Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies
Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JLLLS) is an interdisciplinary and quality peer-reviewed open-access journal. All papers submitted to JLLLS are double-blinded peer-reviewed in the field of Languages, Linguistics, and Literary Studies. JLLLS only accepts and publishes original articles which are not under consideration or review in any journal.
Looking beyond tomorrow to day in language, literature and culture: A reflection
Technology is life, life is technology. Technology is a driver of change in every human society, and it is an incontrovertible fact that the only thing constant in life is change. This change is a function of innovation and dynamism driven by technology in all spheres of human endeavors. The purpose of this study is to draw attention to the impact of technologies in knowledge production and distribution in Africa by reflecting on the thoughts, opinions, and scholarly projections of the place of innovation and dynamism in language, linguistics, literature, and culture from an African perspective in a changing world. The study employed descriptive method which involves a review of experts’ opinions in language, literature, linguistics, and culture in conferences, debates, convocation lectures, lecture series, and symposia in Africa and the diaspora Findings revealed that for the English language teacher, the African language teacher, the broadcaster and the teacher of literature to be relevant, they must be part of the tools of innovation and dynamism driven by technologies in this world of artificial intelligence. The study concludes that African scholars must prioritize technologies in the teaching and learning process especially in tertiary institutions. It is, therefore, suggested that African governments invest more in education particularly in the area of technology. Curriculum developers must also take conscious and proactive measures to decolonize our education and epistemologies as Africans, especially in tertiary institutions and imbibe the idea of blending technology with our knowledge production system as Africans.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jegede Francis Olabisi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Intertextuality in Sheng Spoken Word Poetry
This article examines techniques of intertextuality in Sheng spoken word poetry in Kenya. Intertextuality is the connectedness of existing texts in a new text. Sheng is a non-standard language spoken in Kenya. Kristeva’s ideas of intertextuality are instrumental in this study. Bazerman & Prior’s model of intertextuality is used as an analytical tool in this study. The model has six intertextual techniques which include direct quotation, indirect quotation, mentioning a person, document, or statement, comment or evaluation on a statement, text, or otherwise invoked voice, using recognisable phrasing, and terminology associated with specific people or groups of people or particular documents and using language and forms that seem to echo certain ways of communicating, discussions among other people, and types of documents. The data of the study were sourced from Sheng spoken word poems. Ten Sheng spoken word poems were sampled from five poets. The sampling was done purposely based on the richness of the poem’s intertextuality. Through the content analysis schedule, words and phrases exhibiting intertextuality were identified and categorised into suitable intertextual techniques for description. The findings revealed that Sheng spoken word artists incorporate existing texts from discourses of religion, politics, relationships, and entertainment to voice real societal issues..
Copyright (c) 2025 Bora Mwadeje Mbito, Dr. Giguru, Dr. Kebeya https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Visual narratives and linguistic framing: A multi-modal discourse study of newspaper coverage on the CBEX Ponzi Scheme in Nigeria
This study explores the media's portrayal of the CBEX Ponzi scheme in Nigeria through a multimodal discourse perspective. It aims to analyse how semiotic elements in The Sun and Punch newspapers combine to communicate messages about the CBEX Ponzi scheme, interpret these messages, evaluate their influence on audiences, and examine the socio-cultural implications of the framing strategies used in the coverage. Using Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) visual grammar theory, the research examines a selection of ten images and accompanying texts from the two major Nigerian newspapers, published between April 15th and April 25th, 2025. The analysis indicates that media outlets frequently employ sensational imagery and emotionally charged language to amplify perceived socio-economic risks and victimisation associated with Ponzi schemes. Nonetheless, there is often insufficient focus on the systemic factors that facilitate these financial frauds. This framing tends to evoke strong emotions in viewers while offering limited critical discussion of regulatory or structural issues. Ultimately, the paper advocates for more balanced and nuanced media portrayals that go beyond sensationalism, thereby promoting greater public financial literacy and enabling individuals to protect themselves from fraudulent schemes..
Copyright (c) 2025 Isaiah Aluya, Ameh Jonathan Agaba https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
A synta-onomastic analysis of Yorùbá nicknames of selected English Premier League football clubs
The main thrust of this research is to analyse the use of nicknames as an instrument of banter among fans of the English Premier League and sportscasters in Yorubaland. The aim of this research is to examine if the use of these names is parasitic or symbiotic to the Yoruba language and culture. Data for this research work were gathered from both primary and secondary sources, which include interviews and recordings of football fans’ conversations in selected viewing centres in Ibadan, Ilorin, and Malete towns, as well as gathering data from media sources, which include BBC Yoruba and Splash 105.5 FM Ibadan through their Meta accounts. The theory adopted for this research is the socio-onomastic theory, which sees a name as a social construct. From this research, it was discovered that syntactically, Yoruba nicknames of English Premier League clubs can be classified into nominal class and sentence class. Socio-onomastically, it was discovered that Yoruba nicknames of English Premier League clubs can be classified into Colour and symbol, Yoruba folklore, Clubs’ current form, Club history and Place and personal names. It was also discovered that Yoruba socio-cultural beliefs, which include belief in destiny and predestination, the concept of “Orí” ‘head’ in Yoruba cosmology, as well as other cultural practices such as the system of government, religion, etc., are embedded in Yoruba nicknames for English Premier League Clubs. In conclusion, Yoruba nicknames perform a symbiotic role between football and the Yoruba language and culture..
