Dutsin-Ma Journal of English and Literature

PRELIMINARY PAGES (TABLE OF CONTENTS)

Christopher Nwabudike — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

PRELIMINARY PAGES (TABLE OF CONTENTS)

A STUDY OF MORPHO-SEMANTIC IMPLICATIONS OF NEGATIVE PREFIXES IN ADJECTIVES

Ahmed Baba Mustapha, Alhaji Malah Galti — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

To form additional word in English, the concept of affixation is
applied. The concern is the addition of negative prefixes to adjectives
for the formation of additional a word with a distinct meaning. This
seems to be confusing to many because some adjectives carry multiple
negators and their meanings are different in all senses. It is against
this backdrop that this paper is to analyse the semantic implications
of some negative prefixes in adjectives. Common negative prefixes and
adjectives are used for the study. Data were collected using proforma
and respondents were English language students in Nigeria
Certificate in Education. Thematic-based method of analysis was
employed to identify and select the attachment of negative prefixes to
adjectives as contained in the proforma. The result shows that
different shades of meaning that ordinarily cannot cross the mind of
learners have been identified. The result also reveals that there are
adjectives which carry multiple negative prefixes, some of which are
not ordinarily used. Interestingly, two kinds of adjectives are
identified which negative prefixes can be attached to: core and
derived; therefore, learners should pay attention to the concept of
negative prefixes in adjectives in order to communicate.

SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF THE USE OF HONORIFICS AMONG HAUSA-ENGLISH BILINGUALS IN ZAMFARA STATE

Rafee’ah Abdulazeez , Christopher E. Nwabudike, Kubarat Bello Anka — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study was informed by the desire to carry out a sociolinguistic
investigation into the use of honorifics among Hausa-English
bilinguals in Zamfara State. To be able to achieve this broad aim, the
study set out to: investigate the use of honorifics as forms of address
in Hausa land and to examine the sociolinguistic implications of the
use of honorifics among Hausa-English bilinguals. The research gap
was identified which this study filled up. While the study was
anchored on Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness. Data for the
research was collated from four (4) sampled local government areas in
Zamfara State using the participant observation method of data
collection. Forty (40) honorifics that formed the corpus for the study
were presented, analysed and interpreted using Brown and Levinson’s
theory. The findings show that the use of honorifics has far-reaching
social implications for Hausa-English bilinguals as they are used to
show respect, maintain social harmony and cohesion, and enhance
politeness in communication.

CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF MEDIA REPORTAGE OF BOKO HARAM ACTIVITIES IN THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Bunmwakat Kate Sambo — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Boko Haram insurgency has dominated national discourse and has
been a major source of headlines for national newspapers over the years.
This study was undertaken to make a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
of the news reportage of the Boko Haram insurgency in The Nation
newspaper. The problem identified in the study is the language used by
the media on the activities of Boko Haram and the implications for
society. Norman Fairclough’s theory was adopted as the framework for
the study. The research design for the study was the Critical Discourse
Analysis design. The Nation newspaper was selected for the analysis.
Five news reports were extracted for analysis. The three tools of analysis
were lexicalization and predication, presupposition and intertextuality.
The analysis of the newspaper’s report showed that Boko Haram is
being treated as callous, evil and dreaded while the Federal Government
and its troops as accommodating and being a more peace-loving and
responsible side. In conclusion, the use of language by the media has
created immense awareness about the activities of Boko Haram.

DISLOCATION AND DEFENCE MECHANISM IN BUCHI EMECHETA'S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND CHIKA UNIGWE'S ON BLACK SISTERS’ STREET

Anya Ude Egwu, Uchechi Angela Ameh, Chinyere Otuu Egbuta — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study undertakes a critical examination of the theme of dislocation
and the different levels of defence mechanism in Chika Unigwe's On
Black Sisters’ Street (OBSS) and Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen
(SCC), employing Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory as a
theoretical framework. Utilizing the qualitative content analysis
method, the research investigates the multifaceted forms of dislocation
experienced by the female characters in the chosen literary works and
explores the different levels of defence mechanism they employ in
response to their dislocation experiences. Through the thematic and
textual analysis, the study reveals similar forms of dislocation,
encompassing spatial/geographical, socio-cultural, and psychological
dislocations in both texts, while linguistic dislocation is found in OBSS.
The analysis also reveals the following levels of defence mechanism:
repression, projection, sublimation, denial, and displacement, and
argues that by the circumstances of their dislocation, the female
protagonists are already jinxed to the extent that their defence
mechanisms are not commensurate to the overwhelming tragedy into
which their lives have been entangled. The study therefore concludes
that the female migrant characters are mere ill-fated pawns in the chess
of life, who struggle to retain their sanity as strangers in the much
stranger ‘worlds’ they migrate into.

