Friday, 5 April 2013

ASPECT OF LANGUAGE CHANGE IN YORUBA: A MORPHOSEMANTIC ANALYSIS
Ayò Yusuff, PhD
                        Department of Linguistics, African & Asian Studies,
                                         University of Lagos,
                                                    Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.
                                                  yoyussuf@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

Indeed, just like the cell owes its continuous existence to the nucleus, so whatever change relating to any field of endeavor owes its realization to Language.  It is an incontestable fact that knowledge cannot be transferred without language.  This paper therefore looks at language as the mirror with which changes in other areas of thought are shown.  Clearly, language provides the only means with which change could be expressed whether in written or spoken form.  I shall provide evidence from the Yoruba language   to show how the language has served as a platform for the expression of changes in the forms of new and emerging ideas and notions brought about by advancements in the areas of education, science, technology, politics and public administration in the modern times.  This paper shall describe the structure of the speakers as the source of the change.  It shall also show the derivational system of the lexical items which reveal the change. Lastly, the consequences of these change-revealing lexical items on the lexicon of the Yoruba language will be examined.  It concludes by arguing that language remains a major means by which change can be realized, show-cased and quantified in any field of knowledge.

Key words: change, Yoruba, language, nucleus, lexicon



1.0               INTRODUCTION

Every living human language whose speakers are linguistically patriotic has the ability, capacity and capability to develop to meet whatever communicative challenges that may face it. Such communicative challenges are the changes encountered from new experiences and concepts which, as native speakers of the Yoruba language, they must express in Yoruba. The challenges are posed by advancement in the areas of education, science, technology, politics and public administration in the modern times.

Even though these challenges are confronted by both scholars and non-scholars alike, this paper shall discuss the efforts of the non-scholars in responding to the challenges intuitively and spontaneously. Scholars have been responding in several ways purposefully and deliberately.(cf. Adigboluja(1946), Awobuluyi(1990), Bamgbose(1992), FGN(1991), NERDC(1990), Odetayo(1993) ).

Yoruba, the language being studied is one of the three major languages of Nigeria. The other two are Hausa and Igbo. It is the mother tongue of a substantial number of speakers in South-West Nigeria and outside Nigeria, e.g. in the Republics of Benin and Togo. It has the status of a national language in the Republic of Benin. Also, the traits of Yorùbá language remain in the oral literatures of Yorùbá descendants now domiciled in Brazil, Cuba and parts of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. In Nigeria, where it has the bulk of the speakers, it is spoken mainly in Lagos, Ondó, Kwara, Ògùn, Èkìtì, Òyó and Òsun States as well as in parts of Kogí and Edo States. The speakers are contiguously located in southwest Nigeria (Adétugbo 1967). By the 2006 census, the population of the speakers within Nigeria could be put at thirty million (30,000,000), close to one-fifth of the population of Nigeria.

Yorùbá, along with Hausa and Igbo, has the status of a national language. It was so legislated by the National Assembly in Section 55 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Also, along with Hausa and Igbo, Yorùbá was prescribed in the National Policy on Education (2004:5, 10, 11 & 14) as a language to be used as a medium of instruction in primary schools and to be studied as a second language in junior secondary schools in Nigeria.

This paper exposes the structure of the speakers of the Yoruba language who constitute the source of the change and discusses the strategies employed in the derivation of the lexical items that express the change. It also attempts a discussion of the consequences of this dynamism on the lexicon of the Yoruba language. It concludes by asserting that language remains the only mirror with which change can be measured qualitatively and quantitatively.

2.0              SPEAKERS AS SOURCES OF LANGUAGE CHANGE
This paper focuses on the efforts of the non-scholars. This category consists of speakers of the Yorùbá language who create new lexical items by intuition. They utilize the internal and natural resources of the Yorùbá language to develop new terms without recourse to any rules, supervision or prescription. I identify three sub–categories viz: non-literates, semi-literates and literates.


