APOLOGY STRATEGIES IN DISCOURSE: A STUDY OF SELECTED OLA ROTIMI AND WOLE SOYINKA’S PLAYS

Abstract

Different researchers from different climes and orientations have
worked on apology strategies in different situations using interview
and Discourse Completion Task Questionnaire (DCTQ). However,
to the best of our knowledge, no research exists on apology strategies
in Yoruba cultural space with specific references to King – Subject
and Husband – Wife role relations. This work fills this gap in
knowledge. The data for the research were got from four selected
play-texts written by Ola Rotimi and Femi Osofisan. The work
makes use of sociopragmatics as its theoretical framework. Findings
reveal that subjects use explicit apology strategies with non-verbal
means such as prostrating to apologise to kings. Kings on the other
hand do not often use explicit apology strategies to apologise to their
subjects but may use indirect strategies such as presentation of gifts,
serving drinks, using familiar vocatives and other strategies to
apologise to the offended party. In Husband – Wife role relation, it
is discovered that traditional Yoruba housewives kneel for their
husbands when apologising and equally use the expression “my
lord” to make it culturally complete unlike educated housewives
who may prefer to use modern terms of endearment like “honey”,
“darling”, “sweetie”, etc. without necessarily kneeling for their
husband when apologising. When husbands apologise to their
wives, they use a combination of methods.