(IN)SINCERITY IN APOLOGY: CONTEXTUALISING APOLOGIES IN WOLE SOYINKA’S ALAPATA APATA

Kehinde Odekunbi, Dele Adeyanju — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Analysis of apology has been considered by scholars from different
perspectives with little attention paid to the damage done by insincere
apology. This paper was therefore designed to investigate the use of
apologies in Wole Soyinka’s Alapata Apata (AA) with a view to
examining their sincerity or otherwise. John Gumperz’s theory of
interactional sociolinguistics was adopted and descriptive design was
used. Wole Soyinka was purposively chosen because of his literary
prowess and prominent deployment of apologies in his plays while
Alapata Apata was purposively selected because of its thematic
relevance. Eleven of the forty-four apology instances in the text were
subjected to pragmatic analysis. It is revealed that unlike sincere
apologies that are characterized by acknowledgement of offence,
humility and remorse, insincere ones are characterized by attack,
challenge, mockery and ironical statements. The paper concludes that
insincere apologies are worse than non-apologies; they compound
rather than remedy situations. It is recommended that parents should
inculcate the culture of apology into their children right from
childhood.

A LINGUISTIC STYLISTIC STUDY OF VICTOR S. DUGGA’S GIDAN JUJU

Joseph Alagbe — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study, a linguistic stylistic study of Gidan Juju by Victor S. Dugga,
focuses primarily on the lexical category, lexical cohesion,
graphological and syntactic features chosen by the playwright to
develop the play. The content of the text forms the corpora for the
study while integrative approach is used for analysis. The study finds
out that the diction of the text is simple, familiar and characterized by
registers of various domains of life; it encompasses language
embellishments such as proverbs, adages, witty-sayings and figures of
speech which are used to enhance the aesthetics and elevate the
language of the text. Findings also show that repetition, synonymy,
near-synonymy, antonymy as well as lexical cohesion are the lexical
cohesive devices Dugga uses prominently in the play. It is also
discovered at the graphological level that the dash (-) is deployed for
expansion and clarification of thought while ellipsis is aptly utilized
for unexpressed thought so as to entrench brevity of expression. The
use of various forms of interrogative sentence as well as choppy
sentence (to facilitate the flow of thought) reveals the linguistic
prowess of the playwright. The study concludes that the linguistic
choices made by the playwright are apt, they are indicative of his
idiolect.

A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF LEXICAL CHOICES IN SELECT NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON THE 2023 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA

Ogbanje Janet Idu — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper focuses on the lexical choices used by headlines from seven
newspapers in reporting the 2023 governorship election in Nigeria.
The objectives are to investigate the lexical choices that these news
headlines used in reporting the elections, identify how each news
headline reported the election and determine the similarities and
differences in the choice of lexical items used by the reporters of the
headlines. The data for the study were randomly selected from the
websites of the Nigerian Tribune, Aljazeera, Sahara Reporters, Vanguard,
Arise News, the Guardian and Punch. Guided by the assumptions of
critical discourse analysis and drawing on the framework of lexical
classification in Halliday’s (1994) systemic functional grammar, the
paper demonstrates how the headlines from these newspapers
represented the same event in vastly different ways through the
particular uses of lexicon that reflected their differing standpoints and
national interests.

POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN LAPO AGENTS’ INTERACTIONS WITH CLIENTS

Aderonke Modupe Osayande, Peter Ochefu Okpeh — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Previous studies on politeness have focused on such areas as doctorpatient consultative engagements, courtroom discourse, and media
interviews, etc., without accounting for how the politeness
phenomenon features in business discourse. Meanwhile, the whole
gamut of activities known as business is the defining essence of man’s
day to day life and includes such human activities as the production
and distribution of goods and services. As important as business is,
language is central as it is the vehicle needed to convey ideas and
concepts to the clients and other stakeholders. The study therefore
investigates politeness strategies as used by agents with clients within
the LAPO microfinance Bank business context. Data were ten tape
recorded conversations between agents and clients which occurred
during their field outreaches. Data were transcribed and pragmatically
analysed using Leech’s (1983) and Locher and Watt’s (2005) models
of politeness theory. Findings revealed LAPO agents’ observance of
the maxims of politeness in their interactions that are identified
through greetings, requests, appreciations, friendly banters,
expression of sympathy/felicitation, among others. The study thus
demonstrates that the success of business engagements hinges on the
participants’ diligent deployment of politeness strategies in the course
of such engagements.

