CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.
General Background
This
long essay is a research work which focuses on the focus construction of Igede
language “Focusing” is a way of rendering a constituent of a
sentence emphatic. Jackend off (1972:230) observes that focus denotes the
information in the sentence that is assumed by the speaker not to be shared by
him and the hearer. Lambrecht (1994:213) defines focus as a grammatical
category that determines which part of the sentence contributes new, non-derivable,
or contrastive information. Focus is related to information structure, it is
syntactic. Lambrecht (1994, p. 206) defines focus as the ‘new knowledge hitched
to the topic post’ that is, the new information conveyed about a topic. He goes
on to say that the focus is that portion of a proposition which cannot be taken
for granted at the time of speech. It is the unpredictable or pragmatically
non-recoverable element in an utterance. The focus is what makes an utterance
into an assertion. Focus shows contrast between given and new information. It
is an unpredictable part of the proposition.
It is a fact that focus has to do with
the speaker passing information that he feels is new to the hearer or trying to
make a particular constituent important or emphatic. It assigns prominence to
the part of the message which the speaker wants to emphasize. The newness of
the information does not mean that it has not been mentioned before that the
speaker presents it in a special way to call more attention to it by laying
emphasis on that particular constituent. Jones (2006, p. 143) sees focus as “a
grammatical means of marking the organization of information in discourse”. It
divides sentences into a focus and an open proposition corresponding to
background information. The information provided in focus is new, non-derivable
or contrastive.
Focusing is a universal linguistics
process as every speaker of a language would at a point in time want to
emphasise a specific aspect of her message. It is achieved without any need to
change the content of the message; all that is needed is to place emphasis on
that particular constituent that needs to be emphasized. Focus can be
classified according to the functions of the focused constituent. What kind of
message is the emphasis meant to pass? Focus may be classified into:
identificational focus, Information focus, Contrastive focus. Focus can be
coded in three basic ways, that is the three types of focus; prosodic focus,
morphology focus and structural focus.
This
chapter basically focus on the historical background of Igede people, socio- cultural
profile, genetic classification, scope of the study, organization of the study,
theoretical frame work, data collection, data analysis and finally the brief
review of the chosen frame work.
SOURCE:
Unlocking Focus Constructions (Bolanle Elizabeth Arokoyo)
1.1 Historical Background
Igede
is a language spoken in Benue State, the middle belt region of Nigeria. It
belongs to the Niger Congo family and it also referred to as Idomoid Language.
It is among the major languages spoken in Oju and Obi Local Government in Benue
State alongside TIV and Idoma of about 250,000 speakers. The Igede people are
the third large ethnic group in present day Benue State of Nigeria and it is
also spoken in Cross River State of Nigeria, and a large number of Igede
communities exist in Osun State and Ogun State.
Igede
Language is a tonal language, that is, the meaning of the same set of letters
may vary with the pitch at which the speaker pronounces them. The use of tone
in this language makes us know how to pronounce different words to make it
different from another word even with the same spelling but different tone
markers. The native speakers of Igede have the linguistic competence to use the
language as he/she feels like.
The
Igede is a tribe that originated from the Southern part of Nigeria, around the
Niger Delta and lives in their present location in Oju and Obi Local Government
Area in Benue State. They share common boundaries with the Idoma, TIV, the
Ogoja people of Cross River state and the Izzis of Anambra State. It is a
member of the Niger-Congo language family and the Benue-Congo language family.
The Igedes are predominantly found in two of the twenty Local Government
Councils in Benue State, which are Oju Local Government created in 1976 and Obi
Local Government which was created in 1996, Ado, Otukpo, Konshina & Gwer East of Benue State.
