Traditional Jamaican proverb · taught in Trelawny
Wa no kil, fatn.
What does not kill you, fattens you.
Hardship that you survive makes you stronger.
two-part indicative, ellipsis
The object is simply missing, since fatten never says fatten what, and neither half stands alone as a sentence; first half negative, second positive.
This one is taught in Trelawny.
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 →