ELT IN AFRICA: CHALLENGES FROM NIGERIAN PIDGIN ENGLISH

Zafar Khan, Vijay Kumar Roy — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

While teaching English in Africa we came across a few challenges.
Popular use of pidgin and mother tongue accent by our students were
common phenomena. The ESL learners used a kind of English which
had cultural and semantic connotations. We also observed that the use
of pidgin gave them a lot of fluency in communication. To teach
Standard English vocabulary and its usage required special efforts on the
part of ESL teachers. As the number of ESL learners now runs in to
millions, Nigerian English is gaining ground, and some expressions from
pidgin are becoming acceptable even among the educated section of
Nigerian society. Like Indian variety of English, Nigerian English is being
recognized by scholars of repute as a competitor with of Standard English.
This paper aims at examining the scope and content of non-standard
words and phrases commonly used by Nigerian speakers. Interference
made by mother tongue is not in the scope of this paper. We have chosen
Nigeria as the area of our study because it is an African country with the
largest number of English learners (ESL) in which Mother Tongue (MT)
and Nigerian Pidgin (NP) make ESL instructor’s job difficult, as the
Nigerian English has given entry to several pidgin words, phrases, and
usages.

THE IRONY OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA: A SPEECH ACT ANALYSIS

Monday Ayegba, Chinwe Nwaudu Udechukwu, Daniel Abuh — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the irony of covid-19 in Nigeria. The major
objective of the study is to explore the expression of feelings and
perceptions of some notable Nigerians about the outbreak or existence
of covid-19 and its cure in Nigeria in relation to the psychological and
emotional beings of the citizenry. Data analysis is anchored on Searle’s
(1975) Speech Act and Grice’s (1975) Co-operative Principle (CP)
respectively. The following are individuals whose speech acts were
selected at random, presented and analysed simultaneously. They are:
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Apostle
Johnson Suleman, DG NCDC (Chikwe Ihekweazu), Minister of Health
(Osagie Ehanire), Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Gov.
Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde of Oyo State, Ooni of Ife (Adeyeye Enitan
Ogunwusi II) and Prof. Maurice Iwu. The findings among others show
that there are three basic schools of thought on covid-19 in Nigeria;
those who believe the disease exists in Nigeria, those who do not believe
its existence in Nigeria and those who claim to have found cure for it.
It is also discovered that most of the speech acts, especially those of
persons in positions of authority are assertive, effective, verdictive and
commissive; and some of their speech acts violate Grice’s CP, especially
the maxim of quality.

A LINGUISTIC STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF NIYI OSUNDARE'S MY LORD, TELL ME WHERE TO KEEP YOUR BRIBE

Joseph Alagbe, Samson OKPE — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper considers Osundare’s exposition of corruption as the bane
of the judiciary through his poem, My Lord, Tell Me Where to keep your
Bribe, from the perspective of linguistic stylistics. The study draws its
data from the contents of the poem while integrative method is used as
the theoretical framework. The study discovers, among others, that the
diction of the work is marked by simple vocabulary characterized by the
registers of various disciplines used to build the thematic concerns of
the piece, figurative expressions used to adorn and elevate the language
of the poem as well as to deepen the understanding of same, and two
borrowed expressions from the mother tongue of the bard. At the level
of graphology, findings indicate that the question mark, the comma and
the full stop are preponderantly omitted where necessary for a flow of
thought of the poet. More so, capitalization and the inverted comma
are used to draw the attention of the reader to some lexical units. The
paper establishes that these linguistic devices are apt as they are
succinctly used to lampoon, decry and satirize corruption perpetrated
by the helmsmen of the judiciary – judges and lawyers. The article
concludes that Osundare dexterously deploys the identified linguistic
features to expose the ills in the judicial system.

