Master of Arts (M.A.) Theses and Dissertations
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- ItemOpen AccessA semiotic analysis of linguistic and visual features of statues of selected legendary figures in Yorubaland(Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University., 2015) Adefolaju Adefunke AdedayoThe study identified the semiotic components of some Yoruba legendary statues. It analysed the linguistic and visual anchorages that accompany the statues. It further described the social values, cultural and political identities and stances expressed by the linguistic and visual features of the statues. All these were done with a view to enriching the knowledge of statues as a phenomenon of language and foregrounding the discourse wealth of statues as semiotic signifiers of socio-historical significance. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised eleven statues which were purposively selected from six cities in Yorubaland. The selected cities were Ondo, Ile-Ife, Oke-mesi, Ibadan and Abeokuta. The selected statues were closely read with particular attention to their linguistic and non-linguistic meaning making modes. The secondary sources included books, journal articles and the Internet. The analysis of the data was guided by van Leeuwen's Social semiotics and Martins and White's Appraisal theory. The findings showed that the selected statues were composed of primary and secondary signifiers. The study also found that the statues were accompanied by such verbal anchorages as epithets of appreciation and affective memory, nominal signifiers of heroism, positive terms of address, verb signifiers of impressive attitude and local configuration/eulogies. There were also visual anchorages such as warfare symbolism, religion symbols, animal and material signifiers. All these served as indices of affective evaluation. The findings further showed that the statues portrayed such social values as bravery, courage, hard work, enterprise, integrity and patriotism. It was found that legendary statues inscribed leadership, power, social and economic identities, and that their producers also utilised the products to construct stances of positive alignment and judgement which pointed to their attachment to the values which the statues signify. The study concluded that statues of Yoruba legendary figures are discourse products because they elucidated the concepts of power, identity and ideology, which were the subjects of modern day discourse. It also concluded that the statues were semiotic signifiers of the Yoruba socio-cultural realities.
- ItemEmbargoA phonological description of the anglicized Yoruba name transcriptions in the Collins online English dictionary and Yoruba native speakers’ perception(Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University., 2024) Abass, Abiola SakariyauThis study identified the orthographical representation of selected anglicized Yoruba names in the Collins Online English Dictionary. It described the Yoruba native speakers’ perception of the selected transcribed names and discussed the socio-cultural implications of the transcribed names in language contact situations. This was done with a view to investiging the semantic effects of the phonological transcriptions of the selected Yoruba words in the dictionary. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised 20 names of Yoruba origin extracted from the 13th edition of Collins Online English Dictionary. Twenty-five Yoruba native speakers were purposively selected to undertake verification task and a read-aloud exercise of the selected Yoruba names to assess the accuracy of Yoruba name transcriptions in the dictionary. For the verification task, participants were given an audio recording, along with a partially completed written transcript of the recording and tasked with completing the written transcript by filling in the missing words based on their perception of the audio recording. The goal was to assess their perception of the transcriptions as presented by the dictionary. Similarly, a prepared word list comprising the 20 extracted Yoruba names was presented to each respondent to pronounce while being audio-recorded for the read-aloud exercise, with the aim to capture the actual native-like pronunciation through their audio recordings. Using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the audio-recorded utterances were phonemically transcribed and compared with the Collins Online English Dictionary version to ascertain the faithfulness of the dictionary to Yoruba name transcriptions. The secondary source included books, journal articles n and the Internet. Theoretical insights were drawn from Keshavarz’s (2011) approach to Contrastive Analysis and the concept of faithfulness in the Optimality Theory of McCarthy (2002) to analyse the data. Findings revealed that the process of anglicization of the selected Yoruba names in the Collins Online English Dictionary involves various phonological adjustments ranging from vowel substitutions and consonant replacements to the adaptation of tone structures within Yoruba names. The study found that Yoruba native speakers exhibited diverse perceptions of the transcribed names. It discovered that while some names are uniformly perceived, others show variations, indicating potential transcription-related influences. The study further showed that the omission of tone markers in the anglicized version not only simplifies the representation but also risks misinterpretation, affecting the accurate conveyance of cultural meanings associated with these words. The study concluded that English dictionaries need to offer more precise and culturally aware transcriptions of Yoruba names, taking into account their phonological features, thus mitigating potential misrepresentations in identity and cross-cultural communication.
