Linguistics & African Languages

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A feature based analysis of Igbo complementisers
(Linguistic Association of Nigeria, 2019) Nweya, G. O.
"It has been argued that Igbo complementisers are associated with more than one clause type and therefore, cannot be classified based on the type of clause they introduce. This assertion has not been further examined in Igbo as the paucity of studies on Igbo complementisers show. Hence, there is need to characterise Igbo complementisers based on features for the purpose of classification. This study, therefore, re-examines the syntax of Igbo complementisers with a view to determining their distribution and c-selection properties as well as distinguish them based on their features. Data for the study were gathered from primary and secondary sources. The study identified three main complementisers in Igbo. They are nà ‘that’, mà ‘if/whether’ and kà ‘that’. ‘na’ c-selects mostly embedded declarative clauses. ‘mà introduces mostly interrogative clauses where both the matrix and embedded clauses bear overt question morpheme, while ‘kà’ is the only complementiser that introduces subjunctive clauses. Based on their behaviours, the study posits that ‘na’ ‘‘mà and ‘kà’ have strong declarative, interrogative and subjunctive features respectively. Using distinctive feature matrix, the study characterised and distinguished Igbo complementiser. It was also observed that there is no agreement between complementiser and inflection as obtainable in English since Igbo complementisers are not specified for any tense that matches with that of the c-selected IP. The study concludes that Igbo complementisers can be classified using distinctive features.
A Phonemic Analysis of Imilike-Igbo Consonants
(2018) Nweya, G. O.
This paper studies the consonants of Imilike dialect, a variety of Northern Igbo dialect. The main goal of the study is to identify the consonants that make up the dialect and establish their phonemic status. The theoretical framework adopted for the analysis is generative phonology. Data for the study were collected through oral interview and observation. The study identifies forty phonetic consonant sounds in the dialect. Twelve out of the forty consonants result from secondary articulations such as palatalisation and labialisation. Twenty nine out of the forty phonetic consonant \1 , nts identified in the dialect were assigned phonemic status while others were regarded 11\ allophones of someother segments. The study reveals the presence of the voiced post alveolar fricative [3] which is absent in the standard Igbo and the absence of the voiced velar fricative / y/ which is present in the standard Igbo. It points to the unique phonological features of the dialect that distinguish it from the standard variety.
A pragma-semiotic analysis of the Catholic bishops’ communiqué on the Ebola epidemic: Impact on the University of Ibadan Catholic faithful
(Lulu Press Inc., 2017) Solomon-Etefia, P. O.; Nweya, G. O.
This paper examines the extracts of the communiqué made by the Ibadan Catholic Bishops to the congregation on the Ebola epidemic. The paper identifies the practs, gives a semiotic interpretation of the signs visible, and discusses the impact of the communiqué on the Catholic faithful in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The data were collected from the Catholic Sunday Bulletin and the interviews conducted with, and the field notes collected from, the Catholic faithful informants (N=30) in the University of Ibadan. It utilised Mey’s pragmatic acts theory (PAT) and Saussure’s model of semiotic signs as the theoretical framework. The study shows that the communiqué is information motivated discourse on Ebola which comprises of direct acts that make use of the contextual features of shared situational knowledge, inferences, relevance, shared cultural knowledge, and references thereby exhibiting the pragmemes of cautioning, commanding, counselling and threatening; the semiotic sign ‘Holy Communion’ signifies the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ present in Bread and Wine, the semiotic sign ‘self-signing of oneself with holy water’ signifies spiritual cleansing, and the ‘sign of peace’ signifies love and unity among the people of God in the Church. Both the pragmemes and the semiotic signs have an impact on the Catholic Faithful in University of Ibadan.
"Afiwe awon owe ti o je mo igbeyawo laarin Yoruba ati Igbo "
(Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria, 2014-06) Adeyinka, A. A.