I shall present two examples traceable to each of these sub-categories:

2.1       Non-literates

i.          Bààlúù aircraft’ has two possible sources. It imitates the sound of aircraft engine. It is therefore onomatopoeic. The other source is the seeming similarity of the word with ‘balloon’ which also ‘flies’ in the air. The speakers could have simply transferred the meaning of this word to aircraft because of the shared feature of flight. The two sources appear logical.
ii.         Bósíkòrò (lit: go into hiding) = ‘used dress’ It has a synonym in bósíkónà (lit: go into a corner) from bó + sí + kónà, with last segment being a loaned word from the English language. The two terms are simultaneously used to describe used diseases. The Yorùbá people regard the acquisition of used dresses as a reflection of poverty. It is therefore done secretly. They purchase new wears in the open. Because these used wears are usually already sewn, the buyer would need to try it on to confirm fitness. These trials are mostly done in hiding. These sub-group falls more into the category of purchasers of such wears. Hence, the term is traceable to them. The expression ‘Bó sí kòrò, kó o yè é wò’ Go into a corner and confirm its suitability’ is commonly expressed by the sellers as a form of advert to attract the attention of prospective buyers.

2.2       Semi-literates
i.                    Fàyàwó [fi-àyà-wó]  - use chest crawl ( lit: crawl on all fours) “smuggling”.
The word depicts the picture of someone crawling on his belly through a bush path in order to dodge custom officers on motor ways across international borders while bringing contraband (i.e banned commodities) into or out of the country. Ironically, those engaged in this activity regard themselves as genuine traders! 
ii.                  Wòlíì prophet” derives its origin from Arabic Waliy which means ‘spiritually-gifted.’ This has been domesticated and incidentally refers to prophets especially those serving in white–garment Christian churches. It is intriguing that we don’t have Islamic Wòlíì, but then Arabic is not Islam. It is of course the language in which the Holy Quran was revealed. Waliy is used instead in Islam.

2.3       Literates

i.                    Akadá academic” a loaned and domesticated word meaning a formally schooled, cultured and disciplined person, but not necessarily an academic. Some also derive alákadá from oní + akadá to convey the same sense. (one who is characterised by formal schooling).
ii.                  Ike: (lit: plastic) = Credit card or Automatic Tellering Machine (ATM) card. This card, a financial instrument meant to ease cash flow and access to disposable cash by most banks is more used by this sub-group than either of the other two. This term had been existing ever before ATM was introduced into the Nigeria financial market. It was coined by Yorùbá literates living in the Americas and Europe for credit cards alone. Now, it covers ATM because they also come in portable plastic forms like the credit cards.
3.0         STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY SPEAKERS IN REALISING   LANGUAGE CHANGE

These are the strategies employed by the developers in generating the modern terms which convey the changes in the new ideas, notions and concepts which the native speakers come across. I identify four main subdivisions, namely: coinages, socio-linguistic variables-based, intuitive substitution and borrowing. Here, I shall look at the derivative bases of the change-realising words .We intend to discover the linguistic avenue through which the items came into being. This will, in effect, reflect the knowledge which the speaker possesses that enables and energizes him to create or derive new lexical items. It will consequently expose the principles that speakers intuitively devise in formulating these new terms. Because of limitation of space, I shall provide two examples in each category.                   

3.1       Coinages
Coining could be description of an item or thing. It could also be by sound imitation.

Description
i.          Asòròmágbèsì that which talks without accepting a response = “radio”. The loan word rédíò is more common than asòròmágbèsì.
            ohun     tí           sòrò   tí       kò     gba       èsì
            thing  which pro  talk  which Neg. receive response



            (ohun      tí      ó) sòrò   (  tí   kò  )     gba       èsì
                                                by deletion and contraction
                            a            sòrò         ma         gbèsì
                      agentive     talk         Neg       receive response
by lexicalization