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (TALL) ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN USE OF ENGLISH IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS WITHIN KATSINA STATE

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated the impact of Technology Assisted Language
Learning (TALL) on students' academic achievements in English
language in tertiary institutions in Katsina State, Nigeria. Nine
hundred (900) students from nine institutions participated. The
findings revealed a highly positive significant impact of TALL on
students' academic achievements, indicating a strong correlation
between TALL usage and improved language skills, academic
performance, and motivation. TALL was found to have a profound
influence on students' language skills, including reading, writing,
speaking, and listening. The study's findings have significant
implications for language education policy, practice, and research,
particularly in Katsina State and similar educational settings. The
results suggest that TALL has the potential to revolutionize language
learning in tertiary institutions, emphasizing the need for its
integration into language teaching and learning. The study highlights
the importance of providing students with access to technology and
training them in its use to enhance language learning.

INTERROGATING NIGERIA DIASPORA IMAGINARY IN NNEDI OKORAFOR’S SUNNY AND THE MYSTERIES OF OSISI

Oluwole Coker — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This essay, engages the concept of a Nigeria Diaspora imaginary as
exemplified in Nnedi Okorafor’s Sunny and the Mysteries of Osisi, an
African science fiction novel. The objective is to isolate a distinct
category of Nigeria diaspora science fiction which speaks to the
idiosyncrasies of the enabling context. This is against the backdrop of
a boom in the genre of African science fiction which has seen many
emerging diaspora writers embracing the form. Hinged on Okorafor’s
postulations of African futurism, the study undertakes a content
analysis and close reading of the purposively selected text, seeking to
demonstrate that, indeed, the Nigeria diaspora imaginary has
emerged as a strand of African science fiction. My argument is that,
in Sunny and the Mysteries of Osisi, the concept of Nigeria diaspora
imaginary is aestheticized through African futurism which is
foregrounded as a manifestation of imagination, rather than history.
I contend that Nigeria diaspora science fiction imagines futures for its
context through a combination of mytho-religious and cultural
metaphors that actualized its identity. This ultimately suggests a
conscious appropriation of science fiction as a form of literary
expression with abiding faith in an African aesthetic.

ANALYSIS OF PLACEMENT OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND IDEAS FOR SALES PROMOTION IN NIGERIAN ADVERTISING

A. Solomon Idegu , Adaji Haruna — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The objective of this is to establish the image or identity of a brand or
product so that consumers perceive it in a certain way. It is designed to
find out the degree of application of the placement concept in Nigerian
advertising, using display advertisements in The Guardian and the
Daily Times Newspapers. The decision to use these two newspapers was
influenced by easy access to the papers and the fact that at any particular
period, the kind of advertisements that appear in Nigerian newspapers
are essentially the same, it is not necessary to use more than two. The
Consumer Choice Behaviour Theory was used as theoretical framework
for this study. The researchers used simple random sampling technique
to select the issues of the newspapers whose display advertisements were
to be studied. This study was conducted, using the content analytical
method to find out the status of placement of goods and services in
Nigerian advertising. The findings show that the concept of placement
is copiously employed in advertising creation in Nigeria. The findings
also show that the frequency of use of the Consumer Benefit and
Appeal Statement cues is quite instructive and revealing

WOMEN’S ROLES AS NON-COMBATANTS IN OKPEWHO’S THE LAST DUTY AND EZEIGBO’S ROSES AND BULLETS

Joy O Odewumi, Omoh O Giwa — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The paper entitled “Women’s Roles as Non-Combatants in Okpewho’s
The Last Duty and Ezeigbo’s Roses and Bullets investigates the portrayal
and roles of female characters in armed conflict. This paper interrogates
the variety of depictions and how these depictions emphasize women’s
vulnerability and resilience. Through qualitative content analysis, the
paper examines both narratives on the representation of women’s
experiences focusing on victimhood, fear, hope and resilience. The
paper also considers authorial background, firstly from a masculineauthor perspective as well as a feminine one and secondly from different
ethnicities. Using psychoanalytical criticism, the paper exposes a dual
portrait of women as both vulnerable victims and resilient survivors.
The varying perspectives are found to shape women’s experiences
especially the psychological and social impacts of conflict. The findings
contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities of women’s
roles in a socially turbulent context while enhancing the discourse on
gender, war and reconciliation in African literature.

