Department of English

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Department of English

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Open Access
Problems, Principles and Prospects of English Studies in an African University
(University of Ife Press, 1979-01-25) Afolayan, Adebisi
The English language is today the most international of all languages. To acquire it is to possess one of the most efficient keys to the storehouse of human achievements. English studies, therefore, as a discipline cannot but mean the academic pursuit or the search for truth about the most ubiquitous tool. It simply follows from our hypothesis that English studies must be irreducible to simple, straight forward propositions and concepts.
Open Access
A Study of English Phonology of Yoruba Speakers of English as a Second Language: A Re-examination of some Linguistic Problem Areas.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1985) Dairo, Anthony Lekan; Atoye, R. O.
Over the years linguists have discovered some sounds that constitute problems for Yoruba speakers of English as a second language and such sounds have been found to be responsible for the deviations in their English speech performances. The contrastive linguists who have worked so far on Yoruba-English comparison have limited their efforts to the standard forms of the two languages. The present study is a further contribution to the work of earlier contrastive linguists but it has gone a bit beyond in its polylectal approach to the phonological problems of Yoruba speakers and users of English as a second language. This study considers three different dialects of Yoruba in its comparison of Yoruba and English and it tries to explain the various substitutions made by Yoruba speakers for the sounds which are either absent in their own language or which generally constitute problems for them. The three dialects considered in this study are the Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti dialects. In the course of the study it was discovered that the substitutions made by Yoruba speakers vary according to their dialect backgrounds and that some of the sounds absent in the ‘standard’ form of Yoruba are not necessarily absent in all its dialects. It is therefore necessary for linguists to always consider second language learners’ dialect backgrounds for an exhaustive study of their phonological problems. This type of polylectal study would cater for an in-depth description of what actually happens when second language learners learn and use the target language.
Open Access
The Problem of Meaning Equivalence in the Translation of Literary Text: The Example of Soyinka's A Forest of a Thousand Demons
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1985) Ojo, Gordon Oluwaseyi; Ajulo, E.B.
This study sets out to examine the gap created in translation by the non-existence of meaning equivalence between Soyinka's A Forest a Thousand Demons and Fagunwa's Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo irunmale The examination of the meaning gap between the two texts is made through a retranslation into English Via. Yoruba approach. Items from the source text, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale are compared with their translated counterparts in the target text, A Forest of a Thousand Demons. It is discovered that while some of the items are adequately translated in terms of meaning, some are not. It is also observed that the problem of non-existence of meaning equivalence in translation is attributable to both Socio-Cultural and Linguistic factors. Furthermore, the various approaches used by Soyinka to overcome the problem of meaning-equivalence in translation and their degree of success were also examined. In conclusion, it is noted that although the non existence of meaning-equivalence is a real problem in translation, it is not a total block to the process of translation. That is, the problem can be overcome if the translator takes into consideration a number of factors.
Open Access
An Examination of Code-Switching among Itsekiri-English Bilinguals.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1985) Adokpaye, Thelma; Pariola, Goke
This study set out to examine the Socio-linguistic constraints on conversational code-switching among educated Itsekiri-English bilinguals living in Lagos. It was carried out with the primary aim being, to distinguish the social factors motivating the bilingual's code-switching and to establish the linguistic constraints on the code-switching. This study was carried out with the aid of a preliminary 4 weeks of field observation of participants in different settings and interactions followed up with 4 hours and 20 minutes of tape recordings of naturally occurring conversation between participants. A detailed analysis of the recorded conversations was carried out to establish the nature of Itsekiri-English bilingual code-switching. Constraints on the switching were attributed to both linguistic and social factors. From this exercise, the varieties of code-switching, the matrix language, word classes and categories of items, the grammatical rules and the number of grammars involved in the code-switching situation were determined. Finally, suggestions were given as to the possibility of establishing a universal grammar for code-switching by comparing the findings in this investigation with those or other people who have worked in this area of language contact.
Open Access
Towards a National Language in Nigeria: Problems & Prospects.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1985) Akinwale, Timothy Olayiwola; Awonuga.
This work sets out to find out why the issue of a choice of a national language for Nigeria has remained elusive for so long. This state of affairs has been brought about largely by the fact that the country suffers from an extreme form of linguistic complexity. In highlighting factors that might be in favour or against both endeglossic and exoglossic language choice for the nation we find that so long as issues of number, morality, bureaucratic inertia on the part of the political leadership and the fate of the languages not considered remain unresolved, so long shall the issue of a national language remain elusive. We conclude that English will continue to play its role as the official language for a long time to come; that the implementation of the National Policy on Education, with time, will promote positive linguistic attitudes among the numerous ethnic groups in Nigeria and that because language is a necessary factor but not a sufficient one for unity, other sources of promoting national unity should be explored and exploited.
