DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS STUDIES

This study examined negation strategies in the Irrua variety of Ésàn. The aim of the research was to investigate the negation strategies in Irrua, by identifying the negation markers used in the dialect. Also, to examine the syntactic positions of negation markers in Irrua sentence structures, and analyze how negation is realized in Irrua when applied to other construction-specific rules. The motivation for this study is to showcase the various negation markers in the Irrua variety of Ésàn. The method of data collection was both primary and secondary. The primary source for data collection involved 6 native speakers of Irrua, specifically elderly and linguistically competent individuals who possess fluent command of the traditional and contemporary use of Irrua. The secondary sources such as published grammars, previous research works, language textbooks, and online linguistic resources on Ésàn language were also consulted to provide a broader perspective and to support the elicited data. The theoretical framework used for the research was Chomsky's X-bar theory of (1970). The findings revealed that negation in the Irrua variety of Ésàn employs lexical strategies, with four distinct negation markers used based on tense and context. These markers consistently appear before the verb, maintaining a fixed NEG–V structure. Furthermore, negation integrates seamlessly with complex syntactic processes such as passivization, relativization, and reflexivization, without altering sentence structure. This highlights the systematic and flexible nature of negation strategies in the Irrua variety of Ésàn. The research recommends further study on this research work and areas not touched in this research work or any aspect of negation strategies in Irrua Variety of Ésàn language or Ésàn language in general be carried out by scholars, linguists and any other person interested in the syntax of Irrua and Ésàn Language

The study aimed at investigating the revitalization of the endangered Urhobo language. The goals of the study are to develop a comprehensive revitalization plan for the Urhobo language and to preserve and promote Urhobo cultural identity. This study is motivated by a desire to preserve the indigenous Urhobo language and explore the sociolinguistic phenomena of language shift, endangerment, and revitalization. The data for the study was gathered through responses to a questionnaire conducted with 50 native speakers of the Urhobo language. For demographic information, the respondants were categorized into various age groups, gender and educational level. The data were analyzed using the Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) framework. The findings of the study are that the Urhobo language is not well-represented in formal domains such as education,
government, and media and that data from Stages 5 and 6 indicate that while some families encourage children to learn Urhobo, the frequency of use within homes is declining. The study recommends that language immersion programs are to be implemented to enable children to learn the Urhobo language in a natural environment and implementation of community-based language initiatives is required to preserve the endangered Urhobo language.

The correct, proper interpretation and application of perceptual verbs in English is a major challenge to the Yoruba learners. The topic "PERCEPTUAL VERBS" such as "look, see, taste, hear, touch, smell, e.t.c. is an unresolved problem for linguistic theories. This work examines the meaning and understanding of the various perceptual verbs in relation to Yoruba language. Languages differ in their number of basic verbs that describe perceptual experiences. Some languages have only two of such verbs. One for visual perception, another for non-visual perception. Yoruba is a language of verbs which has different verbs for each perception. This
research work is aimed at solving perceptual verb problems, educating people on the true meaning and reality of perception. I collected the data in Lagos state by choosing from random people with potentials in Yoruba language. People who speak the language profoundly, scholars in the language. The providers of the data of this research work were "twenty one old generation speakers" and "thirteen new /younger generation of Yoruba speakers". These two generational speakers gave amazing feedbacks just that the older generation feedback was more competent as they had the translation to all the verbs I provided them with. The new generation now mix English with their Yoruba when speaking while the older generation make use of pure Yoruba. This work is laid out in five different chapters followed by the references and appendix. The work allocates the semantic perceptual verbs that fall under the five classes of perceptual verbs into their various classifications.

The study examined the strategies for intensification in Ikare. The aim was to account for and describe the various processes evident in the realization of intensity in Ikare. Data for the study were drawn from several discourses where native speakers use the language for discourse and constructions for intensification were elicited. Using, Cognitive Linguistics theory. This theory posits that language is not just a set of arbitrary symbols, but rather a reflection of human cognition and experience. It emphasizes the role of conceptual systems in shaping linguistic structures and meanings. It views language as an essential element of human thinking and emphasizes the role of cognitive processes in shaping linguistic structure and meaning. It offers valuable insights into the study of intensification by examining how conceptualize and express heightened degrees of meaning. This study described the different strategies– adverbs, prefixes, adjectives, reduplication, repetition hyperbole, etc.– in use in the language to satisfy the basic human need to emphasize. The study discovered that adverbs such as gbe, bù, yán, ówàná, and adjectives like duro, prefixes like áwon, repetition like Ọmọ, gbe, are all techniques used for emphasizing itensity. The study’s findings reveal that Ikare language utilizes tactics such as reduplication, exclamations, and hyperbole to enhance emphasis and intensity.”

