Linguistics & African Languages

COURSE NO.,  TITLE AND DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

REMARKS

LIY   311    Research Methods in Yoruba Studies     (3 Units)

A study of field methods in oral literature :  Data collection, Transcription and Translation, Interviewing of informants, Administration of Questionnaire, Outline of the research project, Bibliography, Notes and References.

LIY   318    Creative Writing     (3 Units)

Conceptual and practical aspects of literary creation in Yoruba – prose, poetry and play writing.  Expository writing for a variety of audience.  Students should be given assignments to promote/evaluate their creative expertise.

LIY   319    Applied Yoruba Studies    (3 Units)

Yoruba in the modern world, problems of translation and  interpretation, transcription, and editing.  Lexicography  -  the advances in Yoruba metalanguage and the quadrilingual dictionary of legislative terms.  Yoruba in the mass media.

LIY   321    Yoruba  Grammar  III   (3 Units)

The characteristics and sub-classes of nouns and qualifiers.

LIY    322      Yoruba  Grammar  IV     (3 Units)

Constituent structure analysis with emphasis on the various criteria for determining constituents, constituent structure rules and lexical rules, terminal/non-terminal symbols and strings some of the basic concepts in transformational grammar such as embedding, conjoining, functional notions, (e.g., ‘subject, object, predicate, main verb of …’) the notions of domination (including immediate domination, exhaustive domination etc.) and prec as well as other relations between nodes (e.g.) ‘mother of’, left/right daughter of’,  left/right ‘sister of’), types of transformational rules (e.g. movement, deletion, substitution and insertion rules) and rules ordering.

LIY   324    Yoruba Morphology    (3 Units)

Definition, identification and classification, of morphemes in Yoruba :  a detailed discussion of the various morphological processes in the language and the interplay between such processes in the formation of complex words using copious examples.  The course starts with a short general linguistics overview of morphemes and morphological processes.

LIY   331    Yoruba Phonology   (3 Units)

Yoruba phonological  analysis: the concept of comtrast, free variation and complementary distribution; tonal analysis.  Phonological process in Yoruba such as Nazalization, Assimilation, Vowel and consonant Elisions. Tonal change etc.  Introductory study of vowel harmony.  The Yoruba syllable and its features, vowel co-occurrence and the study of loan words.

LIY   341    Traditional Yoruba Poetry    (3 Units)

Classification of Yoruba Oral Poetry and detailed examination of Oriki; a thorough study of the form function and content of Ofo, Owe and Alo-Apamo.

LIY   342    The Study of Yoruba Songs    (3 Units)

Feature of Yoruba songs.  Categories/Types and general characteristics, forms and functions.  The song as a category of Yoruba Poetry.  Drum verse.  Musical accompaniments.  Yoruba popular music e.g. apala, fuji, were, tec.    Festival songs.  Elements of songs in other categories of Yoruba literature.

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Prerequisite to

LIY  421

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Prerequisite to

LIY  441

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LIY   351    The Novels of the Fagunwa Tradition    (4 Units)

A literary study of all the novels (and the few short stories) of Fagunwa tradition, e.g. Ogundele, Odunjo, Adeoye, etc.

LIY   352    Modern Yoruba Novels    ( 4 Units)

A study of the development of Yoruba novels and novelists that deviate from the Fagunwa tradition e.g. Delano, Olabimtan, Faleti, Akinlade, Okediji, etc.

LIY   361    Yoruba Drama  I    (3 Units)

A study of origins and development; ritual, masks, dearly actor-managers e.g. Ogunde, Ogungbe, Oyin Adejobi, Ogunmola Duro Ladipo, and contemporary theatre groups like Moses Olaiya, Lere Paimo, Isola Ogunsola, Adeyemi Afolayan, etc.   Their performances in all media such as the live stage, Cinema, Television, Radio, Photo-play magazines and Phono-disc are to be studied.

LIY   362    Yoruba   Drama   II      (3 Units)

A study of written plays – Faleti, Wale Ogunyemi Akinwumi Isola, Olu Daramola, Babatunde Olatunji, Odunjo Olabimtan, Oladejo Okediji, Dosu Alamu, Olu Owolabi, Awoyele Opadotun, etc.