Copyright (c) 2025 Ridwan Akinkunmi Rabiu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Investigating factors contributing to first language lexical attrition in non-migrant context among Kara young adults
Studying L1 attrition has vehemently focused on migration and child adoptions. The study of L1 attrition in multilingual societies experiencing local cross-linguistic effects has received limited concerns. Thus, factors perceived to determine attrition are limited to emigration contexts. This paper investigates factors for attrition of Kara-L1 traditional culture terms among non-migrants young adults. It is guided by the Cross-linguistic Influence Hypothesis (CLI). The study is generally qualitative, and it employs a case study design. It used oral and written data collected through verbal fluency tests, direct vocabulary elicitation tasks, picture naming tasks, surveys and unstructured interviews administered to 30 participants recruited purposively. These were young adults (N=15) as the target group as well as mid-aged and older adults as the control group (N=15). The participants were snowballed from the family and friends as recruiting agents. Data analysis adhered to the six-phase thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that factors for L1 attrition are multiple, varying from one context of attrition to another. However, some factors are cross-cultural, cutting across at least many instances of cross-linguistic interference. They are also dependent on aggregate attrition since no single factor can cause attrition. The current study recommends redirection of approaches to attrition cases in African multilingual contexts; hence, avoid focusing on migration and examine the prevailing exposure of ethnic languages to superior languages like English, Swahili, and French.
Copyright (c) 2025 Mosi Masatu Mlibwa, Dr. Elisifa Z., Dr. Frank J. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Negotiating the interpersonal metafunction in Bukusu Bible: A systemic functional grammar approach
The main thrust of this paper is to examine the meaning generated from Mark chapter 8:1-38 through the lens of Systemic Functional Grammar theory. The argument raised in this paper is that language comprises resources for constructing meaning through functional grammar. The objective of this study is to; investigate the mood categories that define interpersonal metafunction in Mark 8:1-38. The study is organized into context of events at the desert, after crossing the sea and Bethseida demonstrating that Systemic Functional Grammar theory is context specific. In view of this, interpersonal metafunctions in clauses organize messages into mood and residue components with the former occupying the initial clause positions while the latter taking the final position. Still the mood is parsed into the subject and predicator while the residue is organised into adjunct and complement. It is with the backdrop of this objective that the study found out that the language constructs mood through declarative and interrogative. In this study, Jesus fed 5000 people and healed the blind man as evident in declarative and interrogative mood. The contextual nature of the discourse at Bethsaida between Jesus and his disciples after feeding the multitude is constructed through declarative and interrogative moods. The messages of assurance and hope are revealed through declaratives when Jesus fed people. The study unveils aspects of doubt concerning sincerity of Jesus getting a meal to feed the multitude in the desert. The mood evident at Bethsaida revealed Jesus’s supernatural power to heal the blind.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aggrey Wafula Watulo, Dr. Evelyn Mahero , Prof. Vicky Telewa Khasandi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
An assessment of the functions of code-switching and code-mixing in Radio and YouTube commercials
The mixture of codes in advertisements is a linguistic practice done by advertisers to perform some socially motivated functions geared towards ensuring an effective dissemination of intended information about advertised products and services. The objective of this study is to interpret the functions of the code-switched expressions in the selected advertisement jingles. The primary source of data was drawn from 60 code-switched advertisement jingles collected from 30 radio commercials and 30 online advertisements on YouTube. The result showed that the 6 functions of code-switching by Appel and Muysken (2006) were performed which include Referential, Directive, Expressive, Phatic, Metalinguistic and Poetic Functions. Also, two other functions called Maintenance and Elaborative Functions were discovered in the study. All these functions enhanced the listeners’ acceptability, understanding and positive disposal towards the products and services. It is recommended that advertisers employ code-switching and code-mixing in different advertising engagements so as to explore different functions that they can perform and ultimately guarantee a very successful transfer of information about products and services to the members of the society.
