AWKA JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERARY STUDIES

Syntactic Contexts of Subordinators in Written Complex Sentences of Selected Students of English for Academic Purposes in Makurdi

Ambrose Ochigbo Adaje, Ibrahim Ahmad Shehu — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The study assesses the syntactic contexts of subordinators in written complex sentences of selected students of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. The structural grammar description of the structural contexts of subordinators in modern English usage is foregrounded to provide the linguistic basis for assessment of the structural contexts of subordinators in the students’ written complex sentences. The model is used to design a proficiency assessment test tagged, Uses of subordinators in English. The study subjects are forty-nine students, randomly selected from an EAP lecture group in 2021/2022 academic session. The results of the data analysis, using frequency, percentage and mean statistics, indicate that the students are incapable of using simple, complex, correlative and marginal subordinators to generate complex sentences in English. Specifically, the students can not construct complex sentences with after, once, that, unless, whereas, but that, except, in so much as, as though, as...as, such…as, less…than, no sooner… than, scarcely…when, the…the, whether…or, even if…(yet), unless…than, seeing that…( therefore),if only, in spite of the fact that, who and when.The study recommends that the students should be taught the structural contexts in which subordinators are employed in English complex sentences.

Conceptual Metaphor Analysis of Taban Lo Liyong’s Showat and Sowhat

Ekene Stella Odikpo-Okafor, Chinwe Ezeifeka — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This work explores the conceptual metaphors in the drama Showat and Sowhat by Taban Lo Liyong, a Ugandan playwright. It seeks to highlight those conceptual precepts that are linguistically shared in the text to achieve meaning. Again, the linguistic metaphors that conventionally convey innocuous and transparent meanings are examined through the mapping of conceptual domains. The study examines how these inferred meanings and some obvious misinterpretations can have profound consequences on the lives of the characters in the drama text and by extension to Nigeria. Ten textual data were purposively drawn and analyzed using the conceptual metaphor theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Lakoff (1993). The study discovers that the dominant conceptual metaphors used in the drama text are: TIME IS A MOVEMENT IN SPACE, MORALITY IS LIGHT OR DARKNESS, COLOURS ARE HUMAN DISPOSITION AND EMOTIONS ARE FORCES. The findings show that the quality of people’s thoughts determines how they talk and express themselves metaphorically. It was also found that conventional words used in the text are cognitively loaded with conceptual metaphors that may escape the uncritical reader. The work recommends the critical reading of texts in order to unravel and deconstruct the hidden meanings of these metaphors.

Domination and Sexual Objectification: A Study of Ifeanyi Ajaegbo’s Sarah House

ifeyinwa Ogbazi, Nneka Love Awaraka — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Literature is a mirror of society. This is because it reflects the human day to day experiences of people in their various phases of existence. In Nigeria, its patriarchal nature has created asymmetric gender roles that are marked by hierarchy and domination. This system of social stratification and differentiation on the basis of sex provides material advantages that enable men to dominate women while simultaneously placing severe constraints on the roles and activities of women. As a result of their socio-economic conditions which infringe on their dreams and desire for a better life, some Nigerian women long for a change, especially with globalization. They become desperate to leave their country but fall prey to traffickers who coerce them into prostitution. Prostitution becomes a situation where men have reduced women to an image of being mere sexual objects. This paper therefore examines the domination and sexual objectification of women in prostitution using Ifeanyi Ajaegbo’s Sarah House. The novel exposes the socio-economic conditions of Nigerian women and their harrowing experiences in Nigeria as prostitutes. The paper adopts radical feminist theory which sees the female body as a sexual object; consumable item that is for sale making men to subordinate women. The research methodology is qualitative. The paper discovers that globalization, gender inequality and poverty render Nigerian women vulnerable to trafficking and prostitution. The paper conclude that the Nigerian government should create job opportunities so as to alleviate poverty through reformation and rehabilitation programs, public enlightenment, sports and cultural activities, arrests any procurer or trafficker, and introduce sex education in the curriculum of secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

Socio-Semiotic Analysis of Newspaper Cartoons on COVID-19

Peter Daniel Ikeanumba, Chinwe Ezeifeka — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This work investigated socio-semiotic analysis of newspaper cartoons on COVID-19. This study was borne out of the need to understand how different layers of meanings are enacted in COVID-19 cartoons. Specifically, this study sought to understand the socio-semiotic features embedded newspaper cartoons on COVID-19. This study took a critical look at the degree of abstraction and vocabulary affected the readability of newspaper cartoons on COVID-19. Also, the messages and the ideologies embedded in cartoons on COVID-19 as well as the socio-semiotic relevance of the selected COVID-19 cartoons towards the discourse of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria were thoroughly investigated. Kress and van Leewan Visual Social Semiotics Theory and cooperative Principle Theory formed the theoretical framework of this study. The textual data for this study were drawn from selected newspapers. The choice of these cartoons was based on the simplicity of the message embedded in the cartoons. This study discovered that newspaper cartoons on COVID-19 used multimodal used include texts, icons, and symbols to enact meaning in their campaign against the spread of COVID-19. The cartoons used caricature and satire to lampoon and criticize the government on their uncoordinated and corrupt oriented response towards the management of COVID-19 pandemic. It was also discovered that cartoonist used short sentences in the framing of their messages which were apt and straight-to-the-point.