A STYLO-TECHNO-SEMIOTIC READING OF DIGITAL LITERATURE AS POSTMODERNIST TEXTS

Faith Bimbola Idowu — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyses Carving in Possibilities (2001); Chemical Landscapes
Tales (2006); Separation (2002); and Star Wars, one letter at a time (2005),
four digital literary texts which are purposively selected from Volumes
1 and 2 of Electronic Literature Organization’s Electronic Literature
Collection. The four texts are analysed relying on hypertextual
aesthetics rhetoric and postmodernist literary theory. The analysis
reveals that temporality, performativity, nonlinearity and interactivity
are semiotic-rhetorical digital affordances that are experimentally
negotiated in the selected texts to accomplish postmodernist
experimental stances. These novel compositional strategies,
accomplished through the availability and exploitation of digital
affordances, direct attention to how the boundaries of philology and
technology merge in digital culture and subsequently call for the
reconfiguration of theoretical, methodological and rhetorical
approaches to research and pedagogy in writing/composition, reading
and textual studies in the digital age.

A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF HYPONYMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND NAMING PATTERNS OF BIRDS IN NANKA IGBO

Chukwunonyelum Esther Okoli, Eberechi Chinenye Amadi, Charity Oluchi Mbah — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research focuses on the hyponymic relationships and naming
patterns of birds in Nanka Igbo with the aim of identifying the common
hyponyms for birds in Nanka, and examining the peculiar names of the
lexical words. It examines the features of the co-hyponyms of birds using
the binary matrix. Twenty-three hyponyms of birds were analysed using
Nida’s (1975) componential theory. Data for this research were
collected through interview from competent native speakers. The
research finds out, among others, that hyponyms of birds in Nanka are
co-hyponyms of the superordinate “nnunu”. The findings indicate that
Nanka speech community has a diverse vocabulary for classifying
various species of birds. The findings show that names of birds in
Nanka are typically structured around a few key components such as
physical properties, habitat, and behaviour. This research contributes
to the preservation and documentation of Nanka speech community
and the Igbo language.

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES, ORAL LITERATURE AND CRITICAL LITERACY IN DEMOCRATISATION PROCESSES

Ogonna Nchekube Nkereunwem, Fredrick Teryila Iorshagher, Edith Ada Anyanwu — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the judicious deployment of indigenous languages
(henceforth, ILs) and oral literature (henceforth, OL) for the
attainment of democratisation through critical literacy among
individuals and groups. It is anchored on Freire’s Theory of Critical
Literacy, which seeks individual’s and group’s development of a critical
consciousness as ‘conscientisation’ that gets rid of socio-political
constructions of indoctrination in society like Nigeria. Data are drawn
from observation, focus group discussion and the Internet and library
print materials. Based on its qualitative approach, content and thematic
analyses are employed. The analysis proves that when not neglected but
used judiciously, ILs and OL aptly serve as viable mechanisms for
creating and achieving true democratisation vis-à-vis democracy in
Nigeria through the instrumentality of critical literacy. The paper
concludes that borne not for their unharnessed potential,
endangerment and attrition, our indigenous knowledge systems are
viable mechanisms for finding tangible solutions to our nationhood
problems and for pursuing and attaining new world orders, as in
democratisation cum democracy. It calls for a change of attitude
towards our ILs, OL and other indigenous systems.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF IGBO AND ENGLISH LANGAUGES ON BASIC SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN IMO STATE

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated the comparative effect of using language of the
environment and English language media instruction on science
processing skills of primary school pupils in Ihitte-Uboma Local
Government of Imo State. Two research questions were posed and two
hypotheses formulated. The design of the study was correlational
survey. The sample of the study was 60 primary School Pupils from 54
primary schools in Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State.
Two instruments were used in data collection namely: Classroom
Teacher Basic Science Continuous Assessment Test (CTBSAT) and
Basic Science Concept Assessment Test (RBSAT). The reliability of the
instruments was determined to be 0.81. The data collected were
analysed using descriptive statistics and T-test of mean difference for the
hypothesis testing at 0.05 Level of confidence. The finding of the study
showed that the pupils taught in Igbo language obtained a higher mean
score at Post-test assessment more than pupils taught in English
language. Based on the finding the researcher impliedly derived a
conclusion that Igbo language may lead to improved science processing
proficiency among primary school pupils.