Copyright (c) 2025 Mary Temiloluwa Oso, Emmanuel Taiwo Babalola, Moses Chika Christian-Achinihu, Basheerat Damilola Jimoh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
This study explores how gender prejudice appears in linguistic practice and the prevalence of sexism in the English language among educated Nigerians. The usage of sexist language, such as gender exclusive phrases, stereotyped portrayals, and the reinforcement of established gender norms. The research applies qualitative and quantitative methods using a sample of 250 educated Nigerians in its analysis, which is done by collecting data from questionnaires. Text analysis of written resources, including scholarly articles, official documents, and media releases, was used to gather information from a sample of educated English speakers in Nigeria. Feminist linguistic theory is used as the theoretical framework that guides the research. This theory talks about the verbal patterns that uphold gender inequality. The findings show that sex languages persist, despite increased awareness and efforts to prevent them among educated Nigerians. The study shows that while the English language, as spoken by educated Nigerians and others, mirrors broader worldwide trends in gendered language, purposeful linguistic change is still required to achieve gender inclusion. This study will contribute to the ongoing discourse about language and sex inequality in Nigeria.
Copyright (c) 2025 Emmanuel Pereowei Monday https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Navigating Kiswahili language variations existing among speakers from different countries
This study explores possible ways of navigating Kiswahili language variations existing among speakers from different countries. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research analysed data from focus group discussions, documentary analysis, and questionnaires. Key findings revealed significant variations in vocabulary (62%) and pronunciation (59%) as major communication barriers, alongside accent differences (44%), dialectal variations (42%), and slang usage (36%). Accommodation was the most common coping strategy (51%). Respondents strongly supported the need for solutions, with 91% advocating for measures to address these variations. The study proposed solutions, including having a standardized Kiswahili teaching syllabus (37%), the establishment of a global Kiswahili language body (20%), and incorporating language variation awareness into curricula (18%). Other suggestions included introducing a common Kiswahili language certification (11%), discouraging the use of slang (8%), and promoting translation and interpretation (4%). The study anticipates numerous benefits that come as a result of addressing these challenges, including enhanced global communication (34%), ease of business (20%), improved access to information (16%), increased integration (10%), and improved education (12%). The research concluded that while Kiswahili language variations present challenges, they also offer opportunities for cultural exchange and linguistic diversity.
Copyright (c) 2025 Igunza Onzere https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
A transitivity analysis of Adichie’s Zikora and Kafka’s A report to an academy
The research recognises that prose fiction forms a significant source of data for stylistic investigations. The study aims to examine transitivity features in Chimamanda Adichie’s ‘Zikora’ and‘ A Report to an Academy’ by Franz Kafka. The research recognises that the short stories have not attracted much linguistic research interest over the years. In doing so, it applies Systemic Functional Linguistics by Halliday as an analytical tool to explore 20 clauses with reference to system networks in general and the transitive system in particular. The study first identified the independent clauses in the text. Subsequently, it randomly chose 20 clauses for the analysis of transitivity patterns. The analysis pays attention to participants, process, and circumstances in the clauses. The research discovered that the material process is more frequent than other process types in Adichie’s ‘Zikora’, with an equal number of material and mental processes in Kafka’s A Report to an Academy. This choice helped the former in presenting actions of the characters rather than giving a mere narration about their mental preferences, while the latter created a balance between doing and mentalising.
Copyright (c) 2025 Yusuf Musa Aliyu, Chinyere Uchegbu-Ekwueme https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
From resistance to assimilation: Tracing the dwindle of indigenous Chasu personal names under colonial influence
Colonisers suppressed and detached Africans from their cultural heritage and identity. One aspect mirroring this determination is the replacement of African names with foreign names. Like many other communities, the Chasu-speaking community has experienced significant shifts in its naming practices over the past century. The present study evaluates Chasu's lost and surviving names and the dynamics of the Chasu naming system from colonialism to date under the lens of Linguistic Imperialism theory. The data were collected from 380 subjects, both old and young people. The findings show that in the early stages of colonial rule, the Chasu community opposed the use of colonial names to preserve their cultural identity. However, as colonialism progressed, opposition to colonial rule gradually declined, leading to the gradual acceptance of colonial practices, including personal naming. Even after independence, colonial influence on naming practices continued. Indigenous Chasu names have declined significantly, especially among women. This underscores the need for initiatives to preserve indigenous Chasu names to maintain cultural heritage and identity. This can be done through community initiatives, policy changes to protect indigenous names, and creating databases of indigenous Chasu names to guide parents in naming their children.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lazaro Charles https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Syntactic analysis of focus construction in Olukumi and Ìlorin dialects of Yoruba
This research paper discusses a syntactic analysis of focus construction in Yoruba Olùkùmi spoken in Aniocha, Delta State, and Yoruba Ìlo̩rin spoken in Ìlo̩rin, Kwara State. The aim of this study is to compare and contrast focusing in the two dialects while the specific objectives are to: identify the focus marker, analyze varied constituents that can be focused on in the two dialects, and compare the relatedness of the two dialects. Data for this research were drawn from five purposively selected native speakers, each in Olùkùmi spoken in Ugbodu, Delta State, and Ìlo̩rin, Kwara State, via observation and interview. Government and Binding Theory is employed for this study since it is a syntactic theory that adopts the d-structure and s-structure as levels of representation. The Move-Alpha, a sub-theory of Government and Binding Theory, was used for analysis in this paper because it maps d-structure into focus construction, s-structure. The study finds that the two dialects use ‘ni’ to mark focusing. Also, it is revealed in these dialects that constituent focusing involves the movement of the target constituent to the sentence-final position, while sentence focusing signals attachment of particle ‘ni’ to the sentence final. Furthermore, it is discovered in these dialects that whenever a subject NP is moved for focusing, the extraction site is plenished with resumptive pronoun ‘̣ó’, while the extraction site of the genitival NP is plenished with resumptive pronoun ‘rẹ̀’. This study revealed that there is no difference between Yorùbá Olùkùmi and Yorùba Ìlo̩rin in the aspect of focus construction and therefore concludes that focusing is one of the syntactic evidence that establishes Olùkùmi as a dialect of Yorùbá spoken outside Yorùbá communities within Nigeria.
