E.M. OMOREGBE

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

This research explores the use of taboo words and their polite alternatives (euphemisms) in Onicha-Ugbo, a community where Enuani is spoken. The study aims to identify common taboo words and their euphemistic expressions, examine the consequences of using taboo words in conversations, and investigate how euphemisms are used in place of taboo words. Using Dell Hymes' SPEAKING Model, this research analyzes data collected through interviews with native Enuani speakers and online sources. The results show that taboo words can be grouped into five categories: social, cultural, sex, food, and verbal taboos. Using these taboo words can cause offense and even lead to punishment. The study finds that understanding the context in which taboo words and euphemisms are used is crucial for effective communication. It highlights the importance of considering the social and cultural norms of the Onicha-Ugbo community when communicating with its member

This work discusses the Igbo sound system and orthography for transcribing and writing Ika. The aim of the study is to employ relevant data in showing that the Igbo sound system and orthography which is presently being used to transcribe and write Ika is descriptively inadequate. The need for this research to Ika language studies is that it observes the various sounds and orthographic symbols in the Ika sound and writing inventory. This work advances the study of descriptive linguistics since it is based on the Ika phonology. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is the Basic linguistic theory (Dixon 1997) which is supported by Williamson’s (1984) Basic Principles for a Good Orthography’. The data relied on for this study comprised primary and secondary data. The primary data consisted of oral data which served as the major source of data, these data were gotten from competent native speakers and users of Ika languages. The bulk of the secondary data are documented works ranging from dictionaries, online and hard print journals, textbooks and unpublished projects and thesis. The 9 relevant data selected from the bulk of data collected were then subjected to a verification process by consulting with language teachers, competent speakers and students of the language under study so as to authenticate the data. In the course of this study, we discovered firstly that the current Ika orthography which is based on the Igbo sound system has 36 sounds as against the 38 sounds present in the Ika sound system. In other words, there are sounds in Ika that are not adequately represented in the Igbo sound system and orthography such as /ɛ/ half open front unrounded vowel /u᷈ / close back rounded nasal vowel, /ɛ̃/ half open front unrounded nasal vowel, /ɔ/̃ half open back rounded nasal vowel, /a/ open central unrounded nasal vowel, / m / voiced labio-dental nasal, / r̥/ voiceless alveolar tap. This study has attempted to show the inadequacies in the current Ika sound system and orthography, as well as suggesting some meaningful proposals to correct the inadequacies.

The project discusses the traditional Ẹdo wedding ceremony among bilingual Ẹdo speaking families, with the following aims: (i) to throw more light on the discourse content and structure of the traditional Ẹdo wedding bilingual discourse; (ii) to identify the place of semiotics and signage in the wedding discourse. Sociolinguistics and discourse analysis provided the theoretical framework for the study while two recorded wedding transactions were used as empirical data. Moreover, participant observation by the author, a Ẹdo bilingual as well formed part of the research methodology. The findings show that: (i) a typical traditional Ẹdo wedding in the twenty-first century almost always involves Language Interlarding, since it is practically impossible to identify pure Ẹdo monolinguals at such weddings; (ii) Features of bilingualism are prevalent in the traditional Ẹdo wedding discourse; (iii) Ẹdo dialectal greetings or English greetings in their Ẹdo equivalents are rampant in the traditional Ẹdo wedding discourse;(iv) social semiotics – whether verbal or non-verbal - and signage, also feature prominently in this speech event; (vi) conclusively, Ẹdo traditional wedding is in itself, an evolving register with an ‘inner circle’ of users