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  • ItemOpen Access
    Development of Remnant Nigerian Languages: The Role of Government And Communities
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State Univerasity Keffi, 2019-04-09) Imoh, Philip Manda; Samuel, Nuhu Baba; Dalhatu, Abigail Musa
    This paper examines the issue of developing remnant Nigerian languages and the role of the government as well as the speech community in orthography development. The motivation for this paper stems from the fact that many endangered Nigerian languages are unwritten and efforts have been made over time to develop writing system for these languages but yield little or no result. Beyond these concerted efforts, many indigenous languages are gradually going into extinction due to dearth of writing system, proper planning and poor implementation of policy on small size languages. However, this paper sets out to explicate strategies that could be adopted by the government and the community to forestall the endangerment of remnant Nigerian languages. This study, among other things, shows that unless the government, its Agencies (Ministry of Education, Committees and Societies) and the community put concerted efforts in establishing rapport with specialized institutes, such as NINLAN; SIL, SOAS, Living Tongues Institute, and departments of linguistics all over the country to develop writing system and devising metalanguages for these languages, majority of these languages will be endangered or lost in the near future. The study concludes by reiterating the pivotal role of the government in policy making and implementation, thus advised that the government should provide guidelines, funds and promote the use of indigenous orthography in all levels of education and the media. Also, the study suggests relevant actions on the part of the community and government in order to minimize worst cases of language endangerment. Finally, this paper recommends that Readers Project be set up in every state of the federation as a way to develop, document and revitalize remnant Nigerian languages.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Tone in Gbagyi Nge Nominal Pluralisation
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State Univerasity Keffi, 2017-05-11) Dalhatu, Abigail Musa
    This paper seeks to carefully examine the pluralisation process in Gbagyi with the intention to identify and bring to limelight the tonal processes that take place within this inflectional phenomenon. This paper bases its investigation on Gbagyi Nge dialect (of Gbagyi language) spoken in the Federal Capital Territory. Based on an obvious fact that singular nominal are pluralized through a prefixation process, the paper intends to determine the inherent tone ol the plural prefix in order to account for the tonal processes which are triggered by this pluralisation process within the non-linear theoretical framework using primary data which were elicited from three native speakers of Gbagyi Nge dialect of Bwari Area Council Abuja. This paper therefore suggests that the plural prefix in Gbagyi Nge is inherently toneless and that it acquires a surface tone either through L-spread rule or the high tone spread rule. This research also argues that the rising tone does not exist in Gbagyi Nge.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Aspects of Gbagyi Tonology
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State Univerasity Keffi, 2021-03-11) Dalhatu, Abigail Musa
    Tone has overtime proven to be one of the complex but interesting suprasegmental feature in African (tone) languages, and motivated by this fact, this paper is determined to account for the tone system of Gbagyi. The study devises the acoustic instrumental technique to analyse the data which were primarily obtained from some selected native speakers of Gbagyi Nge variety of Gbagyi language spoken in Abuja Municipal Area Council FCT, Abuja in North Central Nigeria. Findings from this research show that contrary to the position in the existing literature on Gbagyi tone which argues for three register tones and two combinatory tones forming contours, there are actually four register and two contour tones in this language. Furthermore, this paper shows that tone may play roles far beyond the phonological domains in Gbagyi since certain tonal patterns which are impermissible in the language are observed to occur only to play some grammatical roles.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The Role of Government in the Orthography Development of Minority Languages
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State Univerasity Keffi, 2018-11-01) Imoh, Philip Manda; Samuel, Nuhu Baba; Dalhatu, Abigail Musa
    Developing orthography for minority languages requires a careful assessment of issues going beyond linguistic decisions. In fact, it requires quite a number of considerations, especially language policy. Orthography has to do with a comprehensive writing system that is generally acceptable and recognized. It deals with the use of standard alphabet and letters, spelling rules and conventions in the codification of unwritten languages hence, an important aspect of language documentation. It has been argued that the lack of an orthography exposes a language to extinction or death thus, the need to develop orthography for minority languages becomes imperative. The goal of this paper, however, is to examine the role of government, in addition to linguistic decisions, in the development of orthography for minority languages. The motivation for this paper stems from the fact that many endangered languages are unwritten and efforts have been made over time to develop written codes for such languages. Beyond these efforts, many indigenous languages are gradually going into extinction due to poor implementation of policy on small size languages. This paper, among other things, describes the role of government and its agencies especially, National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in the preservation of minority languages through orthographic development. The paper draws its conclusion by reiterating that government should provide guidelines and funds for the development of orthography, promote the use of indigenous orthography for the purpose of education and encourage literacy in indigenous languages. Finally, the paper recommends that language agency (Readers' project) be set up in every state of the federation in line with NERDC core objectives.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Morphophonemic Interpretation of Elision and Assimilation in Gbagyi
