| Language is an important communication tool.However,we by no means use language in a vacuum.We use language to communicate with each other in our daily lives.Language doesn’t matter without people,because languages are created,used and developed by people,and people live in certain cultural and social groups.Therefore,languages must be studied with reference to specific contexts.Simply put,language is an indicator or reflection of culture.Language is a means of natural communication in real life,manifested in various forms such as dialogue and folk literature,such as riddles.This paper sets out from this point,mainly by collecting and referring to a large number of relevant literature to compare Chinese,English and Swahili riddles,and find out their similarities and differences in terms of basis for riddle formation,methods used in riddle formation,structure of riddles,classification of riddles,usage of riddles,cultural connotation and meaning,then explain the effectiveness of riddles in Teaching.Although Swahili and English are the official languages of Kenya,Chinese is also gaining popularity in Kenya.The three sometimes affect each other,so it is beneficial to conduct a comparative study of these three languages’ riddles,which can help teachers and students better understand the characteristics of the three,especially the cultural background,thus promote language learning. |