Copyright (c) 2025 Fatai Toyin Kareem https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Examining university students’ English language loud reading fluency rate in Tanzania
Reading rate is one of the important components of fluency and an indicator of comprehension. This paper is in the area of reading fluency, examining reading rate among university students in Tanzania. A total sample of 311 first-year students was involved in the study, with males constituting 49.83% and females 50.16%. These participants were sampled from the Muslim University of Morogoro, the University of Dodoma, and the University of Dar es Salaam. The study adopted Competency-Based Measurement (CBM) to determine student’s reading fluency rate, where each participant read aloud a given passage. The assessment was compared against 300 words per minute (WPM), the benchmark adopted in the study as proposed by Hasbrouck and Tindal. On average, the students read at a rate of 112 wpm with a standard deviation of 22.6. This means that the students are significantly below the standard rate. This situation is probably because students did not receive adequate training in English reading skills during their elementary levels. Reading rate is usually linked with comprehension; therefore, if they still struggle with reading speed, they are likely to face challenges in understanding complex texts, which are common at the university level.
Copyright (c) 2025 Sadiki Moshi Feruzi, Nestory Nyamwala Ligembe, Salma Omar Hamad https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Reordering for prominence and consequent reconfiguration of the mood structure in Gikuyu clauses
Certain communication situations may need emphasis on specific sentence elements. Speakers utilise their linguistic competence to choose from various emphatic structures for the need, structures resulting from reconstruction of the basic sentence. This reconstruction could be through reordering of clause elements through processes like: passivisation, cleft and pseudo-cleft structuring, topicalisation, and inversion of clause elements. This paper aimed at establishing the realization of these processes in Gĩkũyũ and their effects on the syntactic analysis of the mood structure in the clause as exchange analysis within Functional Grammar theory. The data for the paper was Gĩkũyũ clauses portraying the reordering processes. The paper adopted a descriptive research design, purposively sampling the clauses and their sources. The clauses were grouped under the various reordering processes and subjected to clause as exchange analysis, which was compared to that of their kernel sentences for the effect of the reordering on the mood structure. The reordering processes were found in Gĩkũyũ and the processes discovered to affect the mood structure of the kernel clauses, either in the reconfiguration of the structure or reconstitution of its elements. Some instances of passivisation were discovered to drop some mood elements like Complement, while the subject-complement inversion led to a Mood Residue inversion. The paper concludes that Gikuyu has resources enabling its users to strategically place specific elements for prominence as required by a given communication context. The findings significantly revealed the flexibility of Gikuyu clauses and the applicability of Systemic Functional Linguistics in analyzing Gikuyu emphatic clauses.
Cleft, Gĩkũyũ, Inversion, Mood Structure, Passivisation, Pseudo-Cleft, Reordering, Topicalisation
Copyright (c) 2025 Peter Maina Wakarindi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Engaging with YouTube kids: A network for English language acquisition
YouTube Kids is an engaging and easy-to-use resource for young students who wish to study English. Its vast library of educational resources offers a rich and diverse learning environment, including engaging animations and interactive films. YouTube Kids fosters a welcoming and stimulating environment that enables children to quickly advance their English language proficiency by incorporating play and exploration into language training. This study employed a comprehensive narrative literature review as the qualitative approach. According to the pertinent literature examined, YouTube Kids offered advantages and disadvantages as a medium for learning English. YouTube Kids is an invaluable tool for young students attempting to learn English. However, there are some possible drawbacks as well. In particular, certain films might not use similar English customs or accuracy, which could lead children to poor pronunciation or grammar. Parents and teachers must cautiously choose and monitor the video material their children watch to safeguard their children's YouTube Kids content that aids their language learning objectives. Parents and teachers can minimize potential drawbacks and optimize the site's value as a tool for teaching young students English language skills through rigorous monitoring and curation.