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State Univerasity Keffi, 2018-08-02) Dalhatu, Abigail Musa
    This research makes a cautious examination of some phonological processes which seem to bear immediate relevance to morphological processes of forming the possessive pronoun, associative construction and negation in Gbagyi. Particularly, the research work is focused on the Gbagyi-Nge dialect spoken in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This study reveals that although allomorphic variations (which characterize the morphophonemics of English) are not tenable in Gbagyi, other interesting phonological phenomena that have morphophonemic relevance are attested in the language. The researcher adopts the descriptive method of data analysis in order to be able to make an adequate description of what morphophonemic roles the phonological processes of elision, assimilation, vowel lengthening and glide formation play as far as possessive pronoun, associative construction and negation are concerned in Gbagyi-Nge dialect. Primarily, data were elicited from randomly selected resource persons through oral interview and secondarily, a survey of the existing literature on morphophonemics was carried out. Although, not a definitive reference point (since it does not consider in its scope other aspects of phonology that are morphophonemic especially, tone), this research is intended to serve as a source of reference to many who desire to know in a systematic and scientific way, about the morphophonemic implication of elision, assimilation, glide formation and vowel lengthening in Gbagyi Nge grammar.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Gbagyi Syllable and Phonotactics
    (Department of and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2019-12-11) Dalhatu, Abiagail Musa
    This paper investigates the phonological phenomenon in Gbagyi, where a unit of sounds is made up of a central peak of loudness in a word; and certain sounds (either consonants or vowels) are not permissible to occur in certain positions or contexts. Descriptive method was employed to analyse the data which were elicited from primary source obtained from randomly selected native speakers of Gbagyi residents in Bwari Area Council of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Secondary data were also used in this study, especially data on Gbagyi phonemes from Dalhatu (2017). Major findings from this study show that the typology of Gbagyi syllable structure is characterised by V, CV, N, CGV, CNV and CNYV/CNWV. The phonotactics of Gbagyi, on the other hand, disallow the occurrence of coda, long vowels, and diphthongs in the language. In the same vein, it is observed that only the vowels Id and Id occur word-initially in Gbagyi. Consequently, this paper proposes that a vestigial noun class system attests in Gbagyi, where these two vowels occur to mark this system, thus reaffirming Blench’s (2013) report that some Nupoid languages exhibit traces of remnant noun class system.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Harmonizing Wana and Wangibi Dialects for the Standardization of Eggon Language
    (Department of Languages and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, 2020-03-17) Amende, Charles A.; Tanimu, Yusuf; Abraham, David A.
    in a multilingual community is accepted and codified. When a chosen dialect amongst others is reduced to writing, having a set of rules guiding the orthography, it is said to be a standard language. Standardization occurs as a result of a direct and deliberate intervention by a society. The standard language becomes a symbol of nationhood or is designated for official and social use in the community. This research discovered that Eggon, the language under review has about 14 dialects spoken across the Eggon communities and none of these dialects has been chosen as a standard dialect. The paper tries to identify the problems hindering the standardization .of Eggon and also tries to ascertain what steps need to be taken to develop a standard form of Eggon. A descriptive research method approach is used in this study and data was collected through interaction with informants that are competent in the language. The study reveals that a major factor hindering the standardization of Eggon is the challenge of which dialect to be used for the standardization. Findings indicate that the orthographic contrast between the two (2) dialects which are Wana and Wangibi is very minimal; therefore, efforts should be made to integrate the two (2) dialects to form a standard orthography of Eggon language, in accordance with the orthographies proposed in this work. This work tries to harmonize both mutually intelligible and widely spoken dialects and suggest that the harmonized version be accepted as a standard language that can be spoken across Eggon communities.
  • ItemOpen Access
    PROBLEMS OF PRONUNCIATION AND ORACY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL LEARNERS OF FRENCH
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2009-05-05) Ianna, Bem P.
    For a very longtime now, one of the major problems in the teaching and learning of French in our secondary schools has been to get the learners to pronounce French words correctly, and to get them to be very competent in their oral expression. What are the factors responsible for the difficulties in getting the learners to acquire correct pronunciation and a strong oracy? This study will bring out the factors responsible and proffer solutions.
  • ItemOpen Access
    IMPERATIVE OF FRENCH LANGUAGE IN NATIONAL ECONOMY EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AND ENTRA- REGIONAL RELATIONS
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2007-01-06) Ianna, Bem P.