- ItemOpen AccessA Historical Evaluation of the Western Nigerian Government Agricultural Policy.(Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Obafemi Awolowo University, 1989) Adesina, Olutayo CharlesThis study evaluates the Agricultural policy of the Western regional Government between 1951 and 1966.
- ItemOpen AccessStructures and Functions of Music Among the Internally Displaced Persons in Makoko and Debojo in Lagos State, Nigeria(Department of Music, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, 2023) ALABI, Motunrayo JulianahThe study identified the structures of different genres of musical practices among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Makoko and Debojo settlements in Lagos State. It discussed the functions of music among the IDPs in Makoko and Debojo settlements; and analysed the structure of music used among the IDPs in Makoko and Debojo settlements in Lagos State. This was with a view to advancing the understanding of the functions of music among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source included oral interviews with 30 purposively selected persons in Makoko and Debojo settlements. This included five adults within the age range of 40 and 65 years old in each settlement, five children and youth within the age range of seven and 39 in each settlement and five officials from each settlements. Participant observation was done to extract the musical practices during leisure, religious gatherings, games, and other social gatherings. Data were captured with the use of phones for audio and video recordings. The secondary source included books, journal articles, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. The data collected were collated, translated, transcribed, and analysed within the ethnomusicology framework. The results showed that the structures of different genre of musical practices are practiced among the Internally Displaced Persons in Debojo and Makoko settlements. These include Gospel music, Folk music, and Popular music. The study found that the functions of music among the IDPs in Makoko and Debojo settlements included entertainment, religious, psychological, moral, socio-cultural, therapeutic, and recreational functions. The analysis of the structure of music used among the IDPs in Makoko and Debojo settlements revealed that call and response, repetitive and non-modulatory passage featured prominently. The study also found that the music featured tritonic, tetratonic, pentatonic, heptatonic, and hexatonic scales. It also revealed that the music featured improvisatory, whistling, falsetto, and speech mode techniques. The study concluded that advancing and understanding of functions of music among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is a pointer to the use of music for the psychologically disturbed persons. It was also concluded that music practices in the camps was a measure of music as a function of social control.
- ItemOpen AccessA Criritical Assessment and Defence of the Legalisation(Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, 2022) FOLORUNSHO, Martha TosinThe study explicated and clarified the concept of euthanasia. It also examined arguments for and against euthanasia. The study also defended the idea of self ownership. This was done with a view to showing that the moral permissibility of euthanasia on the basis of self ownership provides a plausible ground for the legalization of euthanasia. This study adopted the method of philosophical argumentation, critical analysis and conceptual clarification of data collected from both primary and secondary sources. The Primary sources included works of philosophers such as: P.A Singer and M. Siegler Euthanasia: A Critique, Behnke, A. and Bok Sissels, (eds.) The Dilemma of Euthanasia, Jonathan G. Causing Death and Saving Life, Reisser, S. J Euthanasia, Joel Feinberg “Harm to self: The Moral Limit of Criminal Law”, Micheal Lacewing “Well-Being and Death” and D. Belgium “The right to die at the end of your life.” The secondary sources will include books, journal articles and the Internet. The data collected were subjected to critical analysis and philosophical argumentation. The study found that the concept of euthanasia has various meanings. It also found that the various arguments for and against euthanasia are inadequate because they did not pay adequate did not pay adequate attention to the concept of self ownership. Thus, the study found that the concept of self-ownership provides a plausible basis for the moral permissibility of euthanasia. The study concluded that the moral permissibility of euthanasia presents a justifiable ground for its legalization.