Akokoid comparative wordlist
(Council for Innovative Research, 2014) Fadoro, J. O.
Akokoid, in this paper, refers to the nine speech forms which are spoken in Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State in South-Western Nigeria. These speech forms are Arigidi, Erushu, Afa, Oge, Aje, Udo, Oyin, Igashi and Uro. Since the 1970‟s, scholars have lumped these speech forms together as dialects of the same language without any detailed lexicostatistic investigation. Thus, the major objective of this paper is to determine whether the speech forms are really dialects of the same language through lexicostatistic analysis. Data were collected from 34 informants spread across the nine geographical areas where the speech forms are spoken through the direct interview method. In analyzing these data, Swadesh‟s principles of lexicostatistics were used. The lexicostatistic figures reveal that Arigidi and Erushu are 88.5% cognate, so they are classified as dialects of Arigidi. Afa, Oge, Aje, Udo, Oyin, Igashi and Uro are 81% cognate, so they are classified as dialects of the same language called Ọwọn (meaning „tongue‟). Two distinct but fairly related languages were identified within the nine speech forms. These are Arigidi and Ọwọn, jointly referred to as Akokoid by virtue of their Akoko root. Therefore, there is no justification for lumping them together as dialects of a single language
An Ethno-Statistical Analysis of Direct and Indirect Acts in Catchy HIV/AIDS Campaign Messages in Benin Metropolis
(International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2015) Solomon-Etefia, P. O.; Nweya, G. O.
Catchy HIV/AIDS campaign messages in Benin metropolis exhibit the characteristics of direct and indirect acts. These acts play pragmatic roles in peoples’ understanding of catchy HIV/AIDS campaign messages in Benin metropolis. This paper investigates direct and indirect acts in HIV/AIDS catchy campaign messages in Benin metropolis from an ethno-statistical perspective; it assess respondents’ understanding of the campaign messages with the features of directness and indirectness. The data for the study were collected using the questionnaires from five LGAs in Benin metropolis. These are Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, Ovia-North-East and Ovia-South-West and the data was analysed using the simple percentages. The paper reveals that some respondents could not understand some of the messages because of the pragmatic indirectness. It was also observed that background characteristics (age, education, gender, and ethnic group), understandable language for reading and writing of respondents and how HIV/AIDS messages were known play a major role in understanding the direct and indirect acts in the messages. The paper concludes by advising the message provider to write in simpler form for the effectiveness of these campaign messages, creating of messages in native languages is also encouraged.
Applicative Constructions in Igbo
(Department of Linguistics, African & Asian Studies, University of Lagos, 2020) Nweya, G. O.
The structure of applicative constructions has been in debate due to diverse opinions regarding the categorial status and distribution of the applicative morpheme. Previous studies have focused on the morphemic structure with scant attention paid to the distribution and interaction of the applicative morpheme with other inflectional affixes. This study examines the syntactic distribution of the Igbo applicative morpheme with a view to determining its categorial status and base position in relation to other inflectional affixes such as tense, aspect and negation. Employing the split verb phrase hypothesis of minimalist program, the study reveals that Igbo applicative morpheme is a functor that projects maximally as an Applicative Phrase, showing up after the verb in the process of interacting with other inflectional elements. The study concludes that in deriving applicative constructions in Igbo, the verb enters the derivation with unvalued tense and applicative features which get valued as the verb moves from one head to another while the affixes get merged to the verb.
Articulated structure of the Igbo tense phrase domain
(West African Linguistic Society, 2021) Nweya, G. O.
