Traditional Jamaican proverb · taught in Farin
No kya ou bord flai, im afi kom dong fi waata
No matter how high the bird flies, it must come down for water
However far you roam abroad, you must return to your source — home, family, roots. The diaspora always circles back to yaad.
two-clause deontic with concessive
It opens by waving an objection aside, no kya how, then lands on haffi, obligation without a command, and im reaches back to the bird.
This one is taught in Farin.
The grammatical categories this description uses — clause type, mood, and the sound patterning noted where it carries the proverb — follow Unseth's framework for describing a proverb rather than only translating it.
The proverb is folk material. The description of how it is put together follows the framework in the work above; the translation and the commentary are mine.
Hear it, and collect the rest →