Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective
This thesis studies the Indigenous children's songs of the Nawfija community, in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. The language of communication in the community is the Nawfija variety of Igbo. The research was conducted from a sociolinguistic perspective, shaped by the participants' ideas and perce...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
School of African and GenderStuds, Anth and Ling
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613310665359360 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Okeke, Chinazam |
| author2 | Deumert, Ana |
| author_browse | Deumert, Ana Okeke, Chinazam |
| author_facet | Deumert, Ana Okeke, Chinazam |
| author_sort | Okeke, Chinazam |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis studies the Indigenous children's songs of the Nawfija community, in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. The language of communication in the community is the Nawfija variety of Igbo. The research was conducted from a sociolinguistic perspective, shaped by the participants' ideas and perceptions, thereby allowing their voices to be heard. Adopting a qualitative paradigm, the study employed interviews and observations for data collection. 20 participants were interviewed, and observations were carried out in five households. The study draws on language socialization and language ideologies as its theoretical frameworks. The study shows, firstly, that Indigenous songs serve as an important language socialization tool in the Nawfija community. Secondly, it shows that the songs have declined in their use over time. The decline can be linked to the histories of colonialism, a western education model, globalization, and religion. At the same time, new practices have emerged. For example, cell phones, toys, DVDs, and CDs are now often used in child care. In addition, localized English songs, afro-beats, reggae, and hip-hop, are used when looking after children. The research discusses three ideologies surrounding these Indigenous songs, two of which, (i) and (ii), may have contributed to their decline. The ideologies are (i) English equates to intelligence and success, (ii) English is the language of geographical mobility, and (iii) Igbo/Nawfija variety is a language of identity. The study concludes by arguing that, as a result of ideologies (i) and (ii), if these Indigenous children's songs were revitalized, possibly, not all community members would be committed to maintaining them. Therefore, for the revitalization to be successful, people need to appreciate the importance, beauty, and value of their languages and cultural practices (see ideology (iii)). Likewise, the Nigerian academic system should be shaped to reflect their uniqueness and promote their language and its practices, by adopting the local variety as the primary language of education. This will help to strengthen people's knowledge of their history, language, linguistic practices, culture, knowledge, present realities, and future challenges. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39785 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:06.076Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | School of African and GenderStuds, Anth and Ling |
| publisherStr | School of African and GenderStuds, Anth and Ling |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39785 Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective Okeke, Chinazam Deumert, Ana Brown, Justin Linguistics This thesis studies the Indigenous children's songs of the Nawfija community, in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. The language of communication in the community is the Nawfija variety of Igbo. The research was conducted from a sociolinguistic perspective, shaped by the participants' ideas and perceptions, thereby allowing their voices to be heard. Adopting a qualitative paradigm, the study employed interviews and observations for data collection. 20 participants were interviewed, and observations were carried out in five households. The study draws on language socialization and language ideologies as its theoretical frameworks. The study shows, firstly, that Indigenous songs serve as an important language socialization tool in the Nawfija community. Secondly, it shows that the songs have declined in their use over time. The decline can be linked to the histories of colonialism, a western education model, globalization, and religion. At the same time, new practices have emerged. For example, cell phones, toys, DVDs, and CDs are now often used in child care. In addition, localized English songs, afro-beats, reggae, and hip-hop, are used when looking after children. The research discusses three ideologies surrounding these Indigenous songs, two of which, (i) and (ii), may have contributed to their decline. The ideologies are (i) English equates to intelligence and success, (ii) English is the language of geographical mobility, and (iii) Igbo/Nawfija variety is a language of identity. The study concludes by arguing that, as a result of ideologies (i) and (ii), if these Indigenous children's songs were revitalized, possibly, not all community members would be committed to maintaining them. Therefore, for the revitalization to be successful, people need to appreciate the importance, beauty, and value of their languages and cultural practices (see ideology (iii)). Likewise, the Nigerian academic system should be shaped to reflect their uniqueness and promote their language and its practices, by adopting the local variety as the primary language of education. This will help to strengthen people's knowledge of their history, language, linguistic practices, culture, knowledge, present realities, and future challenges. 2024-05-31T10:23:41Z 2024-05-31T10:23:41Z 2023 2024-05-31T10:15:44Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39785 eng application/pdf School of African and GenderStuds, Anth and Ling Faculty of Humanities |
| spellingShingle | Linguistics Okeke, Chinazam Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| title_full | Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| title_fullStr | Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| title_short | Children's Songs in Nawfija Community, Southeastern Nigeria: A sociolinguistic perspective |
| title_sort | children s songs in nawfija community southeastern nigeria a sociolinguistic perspective |
| topic | Linguistics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39785 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT okekechinazam childrenssongsinnawfijacommunitysoutheasternnigeriaasociolinguisticperspective |