"The tense phrase (TP) domain is the domain that expresses grammatical tense, aspect and mood. Existing studies concentrated on describing the morph-syntactic features of the Igbo TP categories with little attention paid to their interaction and hierarchical order. This study, therefore, investigates the morpho-syntactic features and interaction of the functors with a view to determining their hierarchical order in the clause structure. Primary and secondary data were collected and subjected to syntactic analysis. Three main functors, Tense, Aspect and Negation, overtly occur in the Igbo TP area as verbal affixes and they exhibit two opposing patterns of morpheme order: V-T-ASP-NEG and T-ASP-NEG-V. The former, where the functors follow the verb, requires obligatory movement of the VP to spec TP, while the latter requires no such movement since the functors precede the verb. The study demonstrated that these morpheme orders are derived syntactically via operation merge with surface order corresponding to the hierarchical order. This is in contrast to preceding studies which assume mirror image where the linear order is the inverse of the hierarchical order.
Atunpin Akojopo-Oro Adalorf Eko Ogbufo (Reclassification of Corpus Based Translation Study)
(Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria, 2019) Odoje, C.O.
Oríṣìíríṣìí ẹ̀yà àwọn àkójọpọ̀-ọrọ ni ó wà lórí ìṣàpèjúwe àti àmúlò ẹ̀ka ẹ̀kọ́ ìṣọ̀ǹgbúfò. Fernandes ti ṣe àtúnpín ìpèka tí Baker (1995) ṣe ṣùgbọ́n ìṣàtúnpín rẹ̀ yọ ohun tí Ọ̀súndáre pè ní ọ̀gbúfò ẹlẹ́wà-èdè sílẹ̀. Èyí mú kí ó di dandan láti ṣe àtúnpín iṣẹ́ rẹ̀ kí a sì fi ààyè gba àwọn àtòjọ-ọrọ àwọn ọ̀hùnkòwé ilé Áfíríkà. Ohun tí a ṣe gan-an ni láti ṣe àgbéyẹ̀wò iṣẹ́ Baker àti Fernandes, a sì lò wọ́n láti ṣe àfikún àwọn èròjà ilé Áfíríkà tí a ṣọ̀nù nínú iṣẹ́ wọn. Òpin àbájáde irú ìṣàtúnpín báyìí kò kan ní jẹ́ èròjà ìpèka lásán, yóò fẹ́ àkójọ-ọrọ àdàlórí ẹ̀kọ́ ọ̀gbúfò lójú tó bẹ́ẹ̀ tí àbájáde iṣẹ́ ìwádìí báyìí yóò sì wúlò fún ìkọ́ni àti ìlànilọ́yé.
Availability, use and relevance of Yoruba songs and rhymes in pre- school education in Ondo west local government area of Ondo state
(Universite D'Abomey-Calavi, 2015-12) Adeyinka, A. A.; Ajibola, A. J.
Music is an aspect of Yoruba oral literature because it contributes to logical, mathematical, linguistic, spatial and interpersonal intelligence of children. Early childhood stage is the period of rapid development and the most critical period in a child’s musical growth. Children are accorded due respect in Yoruba oral poetry in the likes of folktales, lullabies, cognomen and mnemonics as they ensure the mental and psychological health of the child. While these folkloric elements are in the culture of the Yoruba and taught at the primary level of education before, socialization and modernization have brought in foreign songs and rhymes at the expense of indigenous ones in both public and private schools. Four research questions were raised in this study while an instrument (r = 0.73), divided into four sections, was used to collect data. Validation of the instrument was done accordingly. A simple random sampling, formed the subjects for this study. Data collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that teachers agreed that Yoruba songs and rhymes are available (π = 2.82) and that children recite rhymes. They used songs and rhymes to teach other school subjects but their perception of relevance in teaching differed. The study therefore recommends the use of Yoruba songs and rhymes in nursery education in order to enhance learning.
Bilateral Audiometric and Acoustic Analysis of High Frequency Fricatives in Students with Speech Impairments
(Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages at the University of Nigeria, 2024) Nweya, G. O.; Adiboshi, A.
