THEMATIC ANALYSIS

The aim of this study was to examine selected Igbo proverbs with a view to understanding how cultural and thematic meanings are embedded within them. The objective of the study is to identify common themes in Igbo proverbs, and explore the cultural messages they convey. Using semiotics and ethnography of communication approaches, the data for this study were collected by oral interviews with native Igbo speakers. The findings of the study reveal that Igbo proverbs are rich in cultural values, moral teachings, and traditional wisdom. The study shows that the themes embedded in the proverbs reflect societal beliefs on truth, social control, wisdom, hospitality and patience. It concludes that Igbo proverbs serve as linguistic tools for preserving culture and transmitting moral values across generations. Most of the proverbs carry deep meaning that comes from the Igbo culture and are used in everyday interactions to teach, correct, and advise, thereby reflecting the worldview of the Igbo people.

This study presents a corpus-assisted thematic analysis of Angie Thomas’ novel, The Hate U Give, investigating the linguistic and thematic construction of racism, systemic injustice, identity crisis, and poverty. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates qualitative literary interpretation with Critical Race Theory (CRT) and quantitative data derived from Voyant Tools to explore the novel's vocabulary and statistical features. The analysis reveals that the theme of racism is dominant, with high-frequency terms like "Cops" collocating heavily with violent indicators such as "tear," "gas," and "death," while the concept of "justice" is linguistically bound almost exclusively to the victim, Khalil. Furthermore, the study examines the protagonist’s fragmented identity, demonstrating how code-switching between African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Standard English is used to navigate the segregated worlds of Garden Heights and Williamson Prep until trauma forces these personas to collapse. significantly, the research highlights the often-overlooked theme of poverty, using lexical indicators to frame it as a cyclical survival trap where characters are forced to choose between the "legitimate hustle" and the "street hustle" to meet basic needs like "lights and food". The study concludes that Thomas utilizes specific linguistic patterns to map social inequality, providing measurable evidence that systemic oppression and economic scarcity are foundational to the narrative structure