Francis S E T O N J I Yede (original) (raw)

Drafts by Francis S E T O N J I Yede

Beder University Journal of Educational Sciences, 0

This paper delves into the utilization of proverbs among the Yoruba people, focusing specifically... more This paper delves into the utilization of proverbs among the Yoruba people, focusing specifically on their role as instruments of warning and facilitators of peace and unity within the community. Proverbs, deeply embedded in the Yoruba culture, serve as reservoirs of wisdom, reflecting beliefs, cultural norms, historical contexts, and moral principles. They are employed to elucidate, moralize, and embellish discourse across various aspects of human life. Using a stylistic analysis approach, this study examines twenty randomly selected Yoruba proverbs from routine socio-linguistic communication. Through the lens of Yankah's (1989) Theory of Proverb Praxis and other stylistic and pragmatic tools, the aim is to unveil the nuanced meanings and patterns inherent in warning proverbs. The analysis reveals that warning proverbs play a significant role in shaping desirable traits, fostering credible character development, and maintaining a harmonious societal structure within Yoruba culture. These proverbs serve as guiding lights, illuminating diverse human situations and offering timely warnings to navigate through challenges. Warning proverbs exemplify the cherished values and strategies for personal growth characteristic of African societies, particularly the Yoruba community. They serve as invaluable tools for cultivating peaceful coexistence and fostering unity among individuals. Through the analysis of these proverbs, a deeper understanding of Yoruba cultural values emerges, highlighting their pivotal role in nurturing a cohesive and harmonious human community.

This paper applies the approaches of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyse Soyinka's Alapa... more This paper applies the approaches of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyse Soyinka's Alapata Apata with a view to assessing the dialectics of his characters in relation to society, politics and, enactment of power abuse and inequality in the Nigerian socio-political space. CDA reveals the ideological loads of all forms of discourse and its concepts of critique, power, and ideology and its use in text analysis helps to unravel the perennial issues of corruption and abuse of political power which illustrate socio-political problems in Nigeria. Analysis of Alapata Apata shows the use of formal features such as varieties of sentence types and deft manipulation of subordinate and main clause types in commenting on socio-political issues. The use of the identified discursive features perform pragmatic functions of social and interpersonal language use like stating, informing, interrogating, declaring personal motive, giving apologies and making promises. These functions reflect communicative interactions in the realm of repressive political ideology and economic situations of Nigerians in the conversation situations analysed in the texts. The study punctuates the view of deprived people and shows that those who are in power are responsible for the use of language to authorise social inequality. The paper concludes that Soyinka's use of language in the text illuminates social imbalance and repression of the people by the ruling class.

ABSTRACT This study discussed strategies of humour in Adébáyọ̀ Àkàndé Fálétí’s writings. It... more ABSTRACT
This study discussed strategies of humour in Adébáyọ̀ Àkàndé Fálétí’s writings. It interrogates how humour as a universal human interactional phenomenon is used to particularly entertain, checkmate human excesses and chastise societal ills in a mild manner. It is noted that among the living things only human beings laugh and humour excites laughter but it is not every humour that leads to laughter. Therefore, for humour to be effectively appreciated, it must be properly situated in its social context. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Thomas Veatch postulation of humour as a phenomenon made up of congruous and incongruous elements of socially typical and infringement of the prejudiced ethical standard. This framework is adopted to study Faleti’s use of humour to entertain, criticize human actions and chastise societal ills. It was found out that humour as a form of lampoon is used euphemistically or ironically not as a means to destroy the society but to improve it. Faleti uses humour as an effective weapon of criticism and a subtle source of laughter to entertain the audience and to curb aberrations in the society. Humour in Faleti’s writings is used in a calm and amusing manner and the end result is laughter, although beneath the laughter is the lampoon of social misdemeanours concealed in the use of light-hearted constructions. Faleti has succeeded in espousing various methods of coping with serious and tense situation through the use of strategies of humour.
Keywords: linguistic perspectives, humour, strategies, Adébáyọ̀ Àkàndé Fálétí’s, social discourse
Word count: 242

This paper is motivated by linguistic analysis of the communicative capacity of the translated CO... more This paper is motivated by linguistic analysis of the communicative capacity of the translated COVID-19 Expressions in Yoruba media and how they are able to bring forth the needed information and create necessary awareness in such an emergency situation. The paper examined and interrogated the communicative competencies and appropriateness of translations of selected COVID-19 expressions from English to Yoruba in news broadcast in the Yoruba-speaking region of Nigeria. Thirty concepts were sampled from news bulletins presented by some news presenters across six major Yoruba-speaking states of Nigeria while only sixteen of the samples, which exhibited translation equivalence challenge, were extracted and analysed. The analysis revealed translation strategies like copious translation, interpretation, creation of new words, borrowing, localizing and inventing new words. The paper established that through translation strategies, new concepts or registered COVID-19 Expressions in English can be captured by the lexis and structures of Yoruba language and also, increase words in the lexicon of the language. The communicative competencies of these translated expressions are capable of educating and enhancing easy and better understanding of what the virus entails as well as the danger and the preventive measures to contain the virus. The translated expressions are therefore used to inform and create awareness about the virus among the indigenous Yoruba people who cannot speak English.