"Some scholars assume that it is possible for people who have impaired perceptions to distort fricatives. Although this assumption has been investigated in other climes; it has attracted little or no attention in the Nigerian context. This study, therefore, investigates high frequency fricatives in students with speech impairments using bilateral audiometric and acoustic analysis with a view to determining whether speech impaired persons that cannot perceive high frequency can distort fricatives as widely assumed. The audiometry was used to test the average pure tone threshold of twelve students who gave their consents and six were purposively selected. The nature of data that was elicited contained lexical items with fricatives: Is, f, f, v, zI. It was called by the researcher for the subjects and they repeated it while their voices were recorded into Praat directly for spectrographic analysis. It was reported that speech impaired persons distorted the fricatives Is, f, f, v, zI in varying degrees. For instance, subjects A, B, and C, distorted the sound Isl as It!, in soap IS'Jup/, as top, !.Qmh..respectively. In the word sheep IflP 'I"", If I was distorted as It I and Itfl, as in: [ipu, chitem and choyon by the subjects, respectively. The findings support the claim that it is possible for people who have impaired perceptions and cannot perceive high frequencies to distort fricatives.
Children literature in Nigeria: the Yoruba example
(The Department of Teacher Education University of Ibadan, 2008) Adeyinka, A. A.
"The aesthetic and therapeutic effects of literature on the life effect both the old and young. Yoruba oral literature accords due respect to children in its poetry and drama as it has a myriad of renditions like songs, lullabies, poems and folktales for their listening and participation enjoyment. In contemporary Nigeria love for written children literature in Yoruba is dying as many authors do not write for children while publishers also show little interest in publishing materials in the indigenous languages. This paper examined the prospect of children written literature in Yoruba by considering the efforts of writers so far and the problems facing it today. Suggestions on how to sustain it and improve on its teaching in schools in the 21st century are also offered. "
Code alternation in pre service teachers’ verbal communication in Oyo and Ogun states: reasons and implications
(The Department of Teacher Education University of Ibadan, 2013) Adeyinka, A. A.; Awolere, O. O.
Code alternation has become a common feature of oral conversation among bilinguals. However, scholars do not agree on the reasons for this. While some see it as a sign of linguistic deficiency, some see it as a welcome development and a normal feature of bilinguals. Several studies have been carried out on incidence of code alternation both locally and internationally. But very few of such studies examined reasons and implications for code alternation among Yoruba/English bilingual students. This study examines the variables that may influence bilingual —pre-service teachers in colleges of education to alternate codes in their verbal communication. Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study and all pre-service teachers at Emmanuel Alcyande College of Education, Oyo, Oyo state and Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State constituted the population. Four hundred students were randomly selected for this study while a self constructed questionnaire titled “Code Alternation in Pre-service Teacher Communication; Reasons and Implications” which had a reliability coefficient index of 0.68 was used to elicit responses from the subjects. Chi square was used to analyse the data generated in the study. Findings revealed that participants' roles and relationship have significant influence on code alternation. Also, there is significant influence of situational factors on code alternation among the pre-service teachers in colleges of education. Based on the findings of the study, appropriate recommendations were made.
"Code-alternation of Yoruba-English bilinguals and their acceptability "
(2016) Adeyinka, A. A.; Ohia, I. N.
"The phenomenon of code alternation (C A) as a powerful language strategy existing in all communities in the world is very common place among Nigerian bilinguals. However, this common-placism does not translate into acceptability among the participants. As should be expected, different groups of people in the society are reflected in the patterns and use of CA, suggesting that social forces affect the performance of CA, making distinctions from those basic factors controlling basic structure with which they interact. It is also common knowledge that when speakers are bilinguals and CA is a component of the community, the type of code choices they make becomes a label for them, arising from adverse effect of the phenomenon regarded as a demerit. Accordingly, this paper sets out to provide quantitative evidence on the acceptability of these choices using selected Yoruba- English bilinguals. The findings reveal that there are variations in attitude to CA, the dominant one being positive. The implications of this for language instructions have been discussed. "
Collaboration and advocacy in the management of stroke induced speech disorders: aphasia as a case study
(Manifold Grace Publications, Ibadan, 2016) Oluwadoro, J. O.; Awoniyi, E.