                                                                       
                                   
asòròmágbèsì       =    radio

With the advent of modern technology, radio now receives responses in phone-in programmes. Therefore, the name does not precisely describe radio any longer.

ii.         Òtelèmúyé  he  who  steps  softly        =  detective
              eni      tí      o       te        ilè      múyé
            person  who pro match ground  softly



            (eni      tí      ó)  tè   ilè   múyé
                                                by deletion and contraction
                         
   ò            telè              muye
                      agentive   match ground     softly      
by lexicalization

                                                 
                                    òtelèmúyé       =    detective

Sound Imitation (Onomatopoeic ideophones)
i.          Kèké  bicycle’ from the sound it makes while moving freely without being pedalled. (Onomatopoeic)
ii.                  Tatapùpù ‘engine or motorbike’: This term is coined from the noise which grinding machines and motorbikes make. This is more general than ‘tatagànràn’ which refers only to motorbikes. This word replicates the noise emitted by the machines.
ta     ta    pù     pù (machine sounds)
by lexicalization

 


   
 Tatapùpù  (onomatopoeic noun)     =   motorbike/engine

3.2     Sociolinguistic Variables-Based
This category is meant to accommodate those items which I consider found their way into Yorùbá language from sources that reflect socio-cultural experiences. Such sources are slang, jargon, taboos and euphemisms, and even dialects of Yorùbá.
1.         Slang
Slang is colloquial language. Everybody recognizes it but it can hardly be defined. It is useful in introducing new words into the language by recommending old words into new meanings. For example:
i.          Ode (lit: hunter) : This term is used to refer to ‘tipper lorry’ which is used to convey sand, gravels and the like to construction sites. The similarity struck between the hunter and the lorry is the taking of life. While the hunter’s vocation permits him to take only the lives of animals, the lorry driver kills human beings as a result of careless and irresponsible driving. When such drivers were involved in incessant accidents, mostly under the influence of alcohol, people gave them that name. In full, they are called Ode aperanmágbe ‘hunter that kills without carrying the game away’. In this case, the game is a human being not an animal.
ii.         Rógà, a slang for street urchins, popularly known as ‘area boys’, is traceable to the English word ‘rogue’ which means a cheat, deceitful and mischievous person. It is a noun in the source language (English), but it seems renominalized into roguer? [rógà], not roger (rodʒa) (in radio communication). Rógà portrays the meaning of one who practices roguely, with all the characteristics of a rogue mixed with violence and hooliganism. It is a common scene in Lagos to see the police arrest ‘rógà’ in groups esp. at bus-stops. But, surprisingly, no sooner they are arrested, than they are released after money must have exchanged hands. Sometimes, they arrest innocent citizens along with the ‘rógà’ boys.

2.         Jargon
These are technical terms relating to disciplines such as sciences, profession, trade,
occupation. For example:
i.          Owó-orí (lit: head money) = tax. Here it is used connotatively, hence a jargon in fiscal policy or financial administration. Denotatively, it means money meant for the purchase of the head’. Consider ‘owó orí mààlúù’ ‘money meant for the purchase of cow head’, owó-aso, owó obè, owó iléèwé for ‘money meant for the purchase of cloth’, ‘soup preparation money’ and ‘school fees respectively’. Owó-orí as a jargon, is the tax payable by every adult citizen to the government for the provision of essential services and community development.
ii.         Bérí (lit: cut head) = salute (verb). This is a verb-nominal conbination of bé ‘cut’ and orí ‘head’.
                        bé      orí
                       cut     head 
                                    (vowel deletion and contraction)
                           bérí  (lit: cut head)  =  salute

Literally, we have sentences like:
Kábíyèsí pàse kí wón bé orí òdaràn náà = ‘His majesty ordered the beheading of the criminal’. (This obtained in the olden days. Traditional rulers do not weild such powers these days).

