Journal of the Nigerian Languages Project

Nominal phrases in Longuda

Oluseye Olusegun Adegboye — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This scholarly endeavor delves into a thorough investigation of nominal phrases in Longuda, a minority indigenous Nigerian language belonging to the Adamawa Eastern group of the Niger-Congo language family and spoken by approximately 100,000 individuals in the Guyuk area of Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria. The primary objective of this study is to elucidate the intricate syntactic structure and functions of nominal phrases within the Longuda language. Our findings showcase the multifaceted nature of nominal phrases in Longuda, encompassing diverse constituents ranging from an array of determiners to other subordinate phrases that nominal phrases subcategorize for in their linguistic domain. The determiner category comprises articles, qualifiers, deictics, numerals, and various other elements. Within the syntactic landscape of Longuda, nominal phrases find themselves occupying distinct positions, including subject (S), direct object (DO), and indirect object (IO) positions. Additionally, these phrases accommodate other components such as adjective phrases and prepositional phrases (PP), which augment the richness of the language's expressive capacity. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the pivotal role nominal phrases play in various transformational processes within Longuda, specifically focusing on constructions for emphasis and relativization. By unraveling the syntactic intricacies of nominal phrases in Longuda, this research offers a deeper understanding of the language's structure, making it an invaluable resource for linguists and scholars interested in the intricate nuances of this unique indigenous language.

Socio-ethical appraisal of life after death among the traditional Ibibio

Promise Akpan, Clement Eton, Enobong Lot — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The problem of this research is the gap in literature on life after death among the traditional Ibibio. The study explores the impact of the belief in life after death on the socio-ethical life of the traditional Ibibio worshipers. The methodology adopted for the study is qualitative survey. Plato’s theory of immortality is the theoretical framework adopted for the study. Information was gathered from primary and secondary sources. The researchers found that among the traditional Ibibio, leading a morally good life is the nitty-gritty for having a comfortable life hereafter. The study concludes that life after death is an essential component of Ibibio indigenous religion, and its value cannot be underestimated. Among other things, the study recommends that people should learn to respect each other’s religious belief for peaceful coexistence in a religiously pluralistic society like Nigeria.

Tense and agreement markers in Bekwarra

Clement Echa Onigah — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The concept of tense and agreement have remained a controversial issue particularly in languages that exhibit a close relationship between the two concepts. Studies have revealed that while some languages mark a distinction between the two concepts, they are closely knitted in languages that do not mark a clear distinction between the two concepts and it becomes difficult to separate them. This study examines the concept of tense and agreement in Bèkwárra, a language spoken in the Northern part Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopts the descriptive model of analysis. Findings revealed that completed and ongoing actions make use of verbs in their base forms without any inflection with the agreement markers a, e and o, while progressive aspect is marked through verbal inflection by replacing the verb that ends with either i, e. u or o with a and the agreement marker a changes to i. Perfective tense is marked with the tense marker ma while future tense is marked with its marker bá.

Evaluating the socio-cultural expressions of ideology and identity construction in the Ẹdo (Benin) guilds

William Ighasere Aigbedo — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper investigates the use of Edo language to mark the linguistic identity of the guild and to express their cultural ideology in the Ẹdo (Benin) society. The Edo guild system is a professional body associated with the Edo (Benin) socio-cultural and political institutions revolving around the Monarchy. The guilds further represent the association of the brass and bronze casters and are organized and located in Igun Street along Sokponba Road in the Benin metropolis of Edo State. Bucholtz and Hall’s Socio-Cultural Linguistic Approach was adopted as the theoretical framework. This theory was adopted for a better appraisal of the ideological and identity issues addressed in the study. Data were collected through in depth interview of three (03) principal informants (individuals with knowledge of the activities of the guilds so examined) and direct observation of interaction between the members of the different guilds. The data collected were subjected to discourse and lexical analyses. The cultural tenet of the guild’s (ideology) is responsible for the secret nature of their activities which has contributed to the emergence of the distinct register mentioned here. The guilds can be grouped ideologically as one but in terms of identity, different groups exist due to the specialized nature of their activities as seen from their use of the Ẹdo (Benin) language. The implication of these findings from the guild system is that the choice of language use is determined by some ideological orientation which in the context of this study is synonymous with the cultural values of the society that creates such distinctions between royals and commoners’ identities.

The influence of social factors on students’ performance in learning English as a second language in Abia State of Nigeria

Ngozi Ijeoma Ugo-Ochulo — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Social factors may have an influence on students’ performance in learning English as a second language. This study set out to examine the extent to which the levels of education of parents influence the students’ performance in English, the influence of rural or urban location, and the extent to which the occupation of parents influences the students’ learning of English as an L₂. The theory employed for the research is Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory of cognitive development. A total of six secondary schools, selected from the three Senatorial Districts in Abia State were used for the study. Data were elicited from 268 respondents, using the biographical data the students filled and their examination scores for the first and the second terms, 2023. The data were analysed quantitatively. The results indicate that respondents whose parents were School Certificate holders and below failed English more than respondents whose parents were university/HND holders or OND/NCE holders. However, respondents whose parents were OND/NCE holders performed slightly better than respondents whose parents were degree holders. Also, the result showed that respondents who live in urban or semi-urban areas performed better than those who live in rural areas and finally, participants whose parents were civil servants or graduates who owned businesses performed better than respondents whose parents were not so educated and were in business. The study recommends an improvement of facilities in schools located in the rural settings, among others. This will enhance the academic performance of the students in English.