The
Igedes were part of the clan called Igbegede, the part of Southern Nigeria
Igede originated from, are Niger Delta and Cross River state and they have
similarities in language. The clan Igbegede was a very small clan and there was
a time that some of the Igbegedes got into a fight over a clay pot, some of
them claimed they own some set of clay pot while others disagreed, this caused
a dispute between them and a few of them decided to migrate to another place
and that was when they found Benue. They named their tribe Igede /ee-ge-de/ and
as they evolved, their language changed and they started to maximize in number,
and that was how Igede tribe got formed. The word Igede stands for the people,
the language and the land. The Igedes are the third largest ethnic group in
Benue State and also in the Southern of Nigeria with about 250,000
speakers. SOURCE: (google.com).
1.2 Socio-cultural
Profiles
The
Igede posses a rich and diverse cultural heritage and can be easily identified
by the following socio-cultural profiles:
1.2.1
Predominant Occupation
According
to an informant and research, Igede people are predominantly farmers;
cultivating maize, cassava, groundnut and yam .The Igede people are known for
production of yams, cassava, rice, maize, groundnut, guinea corn and soybeans.
Pottery and carving is also popular in the area. However, just a few people
engage in fishing. The Igedes are rich in food as their State’s slogan implies
“Food Basket of the Nation”
1.2.2 Major/Common Diet
Yam,
which is the major plant they deal with and the most important crop item in the
locality shows pounded yam is their best food served with beni seed soup.
1.2.3 Religious Practices
According
to research, the Igede people practice Christianity and traditional religion,
though in the olden days the Igedes were mostly traditional worshippers but
presently, the Igedes practice both Islam and Christianity. Today in Oju and
Obi local Government Area where the Igedes predominantly settle, there are more
churches than mosques, 75% of the Igedes practice Christianity while 25%
practice both Islam and traditional religion. Therefore, Christianity is the
predominant religion practiced among the Igedes.
1.2.4 Marriage System
An
Igede man or woman is not defined responsible in the society unless he or she
gets married, so this makes marriages very unique occasions that in its allure
of rich culture serves as a unifying magnet for families and communities in the
minority ethnic group from Benue. In the past, when a young man wanted to get
married, all he needed to do was to lay ambush with his friends then wait for
his prospective bride to pass along the path with her friends, then he pounces
on her out of nowhere, when he does that, it is with little or no resistance
from the girl because in some cases, it could be a plan by both parties, he
then takes her to his home, on his arrival with the girl, there is a gunshot to
signify that a new wife has come into the household. After some days, a
delegation from the young man’s
family visits the girl’s family and final conclusions are made for the wedding.
As
it is being done in Eastern Nigeria when a couple is getting married the
traditional way, the groom sits amidst audience out of the sight of the bride
then when the bride dances out with her maids, she is given a glass or horn of
wine to go give her husband-to-be, she then dances with the wine in her hand in
search of her prospective husband, so many young men beckons on her but she
doesn’t answer them and she keeps
dancing until she finds him. She kneels before him, takes a sip and then gives
him to drink. That way, every one gathered sees and knows who her husband is
after drinking the wine the husband puts the dowry into the horn, stands up and
dances with her.
This
is also how it’s being done in Igede
land, but in their own case, the groom is dressed in the traditional colours of
the Igede people which is a beautiful combination of blue, black and
white. After this stage, the couple goes
into the house and wear a second attire, this time, it is the Igbo traditional
outfit or the traditional outfit of the tribe the Igede girl is getting married
to, be it Idoma, Yoruba or Igbo. When the couple comes out, they go to both
parents to seek their blessings. The ceremony continues with merriment in which
the Igedes proudly display their richly endowed culture in terms of food, where
food is served lavishly be it Igede traditional cuisine (soft pounded yam with
beniseed soup) or continental dishes for those who prefer it and with kegs of
fresh palm wine. As well as traditional dances which includes Ingyough,
Anchanakupa, Ogirinye, Swagne among others. But as times passed, this
traditional way of marriage began to wear out as the people became more
converted to Christianity and embraced modernization because of the boundaries
they share with the Eastern Nigeria, this made them adopt some of their
traditional wedding rites.
1.2.5
Mode of Dressing
The
Igedes are known to be artistic. According to research, there are no much
specifications on the dress patterns of the Igedes but it was said that there
could be some special clothes to be worn on special occasions, like the
traditional cloth called Ogodogodo with the traditional colours of the Igede
people which are beautiful combination of blue, black and white accompanied
with few beads which they wear on a special occasions like festivals and
coronations.