As a jargon, bérí ‘salute’ is used to describe the non-indigenous culture of acknowledging respect for superiors in the military. The two evolved when Yoruba people got involved in modern soldering especially during the First World War (1914-1918). It has since remained a legitimate lexical item in the Yoruba lexicon.

3.         Taboo words and Euphemisms
Taboos are actions that are forbidden or which are to be avoided in “polite behaviour’. The avoidance of the words which express the actions stimulates the creation of euphemisms. They replace taboo words or obscene language. This is a good and viable source of language engineering in Yoruba. For example:
i.          Ìkébè (word for buttock in Urhobo and Isoko languages of South-south Nigeria). The word for buttock in Yorùbá language is ìdí which is also homonymous for ‘reason’. Ìkébè evolved from the aforementioned two languages through pidgin-English which has its origin in that region because of the preponderance of small and endangered languages. Nigerian pidgin has become the first language of some people in that area. It has therefore been creolized. Ìkébè is now generally accepted throughout Nigeria as the euphemism for ‘buttock’ because of its frequent use in an informal language like the Nigerian Pidgin. Ídí ‘buttock’ is not commonly used in open conversation among the Yorùbá.
ii.         Ojúara ‘eye of the body’ euphemism for Òbò ‘vagina’ (obscene). However, in some oral genres e.g. Ìjálá (hunters’ chants) and orin odún ìbílè òkè Ìbàdàn (Ìbàdàn festival songs), the “obscene” terms are preferred!

4.         From Dialects
 Dialects are versions of the same language, usually measured by geographical spread or arrangement (Fromkin & Rodman 1978:315). They are mutually intelligible, of the same basic grammar but with systematic differences between them. This is highly unproductive. This can be referred to as intra-language borrowing. For example:
i.          Idu ‘fallacy’ from the Òyó Yorùbá dialect.
ii.         Òtú (from oní òtú          olótùú ) editor from the Ìjèbú Yorùbá dialect. Òtú is said to be the symbol of authority in the òsùgbó cult, Ìjèbú version of the Ogboni cult which cuts across the Yorùbá nation. The Ogboni cult is the council of chiefs in the Yorùbá political system.

3.3     Intuitive Substitution
This is the use of existing words in the Yorùbá language to convey other senses. It could be descriptive and it could be based on semantic extension or idioms.
1.         Descriptive Intuitive Substitution
i.          Ìjàpá ‘tortoise” refers to Volkswagen (Beetle) car because of their similarity in shapes.
ii.         Òbòkún (type of fish). This specie of fish is a delicacy among the rich in South-west Nigeria, especially in Lagos, the commercial centre of the country. It is usually big, robust, roundish and very expensive. During the oil boom period in Nigeria, in the 1970s and first half of 1980s, it was fashionable for the rich to own the Mercedes Benz 280s (the most senior of all the brand then) as a mark of high class. It was clearly one of the most expensive cars. It was definitely out of the reach of the average Nigerian. The Òbòkún fish and the Mercedes Benz 280s had two things in common: their shapes and the fact that they are both expensive. For these reason, the Mercedes Benz 280s was referred to as Òbòkún Oníyèrì ‘òbòkún clad in underskirt’, òbòkún in short.

2.         Intuitive Substitution Based on Idioms
i.          Àjepajúdé (lit: eating with eyes shut) “profiteering”
This idiom gives the picture of a trader who cares less about the welfare of his customers. He is self–centered. His only concern is making excessive profit. The literal meaning relates to gluttoning in respect of food consumption.
ii.         Sínábolè “Solel Boneh”. It is an Israeli construction company that is very popular in road and building construction in Nigeria. It got involved in taking of big contractors from the Nigerian government since the end of the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and in subsequent reconstructions that necessarily followed. The idiom pictures the process of laying hot asphalt in the course of road construction. Incidentally, the idiom is fashioned out from the name of the company. So, it is a special kind of domesticated borrowing but whose meaning conveys one of the major activities of the company, that of road building. It is also drawn from ear-borrowing. The monolingual speaker of the Yorùbá language perceives a sentence in his language in the name of the company and that sentence tallies with what he sees the company do. Consider this analysis:
                                    Sí      iná       bo        ilè
                                  open     fire     cover    ground
                                                            deletions and contraction
                                           Sínábolè  =  Solel Boneh
            Express roads are called Títì Sínábolè or òpópónà sínábolè ‘Solel Boneh streets or roads’ even when they are constructed by companies other than Solel Boneh.