Educational Videos, English, Language Acquisition, Narrative Review, YouTube Kids
Copyright (c) 2025 Genesis Gregorious Genelza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Olùkùmi polar question derivation: A complex linguistic inquiry
This study investigates polar questions in Olùkùmi, an island dialect of Yorùbá. Clauses have unique peculiarities that distinguish one clause type from another in every language. This informs why a question construction can be differentiated from any other construction type. Question construction is of various types one of which is the polar question that is the focus of this paper. A polar question is the question type that expects affirmation or rejection. Studies on Olùkùmi have paid little attention to question types. Hence, this study aims to fill this gap in language documentation by illustrating the derivation, projection, and possible responses to polar questions in Olùkùmi. This study adopts a qualitative method, and the frame technique is used for data collection to get relevant structural samples from competent native speakers in the Ugbódù community, Delta state, Nigeria. Chomsky’s Minimalist Program is adopted as the theoretical framework. Findings show that Olùkùmi uses a high-low tone morph under the special intonation pattern which takes the last vocalic anchor of an affirmative construction as a polar particle. The particle surfaces sentence finally changes the status of a declarative construction to a polar construction. Also, It was discovered that polar question derivation in Olùkùmi has a limited overt particle/marker and its response could either be hẹ́hẹ̀hẹ́/báà ni ‘’Yes/It is so’’ or hẹ́hẹ̀/ é è ghò báà ‘‘No/ It is not so’’. This study has shown that the form and derivation pattern of the Olùkùmi polar question is different from standard Yorùbá.
Minimalist program, Olùkùmi, Polar particle, Polar question, Tone-morph
Copyright (c) 2025 Alimot Folake Eleshin-Ajikobi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Language in the service of disempowerment: Unpacking women’s socialization in Ekegusii
This paper seeks to illustrate how sexualized Ekegusii transitive verbs and common nouns portray women as passive recipients of men’s actions, reinforcing their subordinate roles in the Gusii community. It addresses two questions: Do sexualized Ekegusii verbs and nouns discriminate against women? And how does this language impact the self-concept and worldview of Gusii girls and young women? Based on a study in Southern Kisii, Kenya, the findings reveal how language can be used discursively to socialize girls into accepting a feminine ideal that perpetuates their subordinate status. Ekegusii nouns and verbs were found to be used discursively to depict women as powerless and inferior persons, underscoring the need to examine this language as a tool for social control. Raising awareness could lead to healthier self-concepts and support the broader struggle against gender inequality in the community. The study also highlights that the linguistic framing of women adversely affects the self-image and agency of Gusii girls and women, indicating that language not only reflects societal attitudes but also shapes individual perceptions. It emphasizes the urgent need for increased self-awareness and critical reflection among girls regarding the discursive use of Ekegusii, thereby enabling them to actively contribute to combating oppressive gender dynamics in society.
Copyright (c) 2025 George Ezekiel Aberi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
ChatGPT's role in English language assessment: A systematic literature review
Due to the fast-phasing technological advancements, integrating generative artificial intelligence such as Open AI’s ChatGPT into language teaching has been a topic for several studies. Considering this, the present study intended to synthesize the general findings of different studies that are focused on documenting the role of ChatGPT in English language assessment. This paper utilized a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to address the primary objective of this study. The studies analyzed in this SLR were all gathered from Google Scholar. The researcher has used the keywords “ChatGPT”, “English Language Assessment”, and “ChatGPT in English Language Assessment” and collected the studies which are published in the years 2023 and 2024. The findings of this SLR revealed that ChatGPT brings convenience to both language teachers and students in terms of language assessment by providing personalized feedback and assistance in the formulation and administration of formative and summative assessments. However, these roles pose a threat to the authenticity of the students’ language outputs. These results make it safe to infer that there is a need for the development of guidelines about the integration of ChatGPT in language learning.
ChatGPT, Language Assessment, Language Learning, Language Teaching
Copyright (c) 2025 Junar Marquez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Parameter setting and feature mismatch in a Yoruba-English bilingual child
Language acquisition studies on bilingual children within the African context are rare. Furthermore, studies based on parental diaries of children’s development have the advantage of providing details that other methods will miss. This paper presents an analysis of the speech of a bilingual child acquiring Yoruba and English concurrently. Data were collected from age two years, four months and two weeks (2;4.2) to three years, eight months and two weeks (3;8.2). The pattern observed was that the matrix language of the subject, code-named BM, switched between Yoruba and English, an indication that she might not be distinguishing between the two languages at this stage of her language acquisition. Grammatical themes of head position, null preposition, wh-questions, yes/no questions, finite/non-finite clauses, serial verb constructions and feature mismatch all present data in support of the conclusion that the child was still trying hypotheses, developing the grammars of the two languages, and was also in the process of working out the distinctions between them.