STYLE AS IDIOLECT IN EHIKHAMENOR’S “IGODOMIGODO MUST NOT COMATOSE”

Jackson Archibong Etuk, Umoh, Otobong Archibong — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Art becomes meaningful when it examines succinctly the dynamics of
the particular society from which it springs, and by this, effects a
positive change in the society. This research examines style as idiolect
in the text: “Igodomigodo must not comatose”. The text written on the
21st of January, 2011 by Victor Ehikhamenor, a columnist at NEXT (an
online magazine), mimics and ridicules Honourable Patrick
Obahiagbon’s complex and unnecessary use of flamboyant expressions
while he served as a member of the lower chamber of the Nigerian
National Assembly. To adequately analyse this text, the paper explores
the various linguistic levels, style markers, the context of situation and
the function of this kind of text to its readers. Systemic functional
grammar has been adopted as the theoretical framework to discuss how
linguistic elements, employed in the text, are formulated to assuage the
requirement of “whos and whats” (context-function). The paper reveals
that at all the five linguistic levels; diverse features have been employed
for style and effect. The responses of readers of the text under study
have shown that Ehikhamenor’s text has in a subtle but effective
manner emphasised the use of simple expressions in place of
flamboyant ones, especially, to satisfy the primary need of
communication and perhaps, to enhance social acceptability.

A VARIATIONIST ANALYSIS OF ZERO QUOTATIVE IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH

Jalaludeen Ibrahim — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the ways speakers of Nigerian English re-create their
own speech and the speech of others in narrative discourse using zero
quotative. It investigates how the speaker’s choice of zero quotative is
constrained by both linguistic (the content of the quote, grammatical
person of the quotative, and tense/time reference of the quotative) and
social (age, regional origin, sex, and social class) factors. The quotative
forms in this study were transcribed from sociolinguistic interviews
conducted with 180 participants in Nigeria. The study adopts
Variationist Sociolinguistics (Labov 1963, 1966; Tagliamonte 2012),
using a mixed-methods approach that relies on both quantitative and
qualitative analyses. For multivariate analysis of the quotative forms, a
statistical program called Rbrul (Johnson, 2009) was used. The findings
establish that zero quotative has an important presence in Nigerian
English and the speakers of this variety of English use zero quotative in
marking dramatic effects and creating immediacy. This study offers
insight into understanding the mechanisms of linguistic change and
how zero quotative functions in Nigerian English.

INCONGRUENCE OF ENGLISH LETTERS AND SOUNDS AS COMIC MATERIAL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SKITS

Andrew Onoja, Jacob Jonathan — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the non-correspondence of English spelling and
pronunciation as material for skits in Nigeria. The objectives are to
assess the specific English phonemes commonly employed for comedy,
and how their pronunciation evokes laughter in the audience. Data for
the study were sourced from the Facebook channel of Mc Chibex
Comedy, popularly known as Chibuike. Five videos containing the
pronunciation of some English words were purposively selected and
analysed using the phonological concept of Spelling Pronunciation.
The results showed that the English consonants /p, h, r, g, s, ʧ, k, w/,
and the vowels /ʊ, aɪ, eɪ, æ, ɪ, əʊ, e/ are used by the skit maker for
comedy. The comic effect derived essentially from the awkwardness of
the pronunciation of the comic character, based essentially on the
spelling of the words. The resultant comic effects are epenthesis, syllable
multiplication, elision and ‘silence’ of the comic character where a word
should be sounded. Based on the Incongruous Theory of humour, the
pronunciations violate English language users' expectations, evoking
laughter. It is concluded that comedy is a veritable tool for drawing
attention to the illogicality of English spelling, which in turn poses
pronunciation challenges for English users, especially in a non-native
context such as Nigeria.

