Research in African Languages and Linguistics

INTERFIXATION PROCESSES IN IGUTA MORPHOLOGY

Mohammed Ahmed Ado — 2026-06-24

Affixal morphology is a process that permits the combination of affixes and stems to develop a new word. Morphologists consistently argue for the realisation of various kinds of affixes that are common to languages. However, except for interfixation, studies on the morphology of African languages suggest the existence of three types of affixes, i.e., prefixes, suffixes, and infixes. Therefore, this paper reconnoitres the interfixation process in the morphology of Iguta, a minority language spoken in parts of Toro and Jos North of Bauchi and Plateau States in Northern Nigeria, via Ado’s (2017) 455-word list. Using Hand Analysis Strategy and the Thematic Analytical Process, the paper discovers that the affixes –di-, -en-, and –ten- can interfix between two base or root morphemes to form compound nouns. The paper establishes that interfixation processes exist in the Iguta language and that affixes (bound morphemes) are commonly inserted between free morphemes to derive or inflect nouns. The fact that “char” in Iguta stands for “many/much” and, when it suffixes a base/root it maintains its word class, serving as an inflectional marker, while the insertion of either –di-, -en-, and –ten- interfixes in-between base/root words in the formation of the compound words is derivational. The results revealed that this type of affix is common in the Iguta language. Having this kind of process in word formation serves as part of the uniqueness of Iguta. Therefore, the process could serve as credence to the language, being a member of the Benue-Congo language phylum.

ALL THAT IS GONE IS GONE: A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF IMPERMANENCE AND RENEWAL

Obins Nuhu Isaac — 2026-06-24

This paper presents a literary, philosophical, and theological analysis of the author’s original poem “All That Is Gone Is Gone”—a reflective meditation on the irreversibility of the past and the need to live purposefully in the present. The poem foregrounds the fleeting nature of time, the futility of clinging to irretrievable moments, and the wisdom inherent in acceptance and renewal. Through close reading, the study explores major thematic concerns—impermanence, acceptance, human limitation, and divine order—and situates them within broader philosophical and theological reflections on temporality. Attention is given to diction, imagery, repetition, and metaphor, all of which reinforce the central theme of impermanence. Drawing upon reader-response theory and existential hermeneutics, the analysis shows how the poem provokes both intellectual and emotional engagement with the human condition. The study demonstrates that reflective African poetry can serve as a fertile ground for philosophical and spiritual inquiry, offering readers a poetic framework for embracing transience and cultivating a forward-looking orientation to life.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IMPERATIVE MARKERS IN THE EGGON, IGBO AND TANGALE LANGUAGES

Garba Patience Ashesla — 2026-06-24

This paper examines the imperative construction markers in Eggon, Igbo, and Tangale languages. Imperative marker is an integral part of speech in every language. Many studies have been done on imperative markers in English, Igbo and some other languages of the world, but none has been comparatively and contrastively carried out in English, Eggon, Igbo, and Tangale languages. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to carry out a comparative study on the imperative markers in Eggon, Igbo, and Tangale languages with a view to identifying the types of imperative markers in these languages, stating the functions
of imperative markers and point out the differences and similarities in them. The study adopts the Contrastive Linguistic Analysis (CLA) theory as a framework, which is one of the tools produced by Structural Grammar. It involves contrasting the grammatical system of two or more languages. As native speakers of these languages, the researchers use their intuition as sources of data for the study and also consult other literatures related to the research. The findings show that three types of imperative markers are found in Eggon, Igbo and Tangale as established in English.

These are affirmative imperative marker, negative imperative marker and imperative with question tag. Igbo is more productive on imperative markers followed by Eggon. Imperative with question tags are found in all the languages which make use of the same term for English will and would. This shows how languages can be similar in spite of their different typology. This study adds to the existing literature in the study of imperative markers across languages, and specifically in linguistics. It also enhances documentation of under-researched languages, and in the same vein, strengthens the preservation and literacy development of minority languages in Nigeria.

THIRD-GENERATION NIGERIAN POETRY AND REVOLTING IMAGERY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF OGAGA IFOWODO’S HOMELAND AND OTHER POEMS

Kazeem Adebiyi-Adelabu — 2026-06-24

The third-generation poetry has been the most socio-politically conscious in modern Nigerian poetry, a fact that underscores the symbiotic nature of the relationship between art and society. The poetry had attained efflorescence during one of the most socially challenging and politically turbulent times in the history of the country, specifically, the despotic years of military rule. As a poet and a social activist, Ogaga Ifowodo’s poetry evinces concerns with the realities of this milieu. In this article, using selected poems from his debut poetry collection, Homeland and Other Poems, I admit that Ifowodo shares the vision of gloom which characterises the poetry of this period and his generational group of poets. However, I go on to argue that his versification in the collection is different from others’ versification in terms of his deployment of imagery to project the vision. Relying on postcolonial insights on the critical concept of otherness, complemented by literariness of formalism, I show how his imagery drips with revulsion in what appears intended as a damning commentary on the social standing of Nigerians, especially of leaders who lived in the era of military dictatorship.

STANCE ACTS AND ENTITLEMENT IDEOLOGY IN POLITICAL DECLARATIONS IN NIGERIA: THE "EMI LO KAN" EXAMPLE

Tomere Dubamo — 2026-06-24

Stance acts are linguistic phenomena through which political actors express contextually motivated entitlement ideologies to demonstrate their sense of deservedness and right to positions or offices. While various works on political speeches, addresses and manifestoes in Nigeria and other parts of the world deemphasise these acts and their underlying entitlement beliefs, others from the fields of philosophy, political science, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics have shown detailed interest in how political power, identity and ideology are constructed through language. This study, however, is aimed at identifying the typologies of stance acts and the entitlement ideologies that empower these acts in Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s popular “Emilokan” declaration” made on 2 June, 2022. The speech was transcribed, using both Jefferson’s and Yoruba notations to capture its sociocultural voices. Aspects of Du Bois (2007) Stance Triangle, complemented by Ifantidou’s (2001) model of stance and relevance, van Dijk CDA (2015) and Odebunmi’s (2016) contextual model were adopted as the framework. The study revealed two main stance acts: the evaluative stance act which evinces co-acts of self-positioning (which is speaker-generated); and alignment-seeking (which is audience co-opted). The evidential stance act is also grounded on the co-acts of direct and indirect evidential stance acts. These stance acts are linked principally to three entitlement ideologies: politico-religionist, ethnicist, and altruist entitlement ideologies. Political actors, by their tactfully expressed stance acts, are bolstered by a heavy sense of rights and deservedness to construct power, dominance, and acceptance in a bid to clinch their desired positions.

DISCOURSE STRATEGIES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS’ NARRATIVES IN IBADAN METROPOLIS

Tolulope Akinseye — 2026-06-24

While scholarly and public attention to domestic violence in Nigeria has grown considerably in recent years, limited research has examined the linguistic mechanisms through which victims construct, negotiate, and legitimise their experiences. This study, therefore, investigates the discursive strategies deployed in written narratives of domestic violence by victims in Ibadan metropolis. Drawing on van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach to Critical Discourse Analysis, sixty-four (64) purposively selected narratives from an online textual survey were analysed. The study identifies seven recurrent strategies: hedging and mitigation,
passivization, pronoun shifting, metaphorical framing, polarization, negative labelling, and evidentiality. The findings reveal that these strategies are not merely stylistic features but function as discursive resources through which victims manage stigma, attribute responsibility, construct credibility, and negotiate identity within prevailing socio-cultural norms.

KEDU INTERROGATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN IGBO

Gerald Okey Nweya — 2026-06-24

Kedu interrogative construction is the alternative strategy deployed in Igbo to achieve constituent questions. Hence, all possible content word questions types have a corresponding kedu question. However, kedu questions have not been adequately described with regards to its morphological and c-selectional properties within the complementiser phrase (CP) domain. This study, therefore, investigates the morphosyntax of kedu constructions, based on the split complementiser phrase of the Minimalist Program, with a view to determining its morphological structure, cselectional properties and syntactic distribution. Primary data were collected using observation and native speaker knowledge of the language, while secondary data were gathered from existing relevant literature. The study argues that kedu has [+Q] force and [+Foc] focus features. The former lacks EPP while the latter has EPP feature which requires its specifier to be filled overtly. The study shows that it is not only the suppletives of question words that undergo displacement to the left periphery in kedu constructions, rather, other types of DPs including personal pronouns are potential attractees as long as they are marked [+Foc] or questioned. The study demonstrated that kedu interrogative is a manifestation of the native speaker-hearer’s alternative means of achieving content word questions in Igbo.