Department of Linguistics

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Browsing Department of Linguistics by Author "Adebola A. Isaiah"

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    Code-switching as a strategy of invasive language use on Instagram
    (2024) Adebola A. Isaiah
    Code-switching, (and code-mixing or any form of juxtaposing), a phenomenon characteristic of bilingual speech, has become more notable in writing with the advent of social media. This study investigates the use of words and expressions considered unacceptable by the Community Guidelines of social media applications by focusing on the evasive use of indigenous Nigerian languages on Instagram, a social media platform. Expressions that are considered ‘undesirable’ come up more consistently in indigenous languages when compared to their English equivalents. Thus, there is more code-switching/mixing on the platform than traditionally assumed. Extant studies on code-switching have addressed the phenomenon from the learning, interactional and expressive perspectives, but the discussion on its evasive use on social media platforms has not been equally addressed. Such studies mainly focused on the positive functions of CS. This study employs a corpus method of data collection to gather texts from purposively selected accounts and uses the discourse analysis framework to identify the strategies that foster evasive language use. The findings identify the negative function of CS and writing in an indigenous language as evasive strategies employed by Nigerian Instagram users in their social media posts.
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    Prosodic analysis of noun class markers in the syntax of Batonu language
    (2024) Adebola A. Isaiah
    The grammatical derivation of languages varies, leading to language specificity. In particular, languages with noun classes have unique methods of realizing them through prefixing and sometimes suffixing, such as in the Bàtọ̀nu language. This study focuses on the interface between syntax and phonology in the grammatical realization of the noun class system in the Bàtọ̀nu language, spoken in the Baruteen Local Government Area of Kwara State in Nigeria. Interviews were conducted to gather data, supplemented by secondary sources. Theoretical principles from Government and Binding Theory (GB) and Autosegmental Phonology were used to represent sentence structure and the tonal analysis of the data. Previous research established that the language has seven noun class markers (NCM). We found that phonological features, such as labialization, nasalization, and tone, can influence and determine the grammatical functions of class markers in languages that attest to them. In the case of Bàtọ́nu NCM, the tone is the determining factor. We assume that the class markers are unmarked at the underlying representaion (UR), and when a floating high tone (HT) is assigned to the NCM underlyingly, they function as class markers. When a floating mid-tone (MT) is assigned, they become relative clause marker variants, and when in contact with the HT focus morpheme -á in focus constructions in the language, they function as focus marker variants.
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    Sonorant acquisition in Yorùbá child phonology
    (2023) Adebola A. Isaiah
    This study examines the acquisition of oral consonantal sonorants by Yorùbá children. Extant studies on phonological acquisition have concentrated on stages of attainment, with little attention paid to the corresponding patterns between child articulation and the target language. This study analyzed sonorant simplification patterns during Yorùbá acquisition. One child was purposively selected for longitudinal assessment (from their age 1 to age 4), while 50 children, ages 2 to 5, were stratified random sampled for cross-sectional assessment at various locations familiar to the participants. All children participants were ages 1 to 5 and lived in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. Using the classic assumptions of phonemes and Optimality theory (OT), data were subjected to a phonological analysis. Findings showed that there is the emergence of segmental markedness constraints as well as an interface between phonetics and phonology in the outcome of a child’s sound inventory at each developmental stage. We argued that developmental patterns have stage-based variations. It was found that substitution of consonantal sonorants is done with another consonantal sonorants but not obstruents and in some instances, sonorant deletion occurs.
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    Vocabulary development and biliteracy in Yorùbá and English among young bilinguals
    (2023) Adebola A. Isaiah
    n Nigeria and other countries in West Africa, English, French, and Portuguese languages are acquired or learned and used alongside the indigenous languages for various communication purposes as applicable. Previous studies have noted that Yorùbá language does not have an equal usage as being critical for bilingual mastery attainment as the English language. This study examines literacy development patterns among typically developing Yorùbá-English bilingual children to further our understanding of oral and literacy proficiency. Based on qualitative methods, cross-sectional data were obtained. Oral and literacy data were acquired by interview, specialized wordlist, written texts, and pictorial objects. Children were purposively selected for a stratified assessment as representative of their literacy levels (3 aged 2-3, 4 aged 4-6, and 5 aged 7- 10). All participants were ages 2 to 10 years and lived in Ilorin metropolis. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis. Based on experiments, for instance, if the stimulus are words, the results showed that the word frequencies in the two languages do not enjoy the same value outcome, English >> Yorùbá. Significant outcomes showed that literacy in English language is on the positive end of the spectrum while literacy in Yorùbá language is on the opposite end. Most of the children paid more attention to English tasks, hence performed above average. Using the different age groups and educational levels as a continuum, it was generally observed that literacy depends largely on a child’s cognitive alertness. The study concludes by linking the obvious gap in the initial observation to foundation lapses.