Copyright (c) 2025 Waheed Ayisa Jayeola , Kolawole Adeniyi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Hybridisation in the poetry of Christopher Okigbo: A study of Labyrinths
Christopher Okigbo is a hybrid creature (this claim may sound adventurous and outlandish), but who is not. This applies to both his personality and creative efforts. This phenomenon is not unique to Okigbo but extends to all colonial subjects. The African continent has passed through crucibles of re-orientation geared towards adjusting the mentality and psychology of Africans towards hating everything African and loving and adoring everything Western. This has created in Africans a dual kind of personality, which in the present circumstance has manifested as a hybrid subject. Hybridity in the African manifests in the overall disposition of the African. Hybridisation/Hybridity is carefully and profusely demonstrated by Okigbo in his poetry. This paper examines the origin and nature of the concepts of hybridisation and hybridity. Then, their deployment in Labyrinths was investigated. The paper demonstrates that Christopher Okigbo deployed hybridisation in the crafting of Labyrinths. The paper concludes that Okigbo employed hybridisation as a stylistic device in his poetry for the advancement of the treatment of his themes, especially those of dual personality, culture conflict, disorientation as a result of inability to identify and deal with one's personality, and lack of confidence in the African..
Copyright (c) 2025 Michael Onyeisi Ejiodu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Analysing discourse of praise singing in African oral literature: The psychological implications
This paper analyses praise singing in African oral literature, and its psychological implications. The psychological implication of analysing the discourse of praise singing in African oral literature is the application of ideas from the speech of the singer by bringing out the linguistic aspects of the speech and relating their psychological effects on society. Since society connects discourse analysis and psychology, discursive psychology has to do with the application of ideas from discourse analysis to issues in psychology. Discourse analysis studies speech, text, signs, and symbols, as well as their usage in performing actions. Praise singing in oral literature is an aspect of human behaviour and this informs the psychological implications. Since discourse analysis is a qualitative research investigating language use in a social context, this paper uses the speech act theory and critical discourse analysis approach as the theoretical framework. The study revealed that in modern-day technology, recorded audio praise songs are replacing face-to-face singing, and praise singing is implicated in the social connectedness and motivation of individuals. The findings also show that oral literature touches the body and feeds the soul, acting as a therapy which improves mental health. The paper concluded that praise singing in Africa adds aesthetics to oral literature as well as psychological satiety to individuals. Furthermore, the linguistic features in praise songs create awareness of the application of Discourse Analysis to African literature. Thus, praise singing nourishes the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of humans. Recorded audio and video praise songs were recommended for documentation.
Aesthetics, Discourse analysis, Oral literature, Praise singing, Psychological implications, Speech act.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Carol C. Ohen , Dr. Florence Etuwe Oghiator, Dumkelechuku Christopher Obed-Ohen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Framework for building linguistic corpora for a large language model project for the Heritage Nubian Language of Kenya
Low-resource languages face an uphill task in their documentation and preservation. Language technologies offer a way out for these beleaguered languages. However, these technologies depend on developing high-quality linguistic corpora absent in understudied and under-resourced languages like the Kisii Town Nubian. This study aims to develop a framework for constructing linguistic corpora for the Kisii Town Heritage Nubian language that can be used to develop an LLM and other language technologies. The objectives are to: 1) develop a framework for data collection and metadata labeling, and 2) Identify the main tenets to be considered in developing the language technologies. The methodology used to collect data will utilize local community knowledge experts and opinion leaders at Nyanchwa where the Nubians reside. The process will draw from linguists' knowledge of the language's terrain with necessary permissions and consents sought in the process. Diverse data will be assembled from written texts, recorded audio, web scrapings, and word lists to comprehensively view the language. This will be followed by data processing and annotation. The processed data will be trained on linguistic features such as phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and parts-of-speech labeling. This will then be structured into selective linguistic corpora with robust quality control guidelines. The deliverables of the project will be linguistic corpora for various domains of the Nubian language, the development of language technologies, and comprehensive documentation of linguistic corpora. The results of this project will be consequential in the field of language documentation and technological support for this endangered language.
Copyright (c) 2024 Peter Nyansera Otieno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Contrastive rhetoric and the discourse of second language learning across cultures: A critical synthesis of existing literature
Contrastive rhetoric is the field that studies how language and writing styles differ between cultures and how these differences affect second language learning. The article attempted to critically synthesize the existing literature on contrastive rhetoric and its implications for intercultural second language learning. As a branch of comparative linguistics, contrastive rhetoric involves the structured study of a combination of languages in order to solve the problems that learners face in transferring rhetorical patterns from a first language to a second language, thereby identifying their structural differences and similarities. However, the question of whether a learner's first language influences foreign language learning or not has remained a mystery to many second language acquisition scholars and researchers for many years. The article uses a systematic review approach methodology to discuss the origins and development of contrastive analysis, its theoretical foundations and assumptions, its applications and benefits to learning second languages and other fields, and the theory of contrastive analysis. The research shows that although contrastive rhetoric has been widely criticized for being overly simplistic and narrow, it has evolved to include interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches that serve to address linguistic diversity and inclusivity. The research shows that contrastive rhetoric is not only a starting point for educators but also a tool for addressing the rhetorical challenges that students face when transferring rhetorical patterns from their native languages.