DEMONSTRATIVE PATTERNS IN ENGLISH AND IZHIA

Maria-Helen Eka, Egbe Aleke Chibueze — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper investigates the syntactic relation between the Izhia
demonstratives and those of the English language, and examines how
the demonstratives in both languages can enter into relationship with
the nouns to form determiner phrases. The study uses the Contrastive
analysis, Documentary Linguistics and the Determiner phrase
Hypotheses as effective tools as well as the analytic method for
identifying, predicting and generalizing syntactic structural similarities
and dissimilarities, which may pose difficulties in second language
learning or ease second language learning. Data used in this study were
obtained through oral interviews. Demonstratives from the English
perspective include; this, that, these and ye, yehu, ndu ye and ndu yehu
from the Izhia perspective. The findings reveal that Demonstratives in
both languages are functionally similar but structurally dissimilar, as the
English demonstratives occur only in pre-position in their DP structures
while in Izhia the reverse is the case as the demonstratives can appear
in both pre-and post-positions in their DPs, and such is acceptable and
grammatical in the language. On this premise, it is realized that the
knowledge of the dissimilarities in the structures of the L1 and the L2
can enhance proficiency and good performance in the teaching and
learning of English language as a second language. The study therefore
recommends the design of a teaching mechanism that will draw the
attention of L2 learners to the differences in the structure of both
languages.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE ADULT BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME ON READING SKILLS

Temilola Taiwo Apena, Mojisola Olufunke Osikomaiya — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The paper assessed the impact of reading skills among Adult Basic
Education learners. Reading is essential in daily living and its
importance in human lives cannot be overemphasized. The study
adopted the survey research design. The six major zones in Lagos State
were selected. The simple random sampling technique was used to
select 91 learners from each of the zones, making 546 participants. A
Questionnaire on the Impact of Adult Basic Education Programme
(r=.75) was used for data collection. Data collected were analysed
using descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentage, mean and
standard deviation. Also, inferential statistics of t-test and Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of
significance. Descriptive statistics using simple frequency count,
simple percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer
the research questions while inferential statistics of t-test and Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level
of significance. The mean score values were rated as very low = (x̅≤
1.0), low = (x̅≤ 2.0), high = (x̅≤ 3.0), and very high = (x̅≤ 4.0). This
study established that the impact of reading skills on participants who
are learners in Adult Basic Education after the programme was high.
It also showed that the challenges of reading skills in learners of Adult
Basic Education after the programme was low.

A SEMIOTIC STUDY OF THE END BAD GOVERNANCE PROTEST PICTURES IN NIGERIA

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines how protest images employ visual symbols and
gestures, among other non-verbal elements, to convey complicated
socio-political concepts. This research concentrates on 10 purposively
selected visuals to interrogate the imagery, symbolism, and cultural
histories they invoke around forms of resistance and change. The
research is aimed at investigating the visual signs along with their
interconnections to uncover the implicit meanings that protest images
convey. It also seeks to discern the emotional and mental impact that
these pictures produce not just on subjects but on observers as well.
These images show that protest visuals are not only symptoms of
discontent but play their part in battling governance failures. The study
deepens our understanding of the investment in visual culture and
political engagement, providing insight into how images impact
contemporary social justice movements. The research outcome presents
the semiotics of protest pictures as providing new perspectives on visual
communication in political activism and offers a critical engagement
with how ideology operates visually via photography, especially within
the context of Nigeria. The study, therefore, confirms, in another form
of assessment, the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words by
showing pictures depicting ranges of characterization that went beyond
what could be done with all our word lists.

AN EXPLORATION INTO THE SYNTAX OF NEGATION IN KÚRÀMÀ(ÁKÙRMÌ) LANGUAGE

Unem Methuselah Irmiya, Jemimah Dan’azumi Gada — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The work explored negation within the Kúràmà language, its patterns
and behaviours as well as its interactions with selected syntactic
domains. It also highlighted the negative markers used in the language
and the environments they are used in. The discussion revolved around
the relationship and interaction between negation and selected
syntactic domains within the Kúràmà language. Findings from the
study revealed negation to a large extent as mutually inclusive with most
domains discussed except for the progressive tense where negation
completely blocks progression and the perfect progressive tense where
negation partially deletes the perfect progressive marker. The study
postulates thus: Declarative and imperative sentences demonstrate a
complex interaction between syntax and negation even without obvious
morphological markers. Focusing, while lacking identifiable
morphological markers too, influences the choice of negative markers,
signifying the existence of structural adaptations. Negation and aspect
interaction is complex, while simple and perfect aspects have a mutually
inclusive relationship with negation. The progressive aspect is
completely mutually exclusive with negation. Certain syntactic
categories such as nouns, singular and plural verb forms, imperative and
auxiliary verbs tend to co-occur with specific negative markers.
Suggesting subtle grammatical variances in conveying negation.