    This study; like others, though from a different stand-point, looked at the importance of French in Nigeria in relation to ECOW AS; the kind of French needed for intra-regional relations, and to ascertain how prepared the country is to promote this kind of French. Efforts will also be made to assess what NEEDS has done to change the fortunes of French in Nigeria. With regard to Nigeria's preparedness to promote French, the work regrets that the country is ill-prepared. It is doubtful whether, since the pronouncement in the NEEDS document, any practical step has been taken to change the status quo. The study ends with suggestions that can help the country's evolving the kind of French needed for intra- and inter-regional relations.
  • ItemOpen Access
    History of Linguistics
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2011-01-06) Ianna, Bem P.
  • ItemOpen Access
    THEORISING TERMINOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: FRAMES FROM LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2016-05-05) Bassey, Antia; Ianna, Bem P.
    The manner in which our conceptualisation and practice of terminology development can be informed by processes of knowledge change in child language development and a paradigm shift in disciplines, has been relatively underexplored. As a result, insights into what appears to be fundamental processes of knowledge change have not been employed to reflect on terminology development, its dynamics, requirements and relationship to related fields. In this article, frames of knowledge change in child language development and the philosophy of science are used to examine terminology development as knowledge growth that is signalled lexico-semanticaily through a range of transformations: addition, deletion, redefinition and reorganisation. The analysis is shown to have implications for work procedures, expertise types, critique, and for the relationships between terminology development and translating.
  • ItemOpen Access
    An Appraisal of Tiv Phonology
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2020-01-04) Ianna, Bem P.
    Over the years, there have been a lot of controversies about the phonology of Tiv mainly because most of the early works on Tiv phonology were undertaken by non-linguists, and people who were not native speakers of the language. The major areas of controversies include the phonemic components of the language (tone, intonation, and stress), the phonological processes that exist in Tiv, and the number of diphthongs in the language, etc. This work aims at ascertaining the true position of the above-mentioned phonological concepts in Tiv. To do this, using the native speaker intuition, some communications were carried out with some selected native speakers of the language to verify if the positions of the earlier studies about Tiv phonology are true or not. It was discovered, at the end of the study, that some of the earlier positions were not correct. For example, the study found out that as against Abraham's (1968) claim that there is no "shortening" or "lengthening" in Tiv, as in English, these phenomena exist in Tiv too. It was also found that as against his assertion that there are no diphthongs in Tiv, diphthongs exist in the language. The study also discovered that as against the position of Dunstan (1969) that there only are seven diphthongs in the language, there are ten.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Analysis of Illocutionary Acts in Asabe Kabir Usman’s Destinies of Life
    (Department of Languages and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, 2018-03-13) David, Stephen O.; Abraham, David A.
    This paper anchors the Analysis of Illocutionary Acts in Asabe Kabir Usman’s Destinies of Life. The study aims to bring out the illocutionary acts as contained in the novel being analysed. The data collection was primarily from the text; Destinies of Life. The theoretical framework is the Speech act theory as propounded by Searle (1969). The different types of illocutionary acts used in the text were identified and analysed. Simple percentage was also used thereafter to analyse the data. The five types of illocutionary acts itemised by Searle were found in the text. All together, the text contained a total of 570 occurrences of illocutionary acts with 239 being directives, 201 representatives, 49 expressives, 49 declaratives and 32 commissives, From the analysis, it was glaring that directives as one of the illocutionary acts which has to do with characters expressing their desires/wishes to get something done was more prominent in the text.
  • ItemOpen Access
    A ROAD-MAP FOR SCIENCE TERMINOLOGY PLANNING IN TIV
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2015-01-06) Ianna, Bem P.
    Tiv language planning efforts date back to the coming of the Christian missionaries in Tiv land in 1911. Planning during that era, and, in fact for a long time thereafter, was basically carried out in such areas as reducing the language to writing, writing of grammar books, linguistic description of the language, etc. Terminology, a crucial aspect of language planning was, and is still, however, neglected. This is a major gap in the development efforts in the language. Against the backdrop that languages can develop into functional languages through efforts of terminology development, the supplying of appropriate scientific and technical terms to any language should be a priority, especially in a multilingual setting like Nigeria. The little that has been done on Tiv in the area of terminology cannot be said to be adequate to support specialised communication in the language. This chapter, therefore, aims at showing how terminology planning is important in the modernisation of Tiv, and it should, therefore, be given the desired attention. Though the area of science is focused on, the framework provided could, to some extent, be replicated in other domains too.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The Place of the Minority Languages in National Development
    (Deparment of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2007-03-03) Ianna, Bem P.
