Cross-linguistic Variation Among Selected Yoruba-English Bilinguals

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Jun 30, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52919/ijmlsp.v5i01.57
Keywords:
Code-mixing, Linguistic borrowing, Yorùbá language, Conversion, Bilingualis

Main Article Content

Reuben O. Ikotun
University of Uyo, Uyo-Nigeria
Olusanya E. Komolafe
Osun State University, Osogbo- Nigeria
Ismail O. Afolabi
Osun State University, Osogbo- Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined cross-linguistic variation in relation to a gripping pattern of code-mixing observed in the speech of some Yorùbá-English speakers. It employed a descriptive-qualitative design and analysed 157 sentences of selected Yorùbá-English bilinguals from different age groups in Osun and Oyo States. The findings revealed that English words, viewed from the English grammatical perspective, now assume new roles in Yorùbá utterances. However, the new roles reflect the grammatical composition of the Yorùbá language. This means that English words are used to adapt to the grammatical rules of the Yorùbá language. In light of this, a word that functions as a verb or as an adjective in English is found to function as a noun or an adverb in Yorùbá. It is observed that the use of English words in Yorùbá utterances by some Yorùbá language speakers is traceable to the internal linguistic constraints imposed by the structure of Yorùbá. The import of this is that a word from a donor language may function in a different lexical category in a recipient or target language.

Article Details

How to Cite
Ikotun , R. O., Komolafe, O. E., & Afolabi , I. O. (2023). Cross-linguistic Variation Among Selected Yoruba-English Bilinguals. International Journal of Multilingualism and Languages for Specific Purposes , 5(01), 33-56. https://doi.org/10.52919/ijmlsp.v5i01.57
Issue
Vol 5 No 01 (2023): IJMLSP Volume : 05 Issue : 01 [ Special Issue ]/ June 2023
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Reuben O. Ikotun , University of Uyo, Uyo-Nigeria

R. O. Ikotun holds a B.A., M.A. (Ife), PhD (Ibadan), and PGDE (Sokoto). He has taught at Federal Government Colleges and at the university level for over three decades. He is a reputable scholar who successfully led two university-based TETFund-sponsored research projects in 2012 and 2016, respectively, and also participated in four other university-based TETFund projects. He has published in highly reputable journals nationally and internationally, including Names, Linguistik Online, the Journal of West African Languages, the Journal of Studies in Language, Culture, and Society, and the Journal of Asian and African Studies, to name a few. His research interests are rooted in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, language planning, multilingualism, and ethnography of communication.

Olusanya E. Komolafe, Osun State University, Osogbo- Nigeria

Olusanya E. Komolafe holds a B.A. in Linguistics (Yorùbá), an M.A. in Communication and Language Arts, and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Ibadan. He received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Dr. Komolafe is a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, at Osun State University, Osogbo. His research is rooted in the ethnography of communication, terminology development, and indigenous African languages.

