ABSTRACT
Proverbs play very important functional, communicative and
pragmatic roles in Igala language. Their social and contextual
importance has been attested to by ethnographers, philosophers, literary
and other language experts, as instruments of communication, cultural
education and channel of language aesthetics, as a house of wisdom,
garnished and sustained among the Igala of Northern Nigeria. It is,
perhaps, unimaginable thata speech event, involving a competent Igala
speaker will be successfully conducted and concluded without the use of
the appropriate and, contextually suitable proverbs, in order to achieve
the purpose of the discourse. In spite of their rich linguistic and
pragmatic importance, however, Igala proverbs have not been accorded
critical linguistic and especially pragmatic focus in research,
especially in relation to with regards to the important role of
contextual features used in the deciphering of meaning and
interpretation.Thisresearch examines Igala proverbs and the extent to
which contextual features help in the interpreation of meaning and their
uses in specific social contexts, the illocutionary acts performed both
directly and indirectly, and the pragmatic value derivable from the
analyses of each proverb. The theoretical framework for this study is
based on Lawal (1997), which is a synthesis of the pragmatic insights of
other linguists. The data for the study were obtained from audio
recordings of Igala traditional performances during marriage and
coronation ceremonies, conflict resolution sessions, village meetings,
and structured interviews. Secondary sources of data were obtained from
story books by writers of Igala extraction, and literature from other
cultures.Findings emanating from this study revealed that context is the
determinant of meaning in pragmatic studies, especially in the analysis
of Igala proverbs which are context sensitive and their meanings and
interpretations are subject to their use and usage in a contextually
conventional language environment. In context of this study, the
illocutionary acts helped in the correlation of the degree of proverbs
meaning, interpretation and functions especially in the determination
and projection of the speaker‟s intention, in the direct and the
indirect illocutionary acts and the overall impact on meaning.On the
whole, the study found that inspite of technological advancements;
proverbs are still used extensively in Igala traditional societies. This
research further reveals the love and admiration Igala speakers accord
to Igala proverbs genre. This study reveals that there is more to the
study of a proverb than a mere mechanistic examination of its forms.
Pragmatic mappings of contexts and competences at the linguistic,
situational, social, sociological, psychological and cosmological levels
as well as other pragmatic features such as Mutual Contextual Beliefs
(MCBs), intentions of the speaker and the listener, the illocutionary
acts performed, presupposition, inference, implicatures and intuition,
all affect the meaning and interpretation of the proverb in language
situations in an ethnographic setting.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
Across languages and cultures, proverbs constitute a very importantaspect of
language use. Hence, they have been subject of varying attention
from linguists, anthropologists and language users in general. They have
also been described and labelled in various ways in different languages
and cultures. For example, the Yoruba refer to proverbs as a kind of
horse, which comes handy in recovering a speech that has derailed. Among
the Igbo, proverbs are “the palm oil with which words are eaten” and
they form “an aspect of language use, which not only makes a point, but
fixes in our minds” (Achebe, 1958:6).
Even the scriptures are not silent on proverbs. Proverbs 1:1-7 (The Holy Bible,New
International Version, 1984), explains that proverbs help the wise
inincreasing his wisdom, while enabling the discerning to get guidance.
Proverbs in different languages and cultures form part of the codes of
behaviour and exemplify their use for the transmission of tribal wisdom
and rules of conduct (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992:749).
In fact, Gadzar (1980:84) refers to proverbs as a short-handframe of
reference to the moral and ethical inclinations of a people. They could
form part of a class that comprises the origin of myths, folk-tales and
songs, which feature in conversation between adults. Fergasson (1983:63)
believes that proverbs “mirror the life of the people, reflect what
they do, what and how they think, how they live, what values they admire
or abhor and what joys and sorrows they experience”.