African Proverbs Project

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Proverbs are an essential learning tool for students of African languages. In the African Languages Proverbs Project, the Boston University African Studies Center has collected short performances by African theater troupes in their native languages. These languages include Wolof from Senegal, Hausa from Niger, Amharic from Ethiopia, Xhosa and Zulu from South Africa and Swahili from Tanzania. Each performance focuses on one of ten common proverbs and places them within a cultural and social context. These videos are designed for advanced students of the languages and are an invaluable tool for developing language proficiency and cultural competence. While they stand on their own as authentic, and entertaining, learning resources, they can also be used as supplements to the African Languages Proverbs Project workbooks.

Choose a language

Amharic

Hausa

Kiswahili

Wolof

isiXhosa

isiZulu

 

Note: The African Proverbs Project was sponsored in parts by the National Security Education Program (NSEP) and the U.S. Department of Education International Foreign Language Education Program (IFLE). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSEP or IFLE.