3.4   Borrowing From Other Source Languages

The strategy of borrowing produces items that are borrowed from other languages such as English, French and Arabic, but majority of the borrowings comes from English. Borrowing could be integrated or domesticated. When it is integrated, it is used in the same sense as in the source language. When it is domesticated, it is used in a sense different from its original sense in the source language. Also borrowing could be in basic form and it could be used as stem or root in a derivative process.
1.         Integrated Loan-Words
i.          Lóyàlawyer ‘ in the sentence:
Lóyà                       ti               dé   “ the lawyer has arrived”
Lawyer            perf.asp.   arrive

This integrated form has agbejórò ‘one who argues a case on behalf of someone else’ as a synonym. They are used interchangeably, as in: agbejórò ti dé ‘the lawyer has arrived’. It is not so for the domesticated form.

ii.         Àníyàn (an-niyat (Arabic) = intention. This term is borrowed and interpreted into the Yorùbá language from the Arabic language. Arabic became a language of contact with Yorùbá through the Islamic religion. Arabic is the language in which the Holy Quran was revealed. Islamic adherents are enjoined to worship in the Arabic language, although supplications are allowed in the native languages of the worshippers. The researcher is a Moslem. In Islamic belief, actions are judged by intentions. This makes the word to be significant, not only to Moslems but also to Yorùbá non-Moslems. Although, the Yorùbá word for ‘intention’ is èròngbà ‘intended thought’, speakers seem to prefer the borrowed àníyàn to it. An-niyat has been subjected to the phonological structure of the Yorùbá language to yield Àníyàn. It has been so deeply integrated that some Yorùbá speakers would argue that it is an indigenous Yorùbá word.

2.         Domesticated Loan-Words
i.          Lóyàlawyer’ in the sentence:
Ma             lóyà        mi       ‘do not engage me in a technical interrogation’
NegImp.    lawyer    me         
Witness that the word ‘lawyer’ is a noun in the source language which is English. It has changed to a verb in the target language which is Yoruba.

ii.         Níkà (English language) = Knickers. In the source language, it means loose-fitting trousers that extends down, just below the knees or female panties. It has been domesticated to mean ‘shorts’ in the Yorùbá language. Shorts are casual wears commonly worn by men. They may be loose but not long enough to reach the knees. Expressions such as mentioned below confirm the informal and casual nature of the dress:
            Bólúbàdàn bá wo níkà, ó mo egbé baba eni tí òun ń se ‘Even if the Olúbàdàn (oba of Ìbàdàn) dresses in shorts, it does not reduce his royalty or make him a commoner’.

4.0       EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE CHANGE ON THE YORÙBÁ LEXICON
The aim of this endeavour is to mirror the contemporary nature of the Yoruba language lexicon. The Yorùbá language lexicon is the aggregate representation of the lexicon of every native speaker of the language, bearing in mind that every speaker’s lexicon is determined by such variables as age, hobbies, educational background, social status and even sex.

4.1       Lexical Addition
Clearly, lexical addition is more significant, relevant and profound even though lexical percolation serves as motivation for lexical addition on substitution as the case may be. I therefore observe the    following societal variables which would serve as categories into which media-generated terms can be put. They are: education, religion, politics, sports, environment, economy, agriculture, medicare, occupations and vocations, and science and technology. This categorization is by no means exhaustive. The following terms which are lexical additions from the media are coined to express new ideas and notions in each of these categories. I shall provide on item each for discussion under each of these categories.

