A thesis submetted in partial fullfilment of requirements for the award of degree "Licence en Langue et Littérature Anglaises"

Résumé,

The aim of this study is to examine the way Kirundi proverbs and folktales give the image of both men and women to generations that use them. That is to establish the relationship between proverbs and folkatales that are performed by the Burundian society and the deeper meaning and significance that they have as social statement on relation between men and women in society. The second aim is to carry out a pragmatic analysis of these proverbs and folktales using speech act theory. This study is built on two assumptions.

The first assumption is that the gender differences in Kirundi oral literature present men as being in better position in relation to women. The second assumption is that Kirundi proverbs and folktales are loaded with negative stereotypical representations of both men and women.

In this research, some selected Kirundi proverbs and folktales which reveal gender differences are selected as sample, and analyzed pragmatically according to the pragmatic speech act theories. The meaning and implications of these proverbs and folktales are pointed out. The result of this study shows that on the positive side, woman is portrayed as caring mother, wife for instance while man is presented as the powerful of social order. On the negative side, the woman is portrayed as lazy, evil, cruel (when stepmother) and useless (when barren) and man is portrayed as greedy person.

From the evidence adduced in study, certain forms of date stereotype woman very severely while others similarly stereotype men. It is, therefore, not possible to say whether the overall image of the man in proverbs and folktales of the Burundi is totally negative. What is not in dispute, however, is that the literature negatively stereotypes both of them.