A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Proverbs in Adimora- Ezeigbo’s Trafficked
Chapter One
AIMS OF THE STUDY
This research work aims at anaslyzing the power of the language of proverbs and their values on the traditions, beliefs and norms in any given society. It will, through the analysis of language as it affects the society, look into how Adimora- Ezeigbo has used proverbs in her novel, Trafficked to achieve some foregrounded effects on the characters therein. Proverbs analyzed in this research work will indicate the various functions they perform or/and used for. It will also expose the readers of this work to the various classifications of proverbs there are and their ability to transfer African cultural values and heritage.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will review the relevant literature in sociolinguistics, contributions of scholars on sociolinguistics, the various theories of sociolinguistics by scholars like Bernstein, Hymes, Sapir- Whorf and so on, the variables such as multilingualism, bilingualism, diglossia, euphemism and taboo. Also in this chapter is the discussion on proverbs, their categories and functions.
THE CONCEPT OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Trudgil (1974, p. 1) sees Sociolinguistics as “the part of linguistics which is concerned with language as a social and cultural phenomenon”. It investigates the field of language and society and has a close connection with the social sciences, especially social psychology, anthropology and sociology. Downes (1984) says Sociolinguistics is that branch of linguistics which studies just those properties of language and languages which require reference to social, including contextual factors in their explanation. Holmes (2001, p. 3) defines Sociolinguistics as the study of ‘the relationship between language and society’. It is interested in explaining why we speak differently in different social contexts and it is concerned with identifying the social functions of language and the ways they are used to convey social meanings. Examining the way people use language in different social contexts provide a wealth of information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships in a community, and the way people signal aspects of their social identity through their language. The awareness of the social factors will influence the choice of appropriate ways of speaking in different ways. Sociolinguistics explores the variation in languages associated with social phenomena such as the social group to which speakers and/or hearers belong.
McGregor (2009, p. 2) refers to Sociolinguistics as “the study of the effects of any and all aspect of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and contexts on the way language is used and the effects of language use on society”. The primary concern of Sociolinguistics scholarship is to study correlations between language use and social structure. It attempts to establish casual links between language and society; asking what language contributes to making community possible and how communities shape their language by using them (Coulmas, 1997, p. 47).
Sociolinguistics differs from Sociology of language in that, the focus of Sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on language, while the latter’s focus is on the society Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with Pragmatics. According to Romaine (2002, p 22), the “Sociolinguists’ aim is to move towards a theory which provides a motivated account of the way language is used in a community, and of the choices people make when they use language”. Some scholars distinguish between Theoretical and Applied sociolinguistics. The former is concerned with formal models and methods for analyzing the structure of speech communities and speech varieties and provides a general account of communicative competence.
CHAPTER THREE
PRESENTATION OF DATA
INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with the analysis of the proverbs used by Adimora- Ezeigbo in Trafficked using Dell Hymes’ Ethnography of communication theory. The 25 proverbs are worked against Hymes’ SPEAKING acronym model. This model will reveal the context and situation that warrant the use of each proverb, thereby paving way for better understanding those in the context of the novel.
SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF PROVERBS IN ADIMORA- EZEIGBO’ S TRAFFICKED
DATUM 1
“A foolish chicken overlooked the knife that cuts its throat and gets angry with the pot cooking it.”(p. 4)
SETTING:
Physical: An airport in Lagos
Psychological: A feeling of frustration.
PARTICIPANTS: Nneoma and a stewardess.
ENDS:
Intention: A means of consolation.
Effect: Nneoma stifled the urge to abuse the stewardess.
ACT SEQUENCE: The content of the speech is descriptive and funny.
KEY: The tone of the speech is humorous and sharp.
INSTRUMENTALITY: The channel of communication is oral and informal.
NORM: It is not good to act irascibly against others who are not responsible for one’s predicament.
GENRE: The proverb is consoling.
CHAPTER FOUR
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
This essay was in four chapters. The first chapter contained the introduction, the aims of the study, the justification, the scope and the methodology of the research and lastly, data description. Chapter two reviewed the relevant literature to the topic of discussion. It looked into the concept ‘sociolinguistics’, the various sociolinguistic theories and postulations by scholars such as Hymes, Bernstein, Littlejohn and so on. It also discussed the origin, nature, types and functions of proverbs. It looked into the sociolinguistic variables; bilingualism, multilingualism, code mixing, code switching and so on.
Chapter three contained the presentation of the data. The twenty-five proverbs under study were analyzed using the Hymes ‘Ethnography SPEAKING model’. The chapter was concluded with the findings of the research. Among the findings in the study was the direct use of some Ibo lexemes with no direct English translations. The elements of SPEAKING of Hymes’ ethnographic model helped in the understanding the proverbs under study. With the settings and the participants, the physical, socio-cultural and psychological contexts of the utterances were catered for. The end (intention and effects), key, channel of the communication also went a long way in making the speech events explicit. The societal values were explained by the norms and genres.
The last chapter, chapter four gives the summary, conclusion and recommendations to the study.
CONCLUSION
This study can be concluded on the note that sociolinguistics is a veritable tool in the analysis of proverbs. Since there are no cultures with no inherent traditions and cultural values, it is an area of study that deals with languages and the society (culture) that can give an appraised over-view and analysis of the proverbs under study. The SPEAKING model used in the analysis of the data bought out many aspects of communication in the speech events that would have not been understood if other sociolinguistic tools or theories were used.
It can also be concluded that the functions proverbs perform are important in the transmission of moral and cultural values for generations to come.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that sociolinguistic analysis could be applied to other areas such as folklores, stories, myths, anecdotes, cultural drama and so on. Other levels of language analysis such as phonology, pragmatics, syntax and semantics cannot analyze these cultural aspects successfully like sociolinguistics.
Also, it is recommended that the participants, the settings and intention and effects of any speech event act if looked into will allow for better understanding of the event. These will point to the WHO, WHERE, WHEN, HOW and WHY.
Finally, the social functions that proverbs serve, therefore, always have to be considered in relation to their social context. Thus, it is recommended that since African proverbs guide the behaviours of growing children, they should be included in school curriculum to help them understand their culture and that of others.
REFERENCES
- Adimora- Ezeigbo, A. 2008. Trafficked. Lagos: Literamed Publishers.
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- Bernstein, B. 1971. “Theoretical studies towards a sociology of language”. In Bernstein, B. (Ed.) Class, codes, and control. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- Coulmas, F. (Ed.) 1997. The handbook of sociolinguistics. Oxford (UK) &
Cambridge (MA): Blackwell. - Downes, W. 1984. Language and society. UK: Fontana Paperbacks.
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- Hymes, D. 1962. ‘The ethnography of speaking’. In Galdwin, T., Sturtvant, W.C. (Eds.) Anthropology and human behavior. Anthropological society of Washinton.
- Hymes, D.1974. Foundation of sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. Philadelphia: University of Penn Sylvia.
- Irvine, J. 1989. When talk isn’t cheap: Language and political economy. American Ethnologist 16 (2) p.248-267.