1.         Education: Jélé-ó-sinmi (je-kí-ilé-ó-sinmi) ‘let the home have some peace’ = nursery/kindergarten. This term brings out the impression that pre-primary education is more of playing, singing and painting than academic. Since children of such tender age can be troublesome at home, nursery schools are available to keep them busy and away from home.

2.         Religion: Àjínde ‘resurrection’ = Easter: This term is coined to describe the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead after his crucifixion. This is the essence of Easter in the Christian faith.
3.         Politics: Gómínà ‘Governor’: This term is a loaned word from the English language into the Yorùbá language. It is the title of the political head of a state in a federation. It is a modern word ushered into the Yorùbá lexicon from western political system.

4.         Sports: Ojúulé (ojú-ilé) ‘house entrance’ = goal mouth: Since the game of football became popular among the Yorùbá, soccer jargons have been given Yorùbá terms. They are either loaned from English language or composed from existing Yorùbá words. This term is one of the latter. But majority of them are loaned. In this connection, consider the following examples: fíìdì ‘field’; penáritì ‘penalty’; fáò ‘foul’; édìn ‘heading’.

5.         Environment: Agbèrò (a-gba-èrò) ‘he who loads commercial vehicles with passengers at motorparks’ = motorpark touts: Originally, agbèrò was a stakeholder in road transport business, who assists passengers with their luggages and leads them to the right vehicles for their destinations. They lived on the generosity of both the drivers and the passengers. These days, they have abandoned their modest duties and have became a menace who extort money forcefully from their erstwhile benefactors. The contemporary agbèrò is a drug-addicted thug, who is a ready recruit into all forms of criminal activities like political thuggery, armed robbery, hired assassination and killings, and drug trafficking.
6.         Economy: Àpò (owó): ‘bag of money’ = a currency unit: In traditional Yorùbá economy, àpò ‘bag’ is a unit for measuring money which was in form of cowrie shells. With the introduction of British pounds, àpò kan ‘one bag’ was given the value of one hundred pounds. When the Nigerian currency was changed to Naira and Kobo, àpò kan was given the value of two hundred Naira, meaning that one pound was equal to two Naira. Presently, the Naira has depreciated to about two hundred and fifty Naira to one pound. Most monolingual speakers of Yorùbá language still value the Naira in àpò ‘bags’. The researcher’s mother does! To her, eight hundred naira is àpò mérin ‘four bags’.
7.         Agriculture: Jámóònì ‘German’ = game trap: This term describes the manually operated trap which was originally manufactured in West Germany but copied by native blacksmiths for the trapping of small-sized games. The term is derived from the name of the country of manufacture. It is also called tàkúté or pàkúté ‘rat killer’, which is a native word.
8.         Medicare: Woléwolé (wo-ilé-wo-ilé) ‘house inspector’ = health inspector: This is an age-long coined word. Health inspectors were known in all parts of the Yorùbá speaking area, and the term is generally accepted. These groups of health professionals enforce the laws of sanitation, public health and personal hygiene. They are dreaded among the rural dwellers who often run foul of environmental laws.

9.         Occupations and Vocations: Mékò ‘mechanic’: The full form is mekánìkì, ear-loaned and phonologically integrated into the Yorùbá language from English language. By clipping, it is reduced to ‘mékò’. It retains its full meaning. Generally, it refers to motor mechanics but some speakers extend its meaning to cover mechanics of other machines like radio, television, motorcycle and caterpillar.
10.       Science and Technology: Janwéè (etymology is doubtful) = towing vehicle: This term describes towing vehicle, which is a modern technological invention.
4.2     Lexical Percolation
Consequent upon contact with other languages and cultures by the speakers of Yorùbá language, new words found their way into the lexicon of the language. That was the focus of discussion in the last section. As new words came in, some words became endangered because items, ideas and notions which they describe are either moribund or are substituted with modern ones. Such endangered words eventually get out of common use by contemporary speakers of the Yorùbá language, and consequently become lexical percolation. Consider the following in this connection:
But a word is lost by the act of inattention – nobody thinks of it; nobody uses it; and it fades out of the language      (Fromkin, V & R. Rodman 1978:313).