Igbo riddles form part of the Igbo Oral Tradition. In the traditional Igbo community, riddles are part of the moonlight games children gather to play after the day’s activities. Riddles are fun and interesting to take part in because of the puzzling form in whatcha they appear and the various personifications used to present the riddles. It is worthy of note that riddles are not just for fun alone, they possess and convey deep cultural elements in them in which the child comes to be aware of when he/she participate in the riddling and which are passed from generation to generation. The Igbo riddles are a powerful tool through which the Igbo culture, traditions and values are passed to younger generations. But now in our modern world and ‘modern Igbo towns’, the value for, interest in and usage of these riddles are slowly deteriorating due to the impact of formal education and technology and the cultural embodiments of these riddles are not exploited, appreciated or even passed down to generations. This study set to examine the Igbo riddles using an ethnographic approach. It presents the importance of Igbo riddles to the Igbo culture and determine how the riddles affect the culture of the Igbo people. It
discusses and stresses on how riddles also affect the child’s cultural and social cognition and thickly explains the Igbo riddle from a cultural perspective and context. Data for analysis will be attained through non-participants observation of a riddling event and oral/virtual interview and the bulk of data collected will be collated and written for proper analysis. This study essentially dwells on the ethnographic study of Igbo riddles and concludes with appropriate recommendations in sustaining and preserving these riddles and also encouraging their usage in the society.

This research focuses on the socio-semantic analysis on belief of preordained names in Yoruba. It explores the values, interpretation and how these names are considered to influence its bearers in the society. This help understand the deeper meanings of these names, which not only serve as a label but embody cultural and historical context. The study adopted sociolinguistics theory adopted and embraced by many scholars such as William Labov and Dell Hymes for the description and analysis of the data. This study used both the primary and secondary method of data collection. The primary method of data collection was used my oral interview and telephone calls from Yoruba informants of 35-60 years age range. The secondary method of data collection was used through watching of different YouTube videos by elderly Yoruba speakers. This study arranged the preordained names into five classes for better understanding and analysed the names showing the beliefs, values of Yoruba people. The study addressed 3 main objectives, the first was grouping the preordained names into 5 categories: Lastly future research on preordained names could be the exploration of the impact of globalization and cultural exchange on naming practices. This could involve studying how names are influenced by cross-cultural interactions, migration, and the adoption of names from different languages and cultures.

This research examines cohesion and coherence in Yoruba discourse, studying song texts used in Yoruba engagement ceremony. Cohesion is both the grammatical and lexical linking of sentences in a text. This is related to the concept of coherence, which deals with meaningfulness. The aim of this study is to examine how this concept of cohesion and coherence is achieved in the Yoruba discourse. The need of this study is for other linguists and interested researchers to know and understand how cohesion and coherence functions and achieved in both the Yoruba discourse and other African languages. The data collection technique for this research adopted both the primary and secondary method of data collection. The primary data collection techniques used to collect data by adopting the non- participant observation, I used writing, video recording and audio recording materials to gather data. I used the secondary data collection technique to gather secondary data and materials from libraries, internets and textbooks

The study investigated an aspect of the morpho-phonological structure of Ẹdo language and its focus was to examine the structure of names and the linguistic processes associated with name derivation. The study was based on the desire to get a proper insight into the structure of words in Ẹdo language and how they affect the general world view of the people in the process of naming. The method of data analysis employed is the qualitative research method which consists of personal names analyzed by breaking them down into components units. The study shows that names represent an important aspect of the morphological and phonological structure of Ẹdo language and they possessed a unique compositional nature and are expressed following the circumstance of birth. Naming of children is of great significance in the African society and it often marked by ceremonies and rituals. Within Edo community Osa personal names assigned to children carry deeper meanings, cautions, emotions, and references to God’s guidance and protection and the names also function as a form of acknowledgement to God for his mercies as the names in Ẹdo are drawn from the general beliefs of the people, and are believed to guide the child through life and determine their fate. Personal names in Ẹdo can be a phrase or even complete sentence which are often abbreviated for ease of use. This means that the names are post-lexical forms that have been merged into a single word by desententialization.

This study looked at several selected Yoruba proverbs that were translated into English. For the selected proverbs, the researcher used a contextual and functional analysis. According to the results of the contextual study, despite the proverbs serving various contextual purposes in our daily interactions, the English translation reflected some lexico-semantic qualities, such as meaning distortion, meaning substitution, meaning modification, meaning constriction, and sometimes, the meaning is actually kept. However, the study found that the poetic elements embedded in Yoruba proverbs were not well disseminated through translation practice in the use of proverbs in communication.

This project work is a semantic analysis of Nigerian Pidgin proverbs in online media. Proverbs are a common phenomenon among languages of the world, and in Nigerian Pidgin, they play a central role in communication and cultural expression. The aim of this study is to examine the proverbs employed by BBC Pidgin on Facebook, focusing on their meanings and interactive functions. The study analyzes the meanings expressed in these proverbs as well as examines how Facebook users respond to and interact with the proverbs in the comment section, which contributes to a deeper understanding of meaning, cultural identity and the dynamics of online communication in Nigeria. Data for this research was gathered from BBC pidgin’s official Facebook page, where a list of 100 proverbs was collected, categorized and analyzed. The theoretical framework employed is Relevance Theory as proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986), which argues that human communication is guided by the search for relevance. It emphasizes that every act of communication carries the assumption that the information provided will be relevant enough to warrant the listener’s attention. The findings reveal that audiences actively engage with these proverbs through comments, humour, and reinterpretation, thereby demonstrating that proverbs remain a powerful tool of interaction in the digital space. This study therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of how proverbs are employed in online communication