Copyright (c) 2024 George Ezekiel Aberi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
A critical treatise on Mary Wollstonecraft’s Feminist philosophy of education
The paper is a critical literary cum philosophical discourse on the educational feminist philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft feminism responded to the prevailing gender fissure of her time. Gender fissure arises from the indecorous gender identity ascribed to the female gender. The main problem of this study is the unequal rational status ascribed to the male and female genders, respectively. The central objective of this study is to interrogate the root cause of the educational disadvantages of the girl-child. With the aid of the feminist theory and the analytic, expository, and normative approaches, this study demonstrates that the hitherto educational disadvantages of the girl-child do not result from her less rational capacity, but rather from her socially subverted gender identity and the nurturing of improper education. The study finds Wollstonecraft’s feminist educational insights thoughtful, incisive, objective, and sustainably pragmatic. Based on these findings, the paper argues that men and women are born equal, with equal rational capacity for education, and as such, individuals should be educated based on their natural dispositions and not based on their sex or gender. It recommends uniform education of both genders against a traditional stereotyped system of education. The study is qualitative research based on secondary data.
Copyright (c) 2024 Scholastica Chinyere Jacob Uzomah, Michael Maduawuchi Uzomah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
As the origin of oral literature, Africa houses outspoken communities who express their beliefs, thoughts and ideas laced with the long-age experience, knowledge and wisdom of the forefathers through oral performance – chanting. However, the strategies employed in chanting as a genre of Yoruba oral literature have not been well explicated in existing literature. Hence, this study attempted a critical examination of the various components of oral performance often employed by oral artists in chanting performances. This paper is qualitative research which employs a descriptive analysis of the strategies (also known as learning materials) employed in chanting. Eight (8) poems and dialogue were randomly selected from different forms of chants like ifá chant, èdá, ìjálá, ijuba, oríkì, rárà among others due to their general relevance and usage to examine the presence of these strategies. A random sampling technique was adopted for the study. Findings show that effective use of these learning materials such as confidence, voice, common sense, memorization, shyness, paying homage, singing, humour, and lineage appraisal enriches Yorùbá chanting performance and promotes cultural heritage. This study concludes that chanting, with its strategies, is an effective tool for teaching Yoruba literature, serves as an effective instructional communication tool and draws users to the ambience of their familiar environment.
Copyright (c) 2024 Aransi Ayoola Oladunke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Bases of words in Kinyarwanda: Ambiguity in examinations
Considering the Questions that are prepared in the Kinyarwanda examinations and the ways of marking them, the concept of “base” is ambiguous. The question is formulated as follows: “Mention the bases of the following/underlined words.” Through this question, it is wondered if all words have “bases” and if all words have such morpheme. Additionally, in some words, such a morpheme is called “root”. Different materials differentiate the base and root of words saying that the base comes from words like nouns, mixed nouns, adjectives, and pronouns whilst the root is found on the verb and other words formed from it. In marking, when a candidate answers a base in the place of a root, he is not awarded marks, because he is supposed to know that there is a place where he must present the base, and root in the other place, depending on the type of word. For that, researchers wonder the reasons why examiners ask to mention the bases of the words when they include some words that have roots. This study “Bases of Words in Kinyarwanda: Ambiguity in Examinations”, first, discusses all words that have bases, followed by words that have roots. Further, it discusses the difference between base and root. It also presents the relationship between base and root and ends with the decision for a term that should be used in all questions related to this topic, that term may be used to help the candidates to identify if their answers should be “base or root”.
Copyright (c) 2024 Daniel Ndahimana, Albert Abasenga https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Decoding embodied metaphors in Ja Loka’s X Discourse: An embodied cognition analysis
The X platform began with microblogging but now diversifies to provide more financial and communication-related services. From Ja Loka’s discourse on X, the study analyzes how embodied metaphors, which brainstorm the connection between the concrete and the abstract domains are manifested in the digital sphere. This research analyzes the COGNITIVE PROCESSES that underlie the construction and understanding of the embodied metaphors in Ja Loka’s discourse in the X platform. The present study is based on image schemas as the primary COGNITIVE PROCESSES and examines how Ja Loka conveys abstract concepts, emotions, and values using embodied metaphors. The present study employs a comprehensive descriptive qualitative method that cautiously looks into the COGNITIVE PROCESSES of metaphorical language within the X-platform. The data used to interpret the metaphorical discourse of Ja Loka in the X platform is collected using a web scraping tool called Octoparse. This allowed examining what is entailed in decoding embodied metaphors using image schemas within embodied cognition. The empirical findings present a vast array of embodied metaphors, and the cognitive foundation is varied in terms of image schemas used such as TRANSACTIONAL OBJECTIFICATION, SPATIAL REPRESENTATION, and CONTAINER. The analyzed data substantiate that metaphorical semiosis itself is a multifaceted phenomenon; the structures that are employed require state-of-the-art COGNITIVE PROCESSES to capture all the underlying components of metaphorical meaning-making.