They
also wear buba, soro and agbada and also iro and buba among others.
1.2.6 Cultural Festivals
Igede
is a home of popular Igede-agba festival, a colourful annual celebration which
marks the yam harvest season in September.
According to research, there are no
much traditional festivals done in Igede community, they have just few
festivals such as igede -agba (New yam festival) and Evo (masquerade festival)
are the most important social occasions among the Igedes. The new yam festival
is a seasonal festival celebrated annually on the first Ihigile market day in
the month of September and the date wavers and oscillate between the 1st
and 5th of September. It is the time when farmers showcase their
handwork of the year, hence, harvesting of new yam before the free declaration
is a big taboo in Igede.
The
festival is all about peace, productivity and the people’s gratitude and joy
for the survival of the harsh conditions of nature and all that man has put
them through. They celebrate and jubilate with their traditional songs and the
Ogirinye dance.
1.3 Genetic Classification
The
Igede language belongs to the Niger Congo language family. Languages in the
Niger Congo family have an estimated 300 million to 400 million speakers. The
families has seven main subgroup, six of which covers West Africa and the
Central African Republic. Bantu, a single offshoot of the seventh subgroup is
spoken in most of the Southern half of Africa. The subgroup of the Niger-Congo
language family are Benue-Congo (including Bantu), West Atlantic, Mande,
Voltaic, Kwa, Adamawa East and Kordofanian. This language is spoken in the
Benue Congo and the Cross River state of Nigeria. It belongs to the Kwa group
of the Niger Congo phylum and Benue-Congo subgroup. It is further explained in
the diagram below:
African
Language Family
Afro Asiatic Nilo Sahara Niger Kordofanian khoisan
Niger Congo Kordofanian
Mande
west Atlantic Benue Congo kwa Gur Adamawa Eastern
Kru Yoruboid Nupoid Edoid idomoid igboid
Igede
Source:
SIL Ethnologue (2000).
1.4
Scope of the Study
This
research work is based on the focus construction structure of Igede language.
It concerns the informational structure of the language, that is, how words are
being formed and how the constituents of sentence emphasis are being rendered.
Bringing together the assumption on how sentences are formed in Igede language
to have a quality meaning.
1.5 Theoretical Framework
The
theoretical framework to be used in this research is the government and binding
theory (GB). This theory was proposed by Noam Chomsky in the 1980s. The
government and binding theory or GB theory was derived from the theories of
universal grammar which posit multiple levels of representation related by
transformational rule (Move-alpha). (Sanusi 1996:21).
The
GB theory which can also be referred to the principles and parameter theory
explains the universal grammar as introduced by Chomsky (1981).
According
to Cook (1988:30) ‘’Government and binding theory elaborates syntactic levels
through the concept of movement’’. Radford (1988:40) describes Government
Binding theory as a modular deductive theory of grammar that posits multiple
levels of representation related by a transformational rule called ‘Move
Alpha’. The GB theory was chosen for this research in order to prove its
universal claims about natural language.
1:6 Data Collection
The
Ibadan 400 word list of basic items was used in the process of data collection.
The words were carefully translated through the direct translation method from
English to the Igede language.
The
frame technique which constitutes phrases and sentences required for the area
of study were also translated into Igede language. The relevance of the frame
technique to data collection is to ensure that some syntactic information which
cannot be got from the word lists are collected.
The
method of data collection used for this research is the Informant Method. Below
are some information about the informant:
Name- Miss Comfort Samuel
Sex-
Female
Occupation- Trader
Age-
26 years
Home
town- Obi
Languages
– Igede
No
of years spent in hometown – 20 years
1.7 Data
Analysis.
The
data collected are transcribed and worked upon according to how the native
speakers use it without imposing any extraneous rules or norms of correctness.