LIY  371    Yoruba Stylistics  I  (3 Units)

A study of Yoruba stylistics with special emphasis on the various theoretical approaches relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literature.  The course shall also highlight the relationship between the three disaplines:  Linguistics, Literary criticism and stylistics.

LIY   372    Yoruba  Stylistics   II (3 Units)

The theory and practice of Stylistics, and a survey of the stylistic resources of the Yoruba language quisite to including features such as repetition, tonal counterpoint, word-play, etc. as used in oral  and written literary and non-literary discourse. 

LIY   382    Yoruba  Dialectology    ( 2 Units)

A survey of Yoruba dialects with a discussion of the criteria for delimiting them and a consideration of the phonological, lexical and grammatical differences between them.

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Prerequisite to LIY 471 

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COURSE NO.,  TITLE DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

REMARKS

LIY    411      Long Essay    (6 Units)

Supervised analysis of an aspect of a Yoruba dialect or a genre of Yoruba poetry or prose ultimately to be presented in the form of a Long Essay.

LIY    421      Yoruba  Grammar V    (3 Units)

Yoruba sentence types:    simple sentences, complex sentences (with relative, adverbial, purpose/infinitive clauses and nominalized sentences), serial verbal constructions, compound sentences, focus and emphatic sentences.

LIY   441       Yoruba  Written  Poetry      (3 Units)

A study of Yoruba literate poetry from its known beginning till today.  Of note are the works of Sowande, Obasa, Odunjo, Faleti and the new trends evident in Fatoba’s poetry.

LIY  471      Practical Criticisms of Yoruba Texts    (3 Units)

Students practise various approaches to literary explication.  Attention is drawn to the advantages of each approach.

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COURSE NO.,  TITLE  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  COURSES

REMARKS

LII   111     Comprehension  and  Composition     (3 Units)

A systematic introduction to the reading, and writing of Igbo, beginning with the mechanics of the official Igbo orthography.  Composition with emphasis on spelling, punctuation, organisation and language use.  Graded comprehension exercises based on selections from the speeches and works of outstanding users of the language. 

LII 112 Introduction to igbo History, Life and

Customs   (3 Units)

An introduction to the study of Igbo eco-system, the abode of the Igbo, the different groups that make up the Igbo people, their origin, migration, the oral history of the people, the relationship between the Igbo and their Nigerian and African neighbours.  The popular Igbo archaeological finds e.g.  Igboukwu Finds.

LII   113   Introduction to Translation    (3 Units)

An introduction to the basic concepts in translation – source and target languages; types of translation; basic considerations and limits of translation; copious exercises in translating from English into Igbo and vice versa (both prose and poetry).

LII   121    Introduction to Patterns in Igbo    (3 Units)

Igbo grammatical patterns :  the principal units involved in grammatical description – morpheme, word, phrase, clause and sentences, word classes (parts of speech);  sentence constituents and sentence types (with emphasis on structure, identification and/or discovery procedure; sound patterns in Igbo (with emphasis of supra segmentals, contrastive/non-contrastive sounds); the phonetic representation of sounds and their phonetic classification (with special reference to consonant and vowel charts); practice in transcription.

LII   142    Introduction to Igbo Literature    (4 Units)

Introduction to literature.   The scope of Igbo literature.  A survey of the principal genres of Igbo oral literature and their distinctive features.  The transition from oral to written literature from the earliest beginnings to the present; pre-civil war literatures and post civil war literatures.

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COURSE NO.,  TITLE AND DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

REMARKS

LII 211    The Igbo Language    (3 Units)

The early Igbo writings e.g. Nsibidi compared with Cuineform and Hisroglyph.  Importance of writing. The Igbo language including the history of Igbo scholarship to present, state of Igbo orthography with a detailed discussion of the various proposals for reform.  The importance of the society for promoting Igbo language and culture and its recommendations.  What standard Igbo is.  The present state of Igbo studies.

LII 212     Igbo Institutions    (2 Units)

Igbo customs and institutions e.g. belief system, child rearing, burial, inheritance, major occupations, guilds, societies and cults.  Age arades ‘umuada’.  The uses to which Igbo literary authors put these customs and institutions in their art.

