Traditional Jamaican proverb · taught in St. Thomas, St. Ann and St. James
Smaal aks faal big chrii.
A small axe fells a big tree.
The small and determined can bring down the mighty.
single-clause indicative, antithesis
Four words, two matched adjective-and-noun pairs either side of the verb, small against big, and fall is being used to mean fell.
This one is taught in St. Thomas, St. Ann and St. James.
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 →