Ismail O. Afolabi , Osun State University, Osogbo- Nigeria

Ismail O. Afolabi is a first-class graduate of Linguistics and Communication Studies. He is a Research Fellow of the UNESCO-International Fund for Cultural Diversity, Osun State University Project on Empowering Women and Youth Entrepreneurship through Yoruba Oral Arts in Southwest, Nigeria and a faculty member at the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, College of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Osogbo. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics and has journal papers to his credit both nationally and internationally. His major research interests include applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, multilingualism, and indigenous language media.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Afolabi, I., & Igboanusi, H. (2023). Yorùbá language endangerment and loss in the domain of radio broadcast. International Journal of Multilingualism. doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2023.2197647
Ahukanna, J. (1990) Bilingualism and Code-mixing in Language Use: The Case of Igbo-English Bilinguals. Multilingualism, Minority Languages and Language Policy in Nigeria. Agbor: Central Books Ltd. Pp175-185.
Akíndélé, F. & W. Adégbìtẹ́ (2000) The Sociology and Politics of English in Nigeria: An Introduction. Ifẹ̀: OAU Press.
Akinkurolere, S. & Akinfenwa, M. (2018). A study on the extinction of indigenous languages in Nigeria: causes and possible solutions. Annals of Language and Literature, 2(1), 22-26.
Agantiem, A. (2017). Language (in)equality, language endangerment and the threats to Nigerian languages. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 37, 21-28.
Alọ́, M. (2005). Revisiting Issues in English Use and Usage in Nigeria: Implications for the ESL Classroom. Journal of the Nigeria English Studies Association. Vol II Number 1, Pp114-130.
Babájídé, A. (2001). Language Attitude Patterns of Nigerians. In H. Igboanusi (ed) Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa. Ìbàdàn: Enicrownfit Publishers. Pp. 1-13.
Bámgbóṣé, A. (1966). A Short Yorùbá Grammar. Ìbàdàn: Heinemann Educational Books (Nig) Ltd.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dàda, S. (2009). The Pronunciation of Yorùbá Speakers of English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. UNAD Studies in Language and LiteratureVol 3:1.
Egbokhare, F. (2001). The Nigerian Linguistic Ecology and the Changing Profiles of Nigerian Pidgin. In H. Igboanusi (ed) Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa. Ìbàdàn: Enicrownfit Publishers. Pp. 105-124.
Ẹkúndayọ̀, S. (1987). English in Suppressive Interference. Ifẹ̀ Studies in English Language. Vol. 1 Nos. 1 & 2:5-13.
Gòkè-Paríọ̣lá, A. (1983). Code-mixing among Yorùbá-English Bilinguals. Anthropological Linguistics. Vol. 25 Number 1:39-46.
Ìkọ̣̀tún, R. (1995). Code Choice in Ìdóàní Community in Oǹdó State. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Obafemi Awólọ́wọ̀ University, Ilé-Ifẹ̀.
Ìkọ̣̀tún, R. (1999). English in Suppressive Interference: More Phonological Data”. Chapters in English and Linguistics. Vol. 4:106- 110.
Ìkọ̣̀tún, R. (2008). Sociolinguistics. In M. A. Abíọ́dún (ed) Linguistics: An Introduction. University of Adó-Ẹ̀kìtì. 75-106.
Ìkọ̣̀tún, R. & T. Àkànbí (2011). Saving the Yorùbá Counting System from Extinction. Papers in English and Linguistics. Vol.12: 127-147.
Jubril, M. (1995). The Elaboration of the Functions of Nigerian Pidgin. New Englishes: A West African Perspective. Pp 232-247.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993a). Common and Uncommon Ground: Social and Structural Factors in Code-switching. Language in Society. 22: 475-503.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993b). Duelling Languages. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993c) Social Motivations for Code-Switching: Evidence from Africa. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Myers-Scotton, C. (2002). Frequency and Internationality in (un) Marked Choices in Code-switching: This is a 24-hour Country. The International Journal of Bilingualism. Vol. 6 No. 2,205-219.
Myers-Scotton, C. (2004). How Code-switching as an Available Option Empowers Bilinguals. Linguistic Agency LAUD. No. 596, 1-10.
Myers-Scotton, C. & Jake, J. (2000). Four Types of Morphome: Evidence from Aphasia, Code-switching and Second-language Acquisition. Linguistics. 38-6, 1053-1100.
Òbílàdé, T. (1984). On the Nativization of the English Language in Nigeria. Anthropological Linguistics. Vol. 26 (2) 170-185.
Oyètádé, S. (2001). Attitude to Foreign Languages and Indigenous Language Use in Nigeria. In H. Igboanusi (ed) Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa. Ìbàdàn: Enicrownfit Publishers. Pp. 14-29.
[27] Robin, R. (1989). General Linguistics. Singapore: Longman.
Sàlámì, L. (1991). We Speak Code-mix: Some Perceptions of the Yorùbá Language in Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria. Journal of Asian and African Studies. 41:35-48.
Saville-Troike, M. (1982). The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction. England: Basil Blackwell Publisher Ltd.
Scotton, C. (1979). Code-switching as a ‘Safe Choice’ in Choosing a Lingua Franca. In W.C. McCormack & S.A. Wurn (ed.) Language and Society. The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V. Publishers, 71-87.
Spencer, A. (1995). Morphological Theory. An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Unuabonah, F. & Oladipupo, R. (2018). “You're not staying in Island sha o”: O, sha and abi as pragmatic markers in Nigerian English, Journal of Pragmatics, 135, 8-23.
Vaneva, M. & Bojadjiev, M. (2020). English Zero Derivation Revisited: nouning and verbing in Online Business Article, International Journal of English Linguistics; 10(6): 307 – 321.
Wardhaugh, R. (1987) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd.
Wardhaugh, R. (2000) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics 3rd Edition. Oxford & Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.