MIZORAM UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF HUMANITY & SOCIAL SCIENCES, 0

Corruption is a semantically multi-faceted expression construed as appropriation and dishonest me... more Corruption is a semantically multi-faceted expression construed as appropriation and dishonest means of the acts of embezzlement, fraud, falsification, perversion, bribery and nepotism designed to gain some benefits for self. Corruption has pervaded social and political circles in Nigeria and, has acquired certain new idiomatic expressions found in literary and routine communication of the Yorùbá. The paper adopted Mukarovsky's theory of Standard Language mainly to explain the nature of the new idioms, to explicate the communicative and stylistic relevance of these idioms and to situate the social issues expressed through these idioms in Yorùbá discourse in selected literary works in Yorùbá. Linguistic metaphorisation strategy derived from nominalization, composition and phonaesthetic coinages was employed for data selection. Yorùbá idioms and idiomatic expressions were selected from routine communication from four literary texts written by Olúye ̣́misí Adébọ̀ wálé, Abégúndé Adédoyin, Lérè Adéyemí and Dayọ̀ Àkànmú with sufficient examples of usages of new idioms. The data revealed new idiomatic usages such as egúnjẹ (bribe), gbájú e ̣̀ (defraud him), oje ̣̀lú (corrupt politician), yàúyàúù (Internet fraud), jẹunsápò (eat into the pocket), ge ̣́ranmáwọ (cut meat with the skin), etùtù (appeasement), etcetra. Data Analysis therefore illustrates the issue of corruption expressed and contextualized in bribery, Internet fraud, politiking, looting and contract splitting.

Abstract The study investigated the ... more Abstract

The study investigated the impacts of Nigerian cultural elements (i.e. mother tongue, cultural values and norms, social environment and cultural symbols/signs) on the teaching and learning of English in South West Nigeria. It aimed at determining the extent to which cultural background has influenced English language learning outcomes. The theoretical framework adopted for the study is social constructivist theory of language learning which postulates that knowledge is constructed through the individual’s interactions in socio-cultural environment. Three instruments: Students’ Questionnaire, English Language Academic Achievement Test (ELAAT) and English Language Teaching Observation, were used to collect data for the study. The data were analysed using One-Way Analysis of Variance. The findings revealed that most language signs in the students’ mother tongue aid learning and communication in English. It was also revealed that there were imprints of the teachers’ and students’ mother tongue which featured prominently in the lesson presentation at the lexical, grammatical, phonological and discourse levels. The impacts of the Nigerian cultural elements examined, however, have been proved not to be outright negative. The cultural elements which teachers and learners are aware of and use consciously and unconsciously could be put to good use during teaching and learning processes to aid developmental process involved in second language acquisition.
Key Words: Second Language Acquisition, Cultural Elements, English Language Academic Achievement Test, English Language Teaching Observation, English Language Learning Outcomes.
Word Count: 208

Papers by Francis S E T O N J I Yede

Applied Linguistics Inquiry Spring 2024, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 8-17, 2024

ABSTRACT This research examines the ideological underpinnings of the coup speech delivered on Jan... more ABSTRACT
This research examines the ideological underpinnings of the coup speech delivered on January 15,
1966, by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu. Employing Jeffries' (2010) Critical Stylistics theory as a
methodological framework, the study conducts a linguistic analysis to uncover the political
viewpoints and intentions of the coup plotters. The analysis reveals how specific linguistic choices
and patterns were employed to communicate the plotters' intentions to the public, suppress dissent,
and advocate for the establishment of military rule instead of democratic governance. The speech
underscores the plotters' portrayal of their actions as necessary for national salvation, while framing
democratic processes as ineffective. Additionally, the use of emotive language and authoritative
tones served to bolster legitimacy and rally public support for the coup. The analysis further
elucidates how the adopted linguistic strategies functioned to justify the overthrow of the existing
government and the suspension of democratic institutions in Nigeria’s First Republic. This Critical
Stylistic study highlights the intricate power dynamics that underpinned the military intervention and
emphasizes the role of language as a tool for ideological persuasion. By revealing the linguistic
resources employed by the coup plotters, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how
language can shape political realities and influence public perception during times of upheaval.
KEYWORDS: Critical stylistic, Analysis, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, Coup speech, Ideological

Arbitrer : Scientific Journal of Linguistics Society of Indonesia, Oct 9, 2023

Recently, the pattern of conversation among the Yoruba youths which exhibits lack of subtle or co... more Recently, the pattern of conversation among the Yoruba youths which exhibits lack of subtle or courteous manner of referring to taboo or socially sanctioned issues has become worrisome especially where it concerns perpetuation of Yoruba culture and worldview generally. It becomes expedient therefore to interrogate how Euphemism is used to avoid uncomfortable communication and offense in the Yoruba Sociolinguistic landscape. This study specifically interrogates how the Yoruba culture utilizes euphemism to refer to sensitive sexual behavior in the public domain. Warren model of linguistic formations of euphemisms is adopted to analyze the formation and the use of euphemisms by the natural language users, writers and musicians to refer to human sexuality in the public domain without causing distaste. Data used were drawn from musical clips and excerpts from Abass Àkàndé Òbésèré's Compact Disc (1993), Akéde

