THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF BINOMIALS IN THE IGBO LANGUAGE

Abstract

Sociolinguistics studies the connection between language and the society, and the way people use language in different social situations which can be called context. This context affects communication in different ways, especially in the area of meaning, which is why this research paper focuses on The Sociolinguistic Analysis of Binomials in the Igbo Language. The Igbo language has binomials with different meanings in relation to the society. On this account, the first objective of this work is to explain what Sociolinguistics is all about. Secondly, this work intends to explain what is meant by Binomials and its different types. The third objective is the analysis of the varieties of binomials in the Igbo language in regard to their context of usage. This work makes use of the Usage Theory of Meaning whereas the research methodology is the Descriptive type. The first finding of the study is that sociolinguistics is the science of language that studies language use in the society at any given time. The second finding reveals that Binomials are expressions with two words joined by a conjunction. The third finding shows that there are two types of Binomial; the Reversible and Irreversible. Yet, there is a fourth discovery; it is the discovery that Binomials can be grouped into different categories based on context. Such categories are a happy context, sad context, enmity context, close relationship context etc. This work is expected to be of significance to linguists and scholars, as they both try to expand the scope of their sociolinguistic knowledge.