O.V Evbayiro

The Edo people of Nigeria have a rich cultural heritage and their traditional marriage are marked by variety of songs and rituals that carries significance meaning. This project aims at conducting a semantic review of the songs and rituals use in the Edo traditional marriage ceremony through an interdisciplinary approach that combines linguistics analysis, and cultural interpretation. This study seeks to explore the linguistic, cultural, and social dimensions of these songs and rituals by delving into the lyrics of the songs and also by analyzing the symbolic significance of various rituals. This study employed data collected from participation observation at a selected traditional marriage in Benin using a phone camera, and also the interviews of native speaker who are well grounded in the Edo marriage rituals. In analyzing the marriage song, the difference level of translation will be use to analyze the lyrics of the songs. By the end of this research

This study examines Ten stories and songs in Ẹdo: A case study of Ora, by investigating the cultural significance of these stories and songs, analyzing the content and meaning of the stories and songs in Ora, and lastly, promoting the understanding and appreciation of the Ora culture. The study relied on oral and documented data collected from primary sources. The oral data which made up the primary data were elicited from competent native speakers of Ora language. The interviewees were residents of Edo State whose ages range from fifty years and above. The respondents are: old people (3 man and 2 women), who are competent speakers of Ora language and also vast with the history, traditional stories and songs of the land. The data collected were recorded using a voice recorder which were then written down for organization and categorical analysis. The ethnography of communication, Hymes (1964) theoretical framework was used, several methods of data analysis was employed to explore the intersection of stories and songs in Ora. . Findings revealed that there are cultural significance of the stories and song in Ora, the stories and songs in Ora have content and meaning, and lastly, these stories and songs can be promoted when they are sung and thought especially to the younger generations as it will help in preserving the Ora's culture. The researcher recommends further studies in this particular area and any aspect not touched in this study be treated by linguist, scholars or any other researchers who have interest in the documentation and preservation of the stories and songs in Ora or any other Edoid language.

This study aimed to investigate the place of storytelling in Ẹdo language documentation and preservation by assessing the significance of these storytellings in the language, examining the role of these stories in the maintenance and revitalization of the language in contemporary society, and to explore the influence of modern technologies and media platforms on the practice of storytelling and language documentation in the language. The research relied on data gotten from primary source. Interviews and storytelling sessions were conducted with elders, storytellers, and community members in Ẹdo- speaking areas in Benin City, specifically around Ovia North-East Local Government Area. The stories were first written in Ẹdo before been translated to English. The theoretical framework used for the analysis of this research was the Ethnography of Communication (SPEAKING MODEL) by Hymes (1964). The findings revealed that storytelling plays a significant role in documenting the Ẹdo language. Through oral traditions, stories serve as a repository for linguistic and cultural knowledge, preserving key expressions, idioms, and customs. It allows the language to be passed down from one generation to the next, ensuring its continuity. Storytelling also contributes to the maintenance and revitalization of the Ẹdo language in contemporary society. It helps keep the language alive by providing an engaging way to learn and practice it, especially in a time when modern languages and technologies are often prioritized.

This study aimed to investigate the place of storytelling in Ẹdo language documentation and preservation by assessing the significance of these storytellings in the language, examining the role of these stories in the maintenance and revitalization of the language in contemporary society, and to explore the influence of modern technologies and media platforms on the practice of storytelling and language documentation in the language. The research relied on data gotten from primary source. Interviews and storytelling sessions were conducted with elders, storytellers, and community members in Ẹdo-speaking areas in Benin City, specifically around Ovia North-East Local Government Area. The stories were first written in Ẹdo before been translated to English. The theoretical framework used for the analysis of this research was the Ethnography of Communication (SPEAKING MODEL) by Hymes (1964). The findings revealed that storytelling plays a significant role in documenting the Ẹdo language. Through oral traditions, stories serve as a repository for linguistic and cultural knowledge, preserving key expressions, idioms, and customs. It allows the language to be passed down from one generation to the next, ensuring its continuity. Storytelling also contributes to the maintenance and revitalization of the Ẹdo language in contemporary society. It helps keep the language alive by providing an engaging way to learn and practice it, especially in a time when modern languages and technologies are often prioritized.

This study aimed to investigate the place of storytelling in Ẹdo language documentation and preservation by assessing the significance of these storytellings in the language, examining the role of these stories in the maintenance and revitalization of the language in contemporary society, and to explore the influence of modern technologies and media platforms on the practice of storytelling and language documentation in the language. The research relied on data gotten from primary source. Interviews and storytelling sessions were conducted with elders, storytellers, and community members in Ẹdo- speaking areas in Benin City, specifically around Ovia North-East Local Government
Area. The stories were first written in Ẹdo before been translated to English. The theoretical framework used for the analysis of this research was the Ethnography of
Communication (SPEAKING MODEL) by Hymes (1964). The findings revealed that storytelling plays a significant role in documenting the Ẹdo language. Through oral traditions, stories serve as a repository for linguistic and cultural knowledge, preserving key expressions, idioms, and customs. It allows the language to be passed down from one
generation to the next, ensuring its continuity. Storytelling also contributes to the maintenance and revitalization of the Ẹdo language in contemporary society. It helps
keep the language alive by providing an engaging way to learn and practice it, especially in a time when modern languages and technologies are often prioritized.

This project examined the, Mitigation and Hedging in Ika, then and now. Ika is spoken in Agbor, located in the southern part of Nigeria, Delta state. It can also be included as a local language study, in various academic institutions in Agbor, Delta state. The native speakers of the Ika reside in Agbor, Delta state, and are also fluent in Standard English. The Objective of the study is to know how mitigation and hedging is used, and how it is important in Ika. Mitigation has to do with lessening the gravity of an offence or a mistake. It is important to mitigate during a conversation, especially when talking to older people, so it does not look offensive to him/her. Hedging is a type of Mitigation that makes communication polite and successful. The theoretical framework used in this research study was that of Ethnography of community. This theory was able to analyze the communication within the sociocultural setting of Ika community. The SPEAKING model was employed to analyze the speech event within the Ika cultural context. The method of data collection used, to collect and analyze the data for this research work was, Qualitative method of data collection, as it involves interviews, audios, and video recordings. This was collected from competent/native speakers of Ika. The method of data analysis was the use of SPEAKING model from Ethnography of communication, which was proposed by Dell Hymes in 1962. The major findings of this work are, the researcher was able to know how Ika speakers mitigated and hedge then and now, and also the importance of mitigation and hedging in Ika. The researcher recommends that, the competent speakers and aged ones should make out time to school the younger, and non-competent speakers of Ika, to be causious of the use of offensive words in the community. By so doing, it will curb the use of unpleasant or unfavorable words.