Copyright (c) 2025 Maina Wahome https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Negation within the scope of focus activation in Yorùbá Language
Focus construction is a syntactic process where sentence constituents are given prominence by fronting and marked with a marker. Within the domain of the specifier of Focus Phrase (FocP) in the Yoruba language, the focused constituent moves to the specifier (spec) of FocP and is demarcated from the rest of the clause for attentional state and word order requirements. The focused constituent can be negated by kọ́ in negative focus construction. The hierarchical interaction of kọ́ and focused constituent has not received adequate attention from scholars working on Yoruba focus domains. Thus, this paper adopts Rizzi’s Cartographic Analysis to resolve the interpretation and hierarchical anomaly found in existing literature. The research is qualitative, and primary data were collected from five purposively selected competent native speakers of Yoruba while secondary data consisted of strings of sentence constructions collected from the markets and extant works. The paper discovered that the scope of negation determines the structural architecture of spec-FocP; topicalized and interrogated items cannot be negated, hence both the spec-InterP and spec-TopP are opaque to the so-called constituent negation scope kọ́, and that the complement domain of Neg0 houses an XP (DP, CP, PP, or TP) before being moved for the purpose spec-head valuation. The negator seems to induce a hierarchical order of dominance in interpretation. Hence, scholars depict the negator wrongly in the domain thereby providing wrong interpretation and wrong structural representation of the domain. The implication of this finding shows that there are still more works on the grammar of the Yoruba language.
Copyright (c) 2024 Olabode Thomas Abimbola https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Gender swap, cross-dressing, and androgyny in Oyin Olugbile’s Sanya
Patriarchy and sexual politics have often been skewed against women in military and leadership roles. This paper discussed gender-swapping, cross-dressing, and androgyny as feminist templates that enable women to subvert patriarchy, actualise themselves, and serve society outside of the norm. The study aims to investigate how the feminism-propelled counter-narrative deployed in Oyin Olugbile’s Sanya interrogates received myths and helps subvert stereotypes about women in military and leadership positions. Further, the paper aimed to explore the possibility that many African myths may carry within themselves, coded narratives about the forbidden roles of women in military and leadership positions. Using quantitative discourse analysis from a feminist standpoint governed by post-structuralist philosophy as research methodology, the study pursues intersections between myth, gender, and popular culture. Findings revealed that uncomfortable social truths banished from sanctified myths serve as creative repertoire for engendering ‘subversive’ literary forms. It also found that myths extend their relevance by infusing historical elements with contemporary nuances. The paper recommended more African myth-based creative interventions using new forms that would appeal to the modern-day generations. It suggested that such creative interventions help increase the literary corpus of Nigerian Literature and make for the continuing relevance of verbal performances/Orature in contemporary literary studies. The paper concluded that myths continue to serve society as ancient-in-modern templates which ensure generational relevance by interrogating received narratives.
Androgyny, Cross-dressing, Gender swap, Myth, Popular culture.
Copyright (c) 2024 Elizabeth Onyewuchi Ben-Iheanacho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
A multimodal study of campaign posters of the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate in 2023 general elections in Nigeria
The relevance of multimodal features of campaign posters in disseminating intended information to the Nigerian electorate during the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria is the focus of this research. The study examines six selected political campaign posters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party who featured in the presidential election. These posters were chosen because of the researcher’s conviction that they constitute key elements in expressing the identity and ideology of Peter Obi and his political party. The purpose of this study is to analyse six campaign posters of Peter Obi and assess the effectiveness of the visual and linguistic components in influencing or persuading the electorate to vote for him as president of Nigeria under the auspices the Labour Party. The study adopted the social semiotic theory to analyse the data purposively sourced from Facebook and WhatsApp. Ideas synthesized from this theory are applied to the posters to reveal their encoded meanings. The paper reveals that Peter Obi was able to disseminate information and project his political ideology on the minds of the electorate through visual and non-visual messages contained in the posters. The conclusion of this study indicates that the campaign posters helped in influencing the decision of the electorate in voting for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate to create a healthy rivalry among the contestants for president of Nigeria in the 2023 General Elections.
Copyright (c) 2024 Davidson Monday Omole https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0