European Scientific Journal ESJ, 2020

This research is a comparative analysis of Traditional Methods and Communicative Language Teachin... more This research is a comparative analysis of Traditional Methods and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and their ability to facilitate students' academic and communicative achievement at Basic Education level. Students and teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) from secondary schools within the Badagry Local Educational District of Lagos State, Nigeria, were randomly selected and sampled as the population of the study. Remedial treatment was given to the experimental group and later, proficiency test was given to both the experimental and the control groups to measure the ability to carry out specific communicative tasks in ESL. The observation checklist and the diagnostic test (pretest) were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics of mean, standard deviation and t-test. Data analysis revealed that the traditional method being utilised in teaching English language in L2 situations cannot promote adequate communicative competence expected of the learners of ESL at the secondary School level. The linguistic performances of the control group students in the post-tests were low and, this calls for adoption of a functional language teaching model to promote adequate communicative skills in the learners. The performance of the experimental group revealed that CLT promotes free language use and interpersonal communication skills in ESL and thereby enhances communicative competence in the learners. Teachers of ESL need to be equipped with the skills of CLT in order to achieve the goals of linguistic competence in their teaching.

Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Mar 1, 2020

This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Soyinka's The Beatification of Area Boy. It ... more This paper is a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Soyinka's The Beatification of Area Boy. It critically interrogates the pattern of speech of the characters and its relation to how social power abuse and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted in the text. The analysis of the text unravels the perennial issues of corruption, poverty and societal imbalance which exemplify socio-political problems in Nigeria. There is also the reflection of the use of discursive features such as a variety of simple, compound and complex sentences to achieve pragmatic functions of social and interpersonal language use like interrogating issues, declaring personal motive and commenting on socio-political issues. These functions reflect communicative interactions in the realm of political, economic and cultural practices of Nigerians in the conversation situations analysed in the texts. Analysis of the text illustrates the view of the deprived people and shows that those who are in power are responsible for the use of language to create power and social inequality. CDA is therefore a useful tool to access salient information in texts and talk in order to checkmate power abuse and social inequality. The paper concludes that Soyinka's use of language in the text foregrounds social imbalance and disorientation of the people by the ruling class.

Yoruba Studies Review, 2021

This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts i... more This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts in the Yorùbá-speaking part of Nigeria, interrogating their adequacy and appropriateness. Sixty-five concepts/titles extracted from one hundred news bulletins presented by five radio stations across the Yorùbá-speaking states of Nigeria are examined. The study is prompted by an intuitive feeling of inaccuracy and inappropriateness of important words in news broadcasts in Yorùbá and predicated upon the fact that misinformation can be as pernicious as lack of information. The renderings of the concepts in Yorùbá are compared with their original versions in English, revealing translation weaknesses such as semantic narrowing, expansion, wordiness, and sometimes even unwitting distortions. It concludes by emphasizing the adoption of appropriate translation strategies and a more rigorous engagement with the texts as a way of guarding against unintended distortions and misinformation.

European Scientific Journal., 2020

This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts i... more This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts in the Yoruba-speaking part of Nigeria, interrogating their adequacy and appropriateness. Sixty-five concepts/titles extracted from one hundred news bulletins presented by five radio stations across the Yoruba-speaking states of Nigeria are examined. The study is prompted by an intuitive feeling of inaccuracy and inappropriateness of important words in news broadcasts in Yoruba and predicated upon the fact that misinformation can be as pernicious as lack of information. The renderings of the concepts in Yoruba are compared with their original versions in English, revealing translation weaknesses such as semantic narrowing, expansion, wordiness, sometimes even unwitting distortions. It concludes by emphasising the adoption of appropriate translation strategies and a more rigorous engagement with the texts as a way of guarding against unintended distortions and misinformation.

Beder University Journal of Educational Sciences, 0

MIZORAM UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF HUMANITY & SOCIAL SCIENCES, 0

Abstract The study investigated the ... more Abstract

Applied Linguistics Inquiry Spring 2024, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 8-17, 2024

Arbitrer : Scientific Journal of Linguistics Society of Indonesia, Oct 9, 2023

European Scientific Journal ESJ, 2020

Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Mar 1, 2020

Yoruba Studies Review, 2021

European Scientific Journal., 2020

This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts i... more This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts in the Yoruba-speaking part of Nigeria, interrogating their adequacy and appropriateness. Sixty-five concepts/titles extracted from one hundred news bulletins presented by five radio stations across the Yoruba-speaking states of Nigeria are examined. The study is prompted by an intuitive feeling of inaccuracy and inappropriateness of important words in news broadcasts in Yoruba and predicated upon the fact that misinformation can be as pernicious as lack of information. The renderings of the concepts in Yoruba are compared with their original versions in English, revealing translation weaknesses such as semantic narrowing, expansion, wordiness, sometimes even unwitting distortions. It concludes by emphasising the adoption of appropriate translation strategies and a more rigorous engagement with the texts as a way of guarding against unintended distortions and misinformation.