proverbs like sehlare sa mosotho ke lekgowa (the medicine of a black person is the white person), mosadi ke tšhwene, o lewa mabogo (a woman is a baboon, we eat her hands), lentšu la kgoši le agelwa lešaka (a kraal is built around the chief’s word) and balwi ke baratane (fighters are lovers) need to be reconsidered as they promote abuse. One may claim to love a person by physically abusing them because one loves them so much that one does not want to see them with other people.
The main objective of the study is to describe how Sepedi proverbs that are considered no longer relevant in the 21st century affect society. Their influence on people’s behaviour is against the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, as they encourage abuse, oppression, and discrimination. The proverbs are outdated as they relate to primitive lifestyle which is no longer relevant to modern life.
Cultural criticism theory is used to interpret and make proverbs easy to understand. Relevance theory is used to clarify how the chosen proverbs are deemed no longer relevant to be used.