I disagree with the above view because a lost lexical item is irrecoverable. If reference could be made to it, then, it is not lost. Rather, it percolates. Its frequency of usage is only reduced to a level which can be described as old or achaic. Surely, some words are more frequently used than others in every language. Such words emanate from cultic language, sociolects and registers. They are restricted in use because the speech communities which produce them are similarly restrictive. A cult is a group of certain persons bound together by common bonds. A sociolect is a form of code used by a social group such as students in a campus. Registers are words or terms peculiar to professions, occupations and vocations. Detailed study of these issues is subject for further research. They are beyond the scope of the present study.
1.         Moribund Words
What is said to be moribund is something which is near death or about to collapse. (Lorimer, C. T (ed) (1995:650). Such words contribute to the development of the Yorùbá language when they are used to describe modern concepts which possess the characteristics of their referents. For instance, àte ‘raffia tray’ for chart (in Yorùbà Metalanguage). Words which are considered as belonging to this category are actually on the brink of extinction. Their vestiges remain in Yorùbá classical literatures and in rare practices of oral poetry in the Yorùbá countryside. These words are only moribund to the elite native speaker of the Yorùbá language who though are fewer than the grassroot native speakers, are very influential in the modernization efforts of the language. The words are well known to the grassroot native speakers but the extent to which they can sustain their usage beyond the rural speech community is limited because of apparent limitations such as lack of education, lack of exposure to western civilization and modernization. I will make mention of two each in five categories viz: names of animals and birds, names of plants, names of traditional costume, agricultural terms and miscellaneous.

a.         Names of animals and birds
i.          Età    -           Civet cat                      ii.         Àparò     -        Patridge/bush fowl
b.         Names of Plants
i.          Afàrà       -       Shingle wood              ii.         Ìròsun      -       Camwood
c.         Names of traditional costumes
i.          Gbérí ode    -         Hunters’ outfit                        ii.         Gbárìyè    -   Outing dress
d.         Agricultural terms
i.          Egàn ‘farmstead’ : This is a farm located away from the village or town. It is habitable for the purpose of intense farming.
ii.         Ebu ‘palm oil’ producing square’ : This is the arena demarcated for the production of palm oil and its waste products which are all useful. Ekù is the shallow well in which boiled palm nuts are mashed for the production of palm oil.
e.         Miscellaneous
This group consists of words which do not fall into any of the other four sub-categorises but are also percolated.
i.          Òrò               -        gnome/spirit                ii.         Òwòré                      -           drizzle
2.         Substituted Words
         Moribund                                                           Substitute
i.          ìsaasùn ‘earthen soup pot’                            ìkòkò obè
v.         ìsúsè ‘baby-bathing bowl’                            báàfù (English loan)
vii.       èènì ‘extra for free’ (make weight)                 járá (Hausa loan)
ix.        ìyèwù ‘room’                                                            yàrá
xv.       amí ‘spy’                                                         òtelèmúyé
5.0     CONCLUSION

This paper has presented the issue of change from a linguistic point of view, using the Yorùbá language as an example. It has done so by arguing that the speakers constitute the sources of the change since they live in a society where they must express their minds with language. It has also attempted an exposure of the strategies employed by the speakers to make the changes possible and appropriate. The effect of the speakers’ response to change which is the creation of new lexical items was also considered. It is revealed that just like we have lexical addition, we also experience lexical percolation, not lexical loss.

The paper has proved that change is a necessity and it is real because the society undergoes changes and also that language is the means by which such changes can be qualified and quantified.                   

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This paper was published as a chapter in a book titled Discourses and Interactions in Language and Literature, Nwagbara, A.U (ed.), 2010, Pumark Nigeria Limited.

















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