Open Access
A Study of Phrasal Verb Usage in Nigeria Newspapers.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Bashorun, N. O.; Ekundayo, S. A.
This study is an investigation of phrasal verb usage in Nigerian Newspapers. The methodology employed is an adaptation from the works of J. A. Fodor and J. J. Katz, F. R. Palm, Tom McArthur, and Adam Makkai respectively, and the main pre-occupation is the measurement of usage in the newspapers against the categories of linguistic description set up. The introductory and theoretical background to the study is provided along with a review of the contributions of some notable authors on the phrasal verb, and the methodology and categories of linguistic description. Apart from providing a grammatical description of the phrasal verb with information on its morphological structure, and its syntactic and semantic uses, this study also treats textual analytical details, along the parameters of linguistic description set cut.
Open Access
Speakers’ Rights in English-English and Yoruba-English Family Discourse
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Akindele, Dele Oluwafemi; Butler, Chris
The aim of this study is to investigate speakers' rights to initiate conversations in native English (English-English) and English as a Second Language (Yoruba-English) family. More specifically, it aims to find out whether speakers' rights differ with different types of initiation within and between the two family conversation types. The study further investigates speakers' rights to select one another for participation in conversation, and also finds out how such rights are reflected in interruptions in the two types of discourse. The framework for the analysis of the data is based on the Birmingham approach to discourse analysis. Some aspects of the work of the Conversational Analysts are also adopted. It is expected that both the English-English and Yoruba-English family will be hierarchically structured into higher social positions occupied by older adults (parents) and lower positions occupied by younger adults (grown-up children). Further, it is expected that the hierarchical ordering of both types of family will be reflected in the relative frequency with which the older and younger participants initiate discourse, select next speakers and interrupt one another. It is also expected that the hierarchical ordering of the Yoruba-English family will be more rigidly ordered and maintained than that of the English-English family in such a way that participants in the discourse cannot step out of their position in the hierarchy and initiate talk if and when they choose. It is, however, expected that the younger participants in the English-English family will have the choice of stepping out of their position in the hierarchy to initiate talk. On the basis of these expectations, it is predicted that the total proportion of initiations, current-speaker-selects-next technique, self-select technique, and interruptions that the older adults in both types of family conversation will produce will be greater than that of the younger adults. However, although the total proportions are expected to differ, it is predicted that in English-English family conversation, both older and younger participants will produce some of each type of initiation, will select any of the participants as next speaker or self-select, and will interrupt any of the participants. By contrast, it is predicted that in Yoruba-English family conversation, not all types of initiation will be produced by both older and younger adults. Older adults will produce all types of initiation except the type that will be classified as 'Permission-seeking' moves, and the younger adults will produce all types of initiation except what will be categorised as 'Directives' and 'Regulatory negative' moves. In addition, it is predicted that the older adults in Yoruba-English family conversation will select any participant as the next speaker and will self-select in an interaction with their equals or younger adults and will interrupt any ongoing speaker; but that the younger adults will select only their equals as next speaker, self-select only when interacting with their own age group, and interrupt only members of their own age group. The findings are found to support the prediction that the proportion of initiations, current-speaker-selects-next technique, self-select technique, and interruptions that will be produced by the older adults will be greater than that of the younger adults in both types of family conversation. The results also corroborate the prediction that in English-English family conversation, both older and younger adults will produce some of each type of initiation, select any of the participants as next speakers or self-select, and interrupt any of the interactants. The findings support the prediction that in Yoruba-English family conversation, not all types of initiation will be produced by both older and younger adults. Older adults are found to produce all types of initiation except those classified as 'Permission-seeking' moves, and the younger adults are found to produce all types of initiation except those categorised as 'Directives' and 'Regulatory negative' moves. Further, the findings support the prediction that the older adults in Yoruba-English family will select any participants as the next speaker and will self-select in an interaction with their equals or younger adults. However, the results do not support the prediction that the younger adults will select only their equals as next speaker, self-select only when interacting with their own age group and interrupt only members of their own age group.