LII 214     Advanced Comprehension and Composition    (3 Units)

Speaking and writing the standard variety of the Igbo language effectively.  The course will involve such areas as: trends in modern spoken Igbo, idiomatic expressions, comprehension exercise, original compositions on selected topics.

LII 221     Igbo Grammar I   (3 Units)

The traditional approaches to Igbo grammar and contrast with modern approaches with particular reference to the establishment of parts of speech.

LII 222     Igbo Grammar II   (3 Units)

Igbo adverbs and other minor parts of speech such as enclistic, demonstratives, preposition, conjunctions etc.  Tense and Aspect, Negation and negative markers in Igbo.

LII  232      Igbo Sound System  (3 Units)

Phonetic description and classification of Igbo sounds.  A systematic presentation of the basic features of Igbo phonology; the consonant and vowel systems.  Emphasis will be laid on practical tone-marking.

LII  242      Igbo Written Literature  (3 Units)

Written Igbo Literature: its beginnings and development; relationship between Igbo oral and written literature.  Old and modern Igbo realistic works and romantic works, selected prose, drama, poetry, test for reading and discussions. 

LII  251      Igbo Oral Literature  (3 Units)

A classification of the principal forms and genres of Igbo oral literature and an examination of their characteristic features, theme, style, their  composition and performance, and their contexts and social significance, Oral literature theories, e.g. Evolutionary theory.

LII   252      Practicals in Igbo Oral Literature   (3 Units)

Practicals in Igbo Oral Literature Training in acquisition of Primary competence in the performance of oral literature.  Chant and song modes including story telling and traditional dramatic styles.

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Prerequisite to LII 331

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300  -  LEVEL COURSES IN     I  G  B  O

LII  311    Research Methods in Igbo Studies  (3 Units)

Research methods in Igbo studies.  A study of field methods in oral literature, data collection, transcription, and translation, interviewing of informants, administration of questionnaire, outline of the research projects; bibliography, notes and references.

LII   314  Use of Igbo    (3 Units)

Speaking and writing the standard variety of the Igbo language effectively.  The course will involve such areas as :  trends in modern spoken Igbo, Idiomatic expressions; comprehension exercise, original compositions on selected topics.  Elements of Igbo speech arts methods of persuastic, argumentative, explanatory and narrative composition, advocacy, ethics of public speaking and use of idioms etc. 

LII 316     Igbo Media Arts  (3 Units)

A study of indigenous and modern media arts; oral, print and electronic, focusing on advertising, new dissemination and general appraisal of culture information.

LII   318    Creative Writing    (3 Units)

Conceptual and practical aspects of literary creation in Igbo prose, poetry and play writing.  Expository writing for a variety of audience.

LII   319    Applied Igbo Studies    (3 Units)

Igbo in the modern world:  problems of translation and interpretation, transcription, and editing.

LII   321     Igbo Grammar   III     (3 Units)

A detailed study of the characteristics and subclasses of nouns and qualifiers, verbs, adverbs and some minor parts of speech (such as prepositions, particles, conjunctions), Tense and Aspect.

LII   322     Igbo  Grammar   IV    (3 Units)

Constituent structure analysis with emphasis on the various criteria for determining constituents, constituents structure rules and lexical rules terminal/non-terminal symbols and strings, some of the basic concepts in transformational grammar such as embedding, co-joinning, functional notions (e.g. ‘subject, object, predicate, main verb of  …’) the notions of domination (including immediate domination, exhuastive domination etc.) and precedence as well as other relations between nodes (e.g. ‘mother of’, left/right daughter of’, left/right ‘sister of’), types of transformational rules (e.g. movement, deletion, substitution and insertion rules) and rule ordering.

LII   324  Igbo  Morphology    (3 Units)

Definition, identification and classification of morphemes in Igbo:  a detailed discussion of the various morphological processes in the language and the interplay between such processes in the formation of complex words using copious examples.  The course starts with a short general linguistic overview of morphemes and morphological processes.