The morpheme that makes up the phrase and sentences are also carefully glossed
through frame (paradigmatic) or substitution technique (which allows for
eliciting or considerable account of information by manipulating linguistic
element within the framework).
1.8
Brief Reviews of Government and
Binding Theory.
The
theoretical framework to be used in this research work is Government and
Binding theory (GB).Government and Binding theory or GB syntax was proposed by
Noam Chomsky in 1981. According to Cook (1998:30), ‘’
Government Binding theory elaborates syntactic levels through the concept of
movement’’. Radford (1988:40) describes Government Binding theory as a modular
deductive theory of grammar that posits multiple levels of representation
related by transformational rule called “move alpha’’.
Government and binding theory is also
known as principles and parameter theory. This is a theory based on the
arrangement of principles and sub theories which interact in many different
ways. Government and binding theory postulates seven sub theories of the theory
of grammar. The structures generated at various levels are constrained by a set
of theories, which defines the kind of relationship possible within a grammar.
The sub theories of government and binding theory are given below:
I.
X-bar Theory
II.
Theta theory
III.
Case theory
IV.
Binding theory
V.
Bounding theory
VI.
Government
theory
VII. Control
theory
1.8.1
X- bar Theory
The
x – bar theory is designed to formalize the traditional notion called ‘head’ of
a construction and to constrain the range of possible phrase structure rules.
Horrocks (1987:101) states that x-Bar theory provides principles for the
projection of phrasal categories from lexical categories and imposes conditions
on hierarchical organization of categories in the form of general schemata. The
central notion of x–bar theory, according to Horrocks (1987:102), is that each
of the major lexical categories (Noun: NP, Verb: VP, Preposition: PP and Adjective:
AdjP). In essence, it defines possible phrase structure configurations in
language.
Carnie
(2007:155) opines that, the name “x–bar
theory” comes from the original mechanism for indicating intermediate
categories. Ni was written N with a bar over the letter. The over
‘bar’ is the origin of the “bar” in the name of the theory. X is a variable
that stands for any category (N, Adj, V, P etc) also, x – bar theory projects
from the core projection level to the maximal projection level. This is illustrated
below:
X’’ Maximal projection level
X’ Intermediate projection level
Xo Core projection level
Cook
(1988:86) explains that x –
bar captures properties of all phrases, not just theory of a certain type, and
it bases are the theory on lexical categories that link with entries in the
lexicon.
Lamidi
(2000: 105) says that the head is the keyword in a phrase and the word can be
pre – or post – modified. In essence,
the head of a phrase is very important in x–bar theory and the parameter that
distinguishes languages that incorporate the head of the phrase to the right or
left is known as the “head parameter”, that is the head first. Below is a
schema.
X’ Xo complement
X’
Xo Comp
But
in a situation whereby the head comes last we have the following.
X’ Xo complement
X’
Comp
Xo
Cook
(1988:87)
In
addition, in x – bar theory, the lexical categories remain the basic symbol.
The phrase in which they are incorporated are shown by the addition of bars to
the original symbols. This is exemplified below (Lamidi, 2001:150).
The girl (NP):
NP
N’
Det N
The girl
“The
girl”
Eat
rice (VP):
VP
V’
V N’
N
Eat Rice
“Eat rice”
According
to Haegman (1991) X-bar theory brings out what is common in the structure of
phrases. For example, all phrases are headed by a lexical head which is a zero
projection (Xo),
X-bar theory distinguishes between three types of projection.
(i)
Complements
combine with X to form an X1 projection.
(ii)
Adjuncts combine
with X1 to create a copy of X and
(iii)
Specifier
combines with the topmost X to form the maximal projection XP.
The X-bar theory centralizes its
notion on the major lexical categories:
nouns, verbs, prepositions and adverbs.In line with these principles, a
lexical head is projected into an X, which is represented by N, and the X is in
turn maximally projected into an XP, which is represented by NP. In other
words, the lexical head noun (N) stands for the variable X while the maximal
category NP stands for the variable XP
as seen in the following example:
NP
N
The Teacher
“The
teacher”
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