A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF OLUNYOLE IDIOMS BY ATICHI REGINALD ALATI Submitted in accordance with the requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the subject AFRICAN LANGUAGES At the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA) SUPERVISOR: PROF. P.A. MULAUDZI JOINT- SUPERVISOR: DR. B. J.O. MBORI December, 2015 Declaration I, Atichi Reginald Alati, student number 46123849, declare that A Pragmatic Analysis of Olunyole Idioms is my own work and that all the sources used or quoted have been acknowledged through the conventional referencing. Signature Date: 29th December 2015. ATICHI REGINALD ALATI Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my late brother, Dr. Olukoye Godfrey Alati, for his inspirational mentorship. ii Acknowledgement I am indebted to all the people who have contributed to the research and writing of this thesis. I thank my family for the solidarity and prayers during the entire period. I thank my supervisor Prof.Phalandwa Abraham Mulaudzi and co-supervisor Dr. Bob John Obwang’i Mbori for their guidance, encouragement and support. I also thank Dr. Omuteche for the initial brainstorming on the topic and later reading of the draft chapters. I am grateful to my colleagues Dr. Judah Ndiku, Mrs. Kubebea, Mr. Mulongo Onzere and Daniel Otanga for their encouragement. My informants Mr. Benard Maganga, Mrs. Oloo, Mr. Amukhuma Daniel Ottiali, Mr. Buradi Afuya, Mrs. Alice Mafumo, Mr. Atingo Tom, Mr. Asila David, Mzee Martin Muyolo, Mr. Oyule Hebert, Mr.Otieno Habil, Padre Josphat Teyie, Rev.Arthur Imbira, Pastor Abednego, Mr.Atemo and Mrs Margaret Otieno provided invaluable assistance. Ms. Evah Shabuya, Ms. Sheila and Ms. Rita Shitemi typed the drafts. Mr. Wilberforce Odemo Amianda was kind enough to edit the final copy. I also thank Mr. Charles Likhumba, Mr. Elly Okonda, Mr. Nduka Ronald and Ms Mueni Melisa for the administration of the questionnaires and arranging discussion sessions with the informants. Mr. Paul Luganda was kind to do the illustrations in the thesis. Finally, I sincerely thank you all for your moral, financial, spiritual, technical and intellectual support in the realization of my academic dream. iii Summary A Pragmatic Analysis of Olunyole Idiom examines the functionality of Olunyole idioms in socio-cultural interactional contexts. The study investigates the relationship between the construction and interpretation of Olunyole idioms and the representation of the social reality as reflected in the native speakers’ (Abanyole) world view. The study employs the descriptive qualitative research design and builds on the functional approach to the study of language. The Olunyole idioms are collected from the initial sample of over 240 native speakers through language elicitation tests. The idioms collected are subjected to confirmation through ethnographic observation and questionnaires involving a further 30 native speakers. Interviews and focused discussions with a purposively selected sample of sixteen elderly native speaker informants provide further confirmation and linguistic insight into the functionality of the Olunyole idioms. The study is grounded in the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) theoretical framework in interrogating the role of language in social structure and organization within contextualised interactional conversations involving Olunyole idioms. The data of idiomatic expressions is analyzed into pragmatic domains that characterize the Abanyole perceptions of their world view as a speech community. It is concluded that the idioms project the people’s cultural beliefs and perpetuate the norms and values of the speakers in their mutual interactive use of language. The Olunyole idiomatic utterances regulate the people’s behaviour for harmonious co-existence. The composition and comprehension of the idioms is therefore context-dependent in realizing deliberate acts that control social interaction. The study contributes to the attempts to preserve and promote the African Languages. It is recommended that studies need to be carried out on the other systems of Olunyole idioms such as the syntactic structure. Furthermore, the investigation between idioms and other levels of indirect language could provide enriching insights in Language and Linguistics. iv Key Terms Olunyole Idioms, Contextual Social Reality, Social Construction, Enculturation, Social Control and Acts, Domains of Use, Ethnolinguistic Accounts, CDA. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION................................................................................................................ I DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................. III SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... IV KEY TERMS .................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... XI LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... XII CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Preamble ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Location of the Study: The Physical Area of the Study ................................................................ 4 1.2.1 Physical Location .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Background to the Study ...................................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Research Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 10 1.6 Research Questions............................................................................................................................. 11 1.7 Significance and Justification of the Study ......................................................................................... 11 1.8 Limitations of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 16 1.9 The Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................................. 16 1.10 Conclusion of the Chapter ................................................................................................................ 18 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................ 19 vi THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................. 19 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 19 2.2 The Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 19 2.2.1 Hallidayan Functionalism ........................................................................................................... 27 2.2.2 Pragmatics and Functionality ...................................................................................................... 37 2.2.3 Frames and Schemata ............................................................................................................... 41 2.2.4 Cultural Models in the Use of Figurative Language ................................................................. 44 2.3 Idioms and Idiomaticity ...................................................................................................................... 46 2.4 Idioms and Figurative Language ...................................................................................................... 48 2.4.1 Idioms and Metaphors................................................................................................................. 53 2.4.2 Idioms and Proverbs ................................................................................................................. 54 2.5 Idiomaticity and the seven types of Meaning ................................................................................... 57 2.6 Conclusion of the Chapter ................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................ 60 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 60 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................