LII 331      Igbo Phonology    (3 Units)

Igbo phonology analysis the concept free variation and complementary distribution; tonal analysis, the concept of downstep and downdrift.  Phonological processes in Igbo such as nazalisation, aspiration, assimilation, Elision, tonal change, vowel harmony etc.

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Prerequisite to LII 421 

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LII   341    Igbo Oral Poetry  I    (3 Units)

A detailed study of the forms, stylistic features, composition, performance and audience response to Igbo oral poetry, including structural analysis of such forms as mbem, mkpoku, abu-nziko, abu-akuko, and ukwe, atumukwe and slangs, dances e.g. mkpokiti, Ejemnili and gbagbankolobia.

LII  342      The Study of Igbo Songs       (3 Units)

Feature of Igbo category/type and general characteristics foms contents, structure, function and musical accompaniments.  A study of same Igbo popular songs such as egwu, agha, egwu amala, akukonegwu, egwu mgba etc. 

LII   351     Igbo Oral Prose  (3 Units)

A detailed study of Igbo oral narrations :  Folktales followed by an examination of various categories of Igbo prose, oratory and such miniature forms as proverbs, riddles and tongue twisters which feature in the context of traditional story telling as well as constituting a major structural and figurative device in tales and orations.

LII   352     Igbo Written Prose   (3 Units)

Detailed critical examination of the major works of prose writers in Igbo, from Pita Nwana, D.N. Achara and Bellgam to the contemporary novelists, essayists and historians, as Ubesie, Maduekwe and Odilora.

LII   361     Igbo Traditional Drama        (3 Units)

A detailed examination of the dramaturgy and theatricality of such traditional dramatic performances as mmanwu, egwu, emune, and abamaba ofo dramatic ritual and of other forms of drama in the Igbo oral tradition, including modern types of improved oral drama.  Popular performers, e.g. Ejeagha, Oliver De Coque, Ariel Skatter.

LII   362      Igbo Contemporary Drama and Films    (3 Units)

A detailed examination of the principal contributions to written Igbo drama till the present day with special reference to the works of Onyekaonwu, Chukuezi, Enyinna Akoma, J.C. Maduekwe, and the Odunke Artists.  The form, content and structure of Igbo video films.

LII  371      Stulistics of Igbo Literature  (3 Units)

A study of Igbo stylistics with special emphasis on the various theoretical approaches relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literature.  The course shall also highlight the relationship between the three disciplines:  Linguistics, Literary Criticism and Stylistics.

LII 381:  Igbo Lexicography and Dialectology  (3 units)

A general introduction to lexicography, a study of the different approaches to dictionary compilation.  A historical survey of Igbo dictionaries and the problem involved in the compilation of dictionaries in Igbo.  A general introduction to dialectology, a survey of Igbo dialects.

LII 392:  Igbo Culture and African Literature (2 units)

A detailed examination of Igbo folklore, oral literature and idiomatic usage as reflected in the content and style of modern African writing in English, illustrated from the works of such major writers as Chinua achebe, Christopher Okigbo and John Munonye as well as the popular writers in the Onica market.

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400    -  LEVEL COURSE IN  I  G  B  O

LII  411     Long  Essay    (6 Units)

Supervised analysis of an aspect of Igbo language or literature.

LII   412    Practical Communication in Igbo    (3 Units)

The problems and pinciples of the use of the Igbo language for practical social communication:  broadcasting, the press public information and propaganda, business and official correspondence and recods, advertisement, teaching and writing of text-books, scientific and technical communication, as well as translation.

LII   421    Igbo Grammar   V      (3 Units)

Igbo sentence types:  simple sentences, complex sentences subject and object relative clauses, purpose infinitival and nominalized sentence types).  Different types of serial verb constructions, compound sentences focus and emphatic sentences.

LII   441    Written Igbo Poetry  (3 Units)

The principal contributions to written Igbo poetry from the early beginnings to the present, e.g., Emenanjo, Nzeako, Obieynyen, Amasike, Ubesie, etc.

LII   471    Practical Criticism of Igbo Texts  (2 Units)

Problems and techniques of practical and textual criticism and their application to the study of Igbo texts.

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