Department of Foreign Language-Journal Articles
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- ItemOpen AccessPerspectives of interpretation of Meaning in English(2005) Adegbite, WaleIt is not unusual that 'meaning' presents a problem of definition to language scholars. Like many other concepts, meaning is either a vague or an ambiguous term, depending on the way one looks at it. As far back as 1923, Ogden and Richards gave a representative list of sixteen main definitions which, according to them, "reputable students of meaning have favoured". Recent studies may have observed some considerable overlaps in most of these definitions, but the multifarious types, perspectives and interpretations of meanings are still with us.
- ItemOpen AccessMultilingualism and National Development(2004) Adegbite, WaleThe discussion in this chapter is divided into four parts, apart from the introduction and conclusion. In the first part, a brief explanation of the term ‘multilingualism' is made and the phenomenon is described with references to its occurrence in the world, Africa, Nigeria and individuals. The second part discusses language and national development by examining the indices of national development of which language is an integral part. The third part describes language planning and language policy by focusing on the types and activities of planning as well as policy decisions and provisions on language in Africa/Nigeria. Lastly, the implications of language policy and planning for national development are observed by identifying the desirable goals of the Nigerian nation and then suggesting some steps for removing the constraints on language planning and policy formulation. In all, while the study has only attempted to study salient issues in the field, it does not claim to have fully exhausted the points or treated all the issues in detail. Students will nonetheless find the paper to be a useful introduction on the subject area.
- ItemOpen AccessMacro- Language Policy and Planning and Lack of Proficiency in Language Learning and Use by Nigerian Students(2008) Adegbite, WaleIn this study, the problem of' non-proficiency in language learning and use among Nigerian students is investigated. Using empirical data and information from available literature on the subject as evidence, it was observed that the language deficiencies of the students could be attributed to the lack of fit between the formulation of the national (macro-) language policy and planning and implementation procedures, in view of the complexity of the socio-cultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic context of the nation. The perceptions of students' language deficiencies at different levels of education were described and the attendant effects on national development stated. A "bottom-top" proposal was then made for initial prioritization of micro-language policies and planning procedures that would later provide bases for viable macro-policy and planning projects.
- ItemOpen AccessLinguistic Stylistics and Literary Interpretation: An Alternative Interpretation to Awonuga's Analysis of 'If'(1994) Adegbite, WaleThis study criticizes the linguistic stylistic procedure employed by Awonuga (1988) to interpret the poem 'If' by Jared Angira in his recent article in Ife Studies in English Language. The paper observes that while Awonuga's conception of linguistic stylistics and its principles is correct, his method of illustrating the approach is inadequate and inappropriate when considered, particularly, from the point of view of its relevance to learners/users of English as a Second Language. While the paper agrees to the fact that the linguistic stylistics approach always focuses the description of form in literary texts, it also believes firmly that such a description should never lose sight of the cultural context and speech situation of the texts under study. As it were, Awonuga's article can claim to have successfully spite of the latter's primary role in communicative language teaching.