Abstract
Language is a means through which people express their social groups and culture. There is hardly any conceivable human activity where language is not required and used. The primacy of language cuts across all facets of human life. Ethnography of speaking is the study of the place of language in expressing people’s arts, culture and tradition. This research examines the ethnography of speaking as it concerns the presentation of Okwa-Nzu in Nkporo dialect of the Igbo language with the sole aim of investigating language use from the angle of speaking rites and ritual festivities to ascertain how language is structured or organized in order to reflect the culture of Nkporo and that of the Igbo people in general. The methodology is simply descriptive. The data for the research were collected through audio recording of events. The researchers adopt Hymes (1962) SPEAKING model in analyzing the data. The study discovers that the language use in presentation of Okwa-Nzu in Nkporo dialect is rich in proverbs and figurative expressions like o jere ji la ji, onye ezi araghi anu ya. This expression means that the neighborhoods do not hear anything about a sojourner who goes and returns peacefully. These proverbs and idioms beautify and enrich the language use in speaking rites and ritual festivities as Nkporo-Igbo symbol of hospitality.
Presenters
Ikechukwu Otuu EgbutaLecturer, Languages and Dramatic Arts, The Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara, Nigeria
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—The Art of Hospitality
KEYWORDS
ART, CULTURE, HOSPITALITY, ETHNOGRAPHY, ETHNOGRAPHY OF SPEAKING, OKWA-NZU, RITES, FESTIVITIES