Concord errors in postgraduates' dissertations and theses
(AESS, 2016-01) Oluwadoro, J. O.
The concept ‘concord’, which signifies agreement between the different elements that are used in a sentence, has been extensively discussed by scholars. It has usually been assumed that concord only poses problems for secondary school students and undergraduate students in tertiary institutions. Postgraduate students are thought to be immune to this problem. This paper examined the dissertations of eight postgraduate students in Linguistics Department, University of Ibadan with the aim of either substantiating or debunking this claim. Forty-six sentences are extracted from five master’s projects, one M.Phil dissertation and two Ph.D theses. The basic concept of Error Analysis which is a key element of the systemic grammar formed the theoretical basis of this work. Grammatical errors as a result of poor mastery of the rules of concord are responsible for these forty-six faulty constructions. These errors could broadly be classified into two – grammatical and notional. Most of them result from lack of agreement between the subject and verb, pronouns and antecedents, demonstratives and nouns, articles and nouns, the use of the copula ‘is’ and the auxiliary ‘have’ which do not agree with the subjects of the sentences in which they are used. Postgraduate students are not immune to the problem of concord. Thus, the researcher recommends that the teaching of the General Studies Programme ‘Use of English’ at the undergraduate level should be intensified and that a similar course should be introduced at the postgraduate level to complement what is taught at the undergraduate level to improve the quality of the use of English of undergraduate and graduate students
Confluence of Interests in the Translations of Ake: the Years of Childhood and Aké: ní Ìgbà Èwe: An Appraisal of Language Retrieval and Translation
(Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, 2021) Odoje, C.O.
There are different motivating factors for a literary artist to venture into translation business. With the introduction of Akinwumi Isola’s Language Retrieval, a new dimension to the study of African languages translations was presented, especially as regards the classification of translators and texts. This study explores the interests behind the literary translation of Wole Soyinka’s and Akinwumi Isola’s translations of Ake with a view to establishing the features of translation and language retrieval. Findings show that even though both authors employed the same strategies, e.g. language transposition and equivalence, they diverged with respect to certain features. While translation exhibits two different cultures and languages, language retrieval exhibits the same culture but different languages.
"Creative and effective teaching of Yoruba. "
(Royal People (Nigeria) Ltd, 2013) Adeyinka, A. A.
Do you call these speech errors or language disorder?
(2013) Fadoro, J. O.
It is often assumed that the apparent errors children make in terms o f omissions or substitutions in an attempt to produce adult speech are generalised. Some even confuse them with speech disorders or errors. However, it has been proved that children are systematic in their production and they follow specific principles and patterns in the process of language acquisition. Literature showed that these processes are not only universal, but hierarchically ordered. Data for this study were obtained from the author's children at different ages, ranging from 1 to 2'A years, and have been used to teach Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning- a final year course in the Department o f Linguistics and African Languages, University o f Ibadan (LIN 472) since 2006/2007 session with positive results. This paper further discussed 11 phonological processes which are involved in the development o f linguistic skills and disagreed with the general assumption and misconception about apparent speech problems in children
Ebola-Associated Terms in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
(Creative Common Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International, 2016) Igboanusi, H.; Odoje, C.O.; Ibrahim, G.
The West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 was declared a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General. In spite of the devastating nature of Ebola, many Nigerians do not have access to information on the disease in the language they understand best. This study therefore translates Ebola-associated terms into Nigeria’s three major languages (i.e. Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) with a view to making information on Ebola accessible to the grassroots population. It also embarked on a survey of 9 purposively selected states where the major languages are predominantly spoken as L1 in order to determine the level of stakeholders’ familiarity with Ebola as well as their opinions on the need for Ebola-associated lexicon in Nigerian indigenous languages.