CODES OF COMMUNICATION: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF ÁZụ́ọ́FŪ IN NOMEH COMMUNITY

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CODES OF COMMUNICATION: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF ÁZụ́ọ́FŪ IN NOMEH COMMUNITY (

ABSTRACT

This research work analyses codes of communication, with focus on Ázụ́ọ́fūas a verbal code of communication in Nomeh speech community. The work looks at codes, media of communication in Nomeh speech community, how Ázụ́ọ́fūis learnt, rules of interaction and interpretation of Ázụ́ọ́fū. This research was carried out because Ázụ́ọ́fūas a code of communication in Nomeh speech community has received little or no attention and lacks proper documentation. The research is carried out by the use of structured and unstructured interview, observation, and with the use of tape recorder. It adopts the theoretical framework of ethnography of communication which is used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that the primary communicative function of Ázụ́ọ́fūis secrecy.

From our findings we also see that codes of this nature face endangerment as a result of so many factors such as poor documentation. The research work recommends that studies of this nature should be encouraged by the government as this can attract investors and serve as a means of generating revenue and contributing to knowledge.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

Communication is the exchange of thoughts, ideas and information by the use of speech, signals, writing etc. Humans communicate by using codes which are vehicles by which meanings are transmitