Jargon in a Discourse Community: An Example in Òfì/Aṣọ Òkè Weaving Profession

https://doi.org/10.36349/olijhe.2024.v.01i01.010

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36349/olijhe.2024.v.01i01.010

Keywords:

òfì/aṣọ òkè, discourse community, jargon, institutional talk, specialized dictionary, language documentation.

Abstract

This study is the first phase of an ongoing research study that aims to document the processes of making òfì or aṣọ òkè (handloom woven fabrics of the Yoruba) and compile a dictionary of the terms and terminology associated with this traditional occupation of cloth weaving. The data for the study were collected through the master-apprentice model, participant observation, and interviews. The theory adopted for this study is institutional talk, a sociolinguistic approach to the description of the language of a particular group of people who share a communication style or vocabulary. Aṣọ òkè weavers are portrayed as a discourse community and their jargon is categorized into some lexico-semantic classification.

Author Biography

  • OGUNYALE, Wale J

    WALE OGUNYALE, a graduate student at the Department of Linguistics, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. 
    He had my bachelor's degree in English and Education. My ongoing master's degree programme is in Computational Language Documentation. His areas of specialization and interest include natural language processing (NLP), language documentation and description, language teaching, indigenous communication systems, digital lexicography, Internet linguistics or computer mediated communication (CMC), and documentation of indigenous knowledge and occupations (IKOs). He carried out a comprehensive linguistic analysis of CMC or netspeak among Nigerian netizens, capturing its phonological, syntactic, orthographic and sociolinguistic features (available on https://uniuyo.academia.edu/WaleOgunyale). He also created a mini illustrated and talking dictionary of Ọrọ, a L o w e r C r o s s l a n g u a g e s p o k e n p r i m a r i l y i n A k w a I b o m S t a t e ( a v a i l a b l e o n http://livingdictionaries.app/oron/entries/list). Also, he completed a phase of documenting the production of aṣọ òfì/aṣọ òkè, handwoven fabrics of the Yorùbá; the present article is an output of the documentation project while another is a dictionary of aṣọ òkè jargon (available on https://www.webonary.org/ofi_weaving/). Currently, He is documenting endangered traditional systems of communication of the Yorùbá, such the town crier medium, íhu (whistle calls), and ààlè (anti-theft signs), in the Òkè Ògùn region of Oyo State. 

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Published

2024-08-09

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024): OLÓGÈ: LASUED INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES EDUCATION (OLIJHE)

Section

Articles