Open Access
Nigerian Children's Prose Fiction: A Critical Appraisal.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Fayose, Philomena Osazie Esigbemi; Oyin, Ogunba
The thesis attempts to draw attention to the much neglected field of children's literature on which very little critical work has so far been done. The methodological approach to the thesis is descriptive as well analytical. A distinction is made between children and adult literature by comparing the literary works of see authors who have written both for children and adults. This way the special features of children's books are isolated. A field survey of critical comments by children on the books they have read is made to establish how Children evaluate their books. A review of critical writings on children's book by adults is also undertaken and some literary standards for judging children's book established. The literary features of Nigerian children's books are studied and analysed. These are then related to the critical criteria for judging children's books established. Children because of their limited experience in literary appreciation appear to judge their books from the way the events of the stories effect their emotion or sense of justice. On the other hand' adult tend to judge children's books with certain literary criteria in mind. Nigerian children's prose fiction is divided into two broad categorise namely folk tales and fantasy stories on the one hand and modern realistic stories on the order. The stories draw their themes motifs and stylistic features from Nigerian oral literature as well as contemporary events. The variety of prose fiction available to Nigerian children and the forms adopted in the stories are rather limited. Based on these findings, it may be necessary to further investigate the reading interests of Nigerian children as a means of providing more varied literature for them.
Open Access
Adverbial-Tense Relationships in the Written English of Selected University of Ife Students.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Fabusuyi, Mojisola Ajibike; Aremo, Bolaji
Adverbial-tense relationships are an important area of English grammar. It is indeed generally felt that there is the need for learners of English as a second language to master these relationships adequately if they must use the language for effective communication. The present study is an attempt at examining the mastery of the relationships by Nigerian learners and users of English. It would seem clear from the findings that, compared with native speakers, the Nigerian students selected for the study were grossly deficient in their adverbial-tense usage. Thus, it was found that of the 48 temporal meanings identified by David Crystal in a study on adverbial-tense relationships in native English, only 18 were expressed by the students. In the light of the findings, suggestions are made for improvement in the teaching of the relevant areas of English to Nigerian students.
Open Access
Register Range in the West African School Certificate English Language Examination (1974-1983).
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Osisanwo, Isaac Adewale; Afolahan, Adebisi
The English Language in the Nigerian educational system functions as a School subject as well as a medium of instruction especially from the fourth year (in some States). Since it is the predominant medium of receiving lectures, finding out facts through reading and communicating knowledge required, through writing, in higher education, it is then necessary that the new entrants to higher education should have attained a reasonable level of proficiency in the use of the English language. With this assumption a pilot study was carried out to find out the writing competence of the freshmen of Adeyemi College of Education. The study showed a very low level of lexical acquisition and use in spite of their entry qualifications in the English language. This discovery led to the major investigation of finding out the content validity of the WAEC, WASC/GCE English Language examination which they all had passed before their admission. The content validity which was in relation to Lexis had to be investigated through register, a valid means of researching into Lexis. The findings showed a very low correlation between syllabus specifications and examination questions on register, thus supporting the fact that there was lack of content validity and power of discrimination in this aspect of the English language examination. The investigation was concluded with recommendations on how to improve the whole of the WASC English language programme and examination.
Open Access
The Problem of Grapho-phonological Discrepancy in the Pronunciation of the Yoruba User of English.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Fatusin, Stephen Akinnifesi; Atoye., R.O
This work attempts to determine the magnitude of the problem posed to Yoruba L2 learners of English by the inconsistent manner in which English words are represented orthographically and the discrepancy between the way English words are pronounced and the way they are spelt. Information collected from the pronunciation and writing of some secondary school level learners of English serves as data for this work. The analysis of the performance of the learners in two separate spelling and pronunciation tests administered to them shows that the problem of graphemephoneme discrepancy is of a high magnitude. In realization of the futility of all previous attempts to alter the current English orthography for greater phonemicity the work suggests that more serious attention should be given to the teaching of English spelling and pronunciation in Nigerian secondary schools.
Open Access
Individualism in the African Novel: A Heuristic Paradigm.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Anyadike, Chima; Jeyifo, Biodun
In this study, patterns formed by highly individualistic characters in the African novel are investigated. It is hoped that firstly, this will throw some light on the problem of how the same societies that need strong individualistic characters for change and development, at the same time need to place certain limits on individualism if they are to muster adequate collective response to problems like colonialism, racism and corruption which cannot be eliminated by lone acts of courage. Secondly, the study also suggests an important dimension in the criteria for the criticism and evaluation of character in the African novel. Lucien Goldmann's formulation regarding the relationship between the themes and forms of literary texts and the moments of social and historical consciousness provide in part the methodological basis of analysis; however, Fanon's analyses of the moments of the colonized consciousness are also significantly relied upon. The idea of conflict and its resolution is central to the line of investigation. In the first part, novels like Mofolo's, Chaka. Achebe's, Things Fall Apart and Abraham's A. wreath for Udomo, in which highly individualistic protagonists locate the source of the conflicts not in themselves but the society are studied. The consequence of these characters adopting more or less messianic roles which more often than not, lend them to tragic ends are clearly delineated. In the second section, attention is devoted to novels like Achebe's Arrow of God, Kane's Ambiguous Adventure and Malick Fall's The wound in which protagonists, more or less aware that they have internalised the contradictions of their societies in themselves, recognise that they are part of the problem. Because of their limited perceptions of the nature and scope of these contradictions, their individualism becomes perverted in ways that lead to inauthentic irrelevant lives. In the final section, attention is paid to protagonists in novels like Beti's Remember Reuben, Ngugi's Petals of Blood and Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of wood whose actions, in the face of these contradictions, are not like those of the great lonely heroes seeking to lead their people to salvation; rather they are actions arising from the collective struggle to freedom. These lead to the conclusion that although there is a diversity and distinctiveness of individual expression among Africa novelists, they operate from the same mental structure that result from similar historical, socioeconomic conditionings. Consequently, they either deliberately or subliminally, subordinate narrative and aesthetic strategies which writers use to highlight individualism in other traditions of novel writing, to the exploration of group or collective experience in Africa.
Open Access
Semiotics of Oral Literature: A Kinesics Perspective.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Ajayi, Omofolabo Apinke; Ogunba, Oyin
This thesis attempts a kinesics analysis of oral literature - an art form transmitted through both the verbal and non-verbal communication (nvc) channels. Kinesics is concerned with body motions (e.g. gestures and dance), as related to non verbal aspects of interpersonal communication. Underlying the kinesics perspective is semiotics, a study of the verbal as well as the nvc signs and their meanings. The semiotic analysis, therefore, investigates the dynamics of kinesics communication in oral literature and the corresponding signification system between its verbal and non-verbal channels. The oral literature of the Yoruba people is used as a case-study. The analysis highlights dance-kinesics as an essential art in Yoruba literary expression. Highly complementing the verbalised content, it also conveys and vivifies the salient concepts of Yoruba oral literature. In addition, the dance comes through as a crucial ostensive vehicle for other nvc signs in oral literature such as the sculpted and textile arts. Thus, dance-kinesics is projected as a fully integrated art form in Yoruba oral literature enhancing its meaning and aesthetic dimensions. Furthermore, through the semiosis of the non-verbal arts, especially the kinesics of Yoruba oral literature, the world-view and customs of the Yoruba, which previously had been subjected to much misinterpretation because of their heavy symbolism and little known codification system, now assume deeper significance and more profound meanings. This subsequent clarification amply demonstrates the dynamic relationship between the verbal and the non-verbal arts in oral literature and attests to the significance of the full codification system in the literature of oral societies.
Open Access
Nature in Soyinka's Poetry: The Primary of Essence.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Adekoya, Olusegun Adesina; Biodun, Jeyifo
The central idea of this dissertation is that Nature is portrayed in Soyinka is poetry in essentialist terms as a paradox. The dissertation begins with a review of the criticism of Soyinka's poetry and goes on to an examination of Soyinka's theoretical and critical essays through which the specific nature his poetics is garnered- a mythopoeia. This is followed by an examination of Soyinka's published volumes of poetry. Idanre and Other poems embodies the twin principle of creation and destruction, with the tragic aspect being more dominant, A Shuttle in the Crypt is an extension of the idea of the prevalence of evil in human nature to the problems of a strife-torn between 1967 and 1970. Ogun Abibiman demonstrates the permanence of change in nature and history. The thesis then goes on to compare Soyinka and Negritude, on the one hand, and Soyinka and British Romanticism, on the other, primarily on the basis of their attitudes to nature, and the personal, historical and cultural factors which underlie the affinities and differences discoverable between Soyinka and these literary movements. The conclusion, a gathering of the salient points of the preceding chapters, draws attention to the cultural concepts and themes that Soyinka has derived from nature: paradox and ambiguity; wholeness and continuity.
Open Access
Dissonant Harmony: Art and Social Reality in Literature Based on the Nigerian Civil War.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Amuta, Chidi Nnanna; Jeyifo, Biodun
This dissertation is largely a survey of the relationship between art and socio-historical reality in representative sample of literature based on the Nigerian Civil War. (1967-70). The cardinal thesis of the study is that the Civil War has inspired a sizable body of literary works which in their wide range of thematic concerns and ideological standpoints portray the writers' perception of the dominant aspects of war-time Nigerian society. In addition, this socio-historical orientation of the literature in question conditions its artistic attributes and provides a framework for evaluating the specific literary works. The dissertation is divided into three broad sections with a total of five chapters. Part one is concerned with providing a theoretical framework and socio-historical background to the literary works under study. In Part Two, the relationship between content and form as the dialectical constants of the literary works under study is examined. Part Three concentrates on the question of ideology and social vision in Nigerian Civil War literature. The conclusion takes the form of an evaluation of the significance of the Civil War in the evolution of Nigerian national literature.
Open Access
Assessing the Quality of Translations into English as a Second Language
(1987) Adegbite, A. B.
This paper proposes a two-dimensional approach to describing translation texts from a mother tongue into a second language. The approach observes and describes the process(es) of message transfer from the source to the target language along one dimension and describes the reactions of interpretants to the source and target language messages along the other dimension. The binary-comparative approach is expected to explicate the intricate processes of transferring and interpreting messages in translation more than the unidimensional method of comparing source and target language forms, hitherto being used.
Open Access
English Language Testing: An Evaluation of the West African School Certificate English Language Objective Test.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Adejare, Roseline Abonego; Afolahan, Adebisi
This thesis evaluates the West African School Certificate English Language Objective Test, using the 1982, 1983 and 1984 tests as data. The tests were administered on three groups of subjects made up of fifth formers as the experimental group, first formers and first year undergraduates as control groups. The tests' content was analysed within the framework of Systemic Grammar to ascertain its comprehensiveness and adequacy. The tests were then evaluated from the perspective of the syllabus, the relevant linguistic models and the objective technique. A statistical analysis of subjects' scores, using the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test, was undertaken followed by a comparison of the performance of the undergraduate group in the tests with their performance in a set essay. The research leads to four major findings. Firstly the West African School Certificate English Language objective test does not cover all the necessary grammatical categories. Secondly, the content of the test reflects the content of the syllabus but not its specifications. Thirdly, the objective technique is suitable for testing the recognition of form and meaning but not necessarily the ability to use the English Language. Fourthly, the subjects' scores indicate that-the tests are of a moderate level of difficulty. It concludes that the test is only of average validity though an extremely high validity is expected. It therefore recommends that the test should be improved.
Open Access
Problems of Message Preservation in Simultaneous Translation from Yoruba into English
(1988) Adegbite, Wale
The study of translations into English whether based on the description of the implicit natural (psychological) predisposition of speakers or on the analysis of explicit parallel spoken or written texts, has much relevance for the Nigerian speaker of the language. The Nigerian speaker of English as a Second Language (ESL), consciously or unconsciously, is a natural translator into the language. Any time he uses English to express ideas which derive from his own native culture, he employs the means of translation. And the translation, whether efficient or not, at least affords him the opportunity to convey ideas from his primary culture in a language that does not belong to that culture. Even, then, a very efficient translation will further enable the speaker to participate more meaningfully in the society by fulfilling the most sophisticated communicative obligations which he needs to perform in English.
Open Access
The Relevance of the Discourse to ESL Studies: a Review of T. A. Van DIJK's Text and Context: Explorations in the Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse
(1991) Adegbite, Wale
This paper reviews T. A. Van Dijk's Text and Context: Explorations in the semantics and pragmatics of discourse by summarising the main issues discussed in the work and observing the relevance of the discussion to studies on English as a Second Language (ESL). The review observes that although Van Dijk's work does not provide an adequate theory of English discourse since it only describes the underlying structures of the discourse, and also because it deliberately neglects certain features that are regular to discourse production and interpretation and which are especially of particular interest to discourse studies in an ESL situation, it no doubt provides a good starting point for an adequate theory of English discourse. It also provides a base for more comprehensive studies on the discourse which will have relevance to the pedagogy of English and communication in the language in a natural ESL environment.
Open Access
Some Factors Affecting Readers’ Reactions to English Texts in Nigeria
(1991) Adegbite, Wale
This author intends to observe the influence of certain socio-personal factors on the responses of some readers to two English texts and examine the implications of the findings for English textual studies in Nigerian universities. Two assumptions that thus underlie this study are that certain social and personality factors can influence the attitudes of readers when they interpret texts (Dechant and Smith, 1977), and that such attitudes should be taken into consideration in drawing efficient and effective programmes of teaching English.