ANYANWU, Ogbonna

Bio/Research Interests

Dr. Ogbonna Anyanwu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Uyo, Nigeria. His research interests include Comparative Morpho-Syntax, Igbo Language Endangerment studies and Socio-Pragmatic Studies. He has also published widely in these areas in journals of Nigerian Linguistics and International linguistic Journals. He is the author of The Syntax of Igbo Causatives: a Minimalist Account, a pioneering research in the Igboid Causative Syntax.

Abstract title

A Socio-Pragmatic Analysis of Idiomatic Expressions in Igbo Language

with:

Eunice Osuagwu

Department of Linguistics & Communication Studies (eunice.osuagwu@uniport.edu.ng)

Highlights of the Presentation

Idioms as linguistic and fixed syntactic expressions have meanings different from the meanings of the individual words which make them up. They are part and parcel of the resourceful richness of everyday use of language. Idioms also constitute an integral and robust lexico-syntactic resource available to the speakers of any language. Thus, part of the knowledge of the grammar native speakers has about their language includes the knowledge of the idiomatic expressions and how they are used socio-pragmatically. Like in many other languages, idiomatic expressions are very pervasive in the Igbo language and they are used to express a wide range of socio-pragmatic functions. This paper provides a descriptive analysis of idiomatic expressions in the Igbo language from a socio-pragmatic viewpoint. Data for the study were elicited from some competent adult speakers of the Igbo language from the study area (Abia, Imo and Enugu States, Nigeria where Igbo is indigenously and largely spoken) and descriptively analyzed. The findings of the paper reveal that idiomatic expressions in the Igbo have a variety of structural and semantic patterns and are used to express a wide range of socio-pragmatic functions. Such functions include politeness, warning, admonishment, and complaint. It is also revealed that the accurate and the appropriate use of idioms in the Igbo language presupposes a high-level competence in the language on the part of the language user; competence which is not only linguistic but also socio-cultural. Igbo refers to both the language and the speakers of Igbo speech communities of the south-eastern Nigerian states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. It is spoken as a minority language by some groups in the neighboring south-south Nigerian states of Akwa Ibom, Delta, and Rivers. Igbo has scores of regional dialects which are mutually intelligible.

Links to Research Projects

a) http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/the-syntax-of-igbo-causatives

b) https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ame/article/view/98187

c. http://www.jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/view/96

d. http://nigeria-education.org/content/influence-social-background-motivation-second-language-learning-case-study-two-secondary-0

e.https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=_0chAQAAMAAJ&q=The+Pronominal+System+of+Iwerre&dq=The+Pronominal+System+of+Iwerre&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMvvKLpObdAhXEAMAKHUecCDgQ6AEIJzAA

f. http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol02/02/24.pdf

g. http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol02/08/03.pdf

h. http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol02/11/02.pdf

i. https://www.ninlan.edu.ng/publication/nilas-2015.pdf

j.https://www.ucn.ca/sites/academics/facultyarts/programofferings/arts/humanities/The%20Quint/The%20Quint%20v10.3.pdf

k. http://journalofwestafricanlanguages.org