    The question of the role played by language in the development of a nation has been a major subject of discourse in sociolinguistic circles. One school of thought holds it that linguistically heterogeneous states are usually underdeveloped, while linguistically homogeneous states are relatively well-developed (cf. Banks & Textor, 1965) Another school of thought believes that there is no necessary correlation between national development and linguistic heterogeneity/ homogeneity (cf. Fishman 1968 b).Whatever the argument, it is the position of this paper that, depending on how language planning is carried out, national development can be achieved through the use of many languages (including the minority ones). Using the Nigerian scenario, this paper has shown how this can be done.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The State of Mother Tongue Education in Tivland: Factors and Actors
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2008-03-06) Ianna, Bem P.
    Christian missionaries who brought western education into Tivland favoured mother tongue education (MTE) practice in their schools. This yras certainly so because right from time MTE practice was considered very vital in the educational development of a child. However, when government took over the control of these schools, MTE practice declined. As a result, for sometime now, Tiv language has witnessed a downturn in its fortunes. Usage spheres of the language, as well as competence levels of the language are fast declining. The concern of this article is to point out the factors responsible for this decline, and how the decline has affected the state of MTE in Tivland. Suggestions aimed at changing the situation are then made, especially that with a strong sentimental attachment, efforts aimed at modernizing the language to meet with the demands of the modem world will record a huge success. In this connection, institutions, organizations, individuals, and government should rise up to the challenge.
  • ItemOpen Access
    A Knowledge-based Approach in the Conceptualisation of Disease Terms in Tiv for a More Effective Health Communication
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2017-09-09) Ianna, Bem P.
    There is a general perception that terminology constitutes an intractable obstacle to the use of African languages in high- function domains such as science and technology, engineering, medicine, etc. It is with a view to enhancing specificity which facilitates better communication that one of such domains (health) was chosen for this study. Specifically, the study looked at cases of semantic extensions and mismatches that lead to vagueness medical discourse in Tiv speakers (Tiv, a language spoken in
  • ItemOpen Access
    An Investigation of Polite Address & Negotiations in Tiv Language
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2017-01-06) Ianna, Bem P.
    Generally, terms of address in any language are considered as important linguistic tools by which a speaker's attitude and relationship with the person being addressed are reflected. In the human society, it is generally believed that inappropriate choice of address terms hinders good communication between the speaker and the listener, and to some extent, determines the attitude of the listener. Address terms also serve as an indicator of the social relationship between the speaker and the listener in terms of status. It is in a bid to establish the extent to which this applies to Tiv that this moderate study tried to investigate how some of the address terms used in the Tiv speech community could mar or make a communication. To do this, questionnaires were used and unobtrusive observations were also conducted in social gatherings such as naming ceremonies, traditional marriages, burial ceremonies, and Christian religious gatherings. Findings revealed that communication as an essential component of human co­ existence thrives on a combination of processes of operational communication such as access to channels of communication, tools for information dissemination, and the availability of feedback mechanisms which serve effectively to negotiate and persuade one another in a discourse environment.
  • ItemOpen Access
    THE ABNORMALITY OF TRANSLATING THE TIV PRONOUN AND FUTURE TENSE AS ONE LEXICAL ITEM
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2016-12-12) Ianna, Bem P.
    A reading through the Tiv Bible will reveal so many abnormalities in the way Tiv language is written. These can be seen mainly in the areas of spelling and translation of grammatical categories. For example, the third person pronoun and the future tense are often times treated as one lexical item. This article- argues that this is grammatically wrong. It therefore, aims at showing that the future tense and pronouns in Tiv are separate lexical ..items. To do this, examples of such abnormalities are drawn from the translation of the pronoun and the future tense in the Tiv Bible for analysis. The analysis of the corpus reveals that these* two can and should be lexicalised separately.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The Linguistic Variable in Cultural Erosion: TheTiv Experience.
    (Department of Language and Linguistics, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2007-01-06) Ianna, Bem P.
    The Tiv ethnic group was once considered to be one of the tribes that had a very rich culture. But for sometime now, there have been complaints that the Tiv culture is last eroding. Many factors have been adduced as being responsible for this ugly development. The dwindling levels of competence and performance in the Tiv language among Tiv people is said to be partly responsible for the high level of cultural erosion. This article attempts to establish the relationship that exists between language and culture, so as to ascertain the claim that language loss leads to cultural erosion. To do this, some selected Tiv speakers were studied with a view to showing that people who arc not in love with the Tiv language, and do not speak it, arc most unlikely to maintain and respect the Tiv culture. We then went ahead to see the negative effects this trend has on the Tiv nation. Findings here arc believed to be what is obtainable among other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Suggestions on how to correct the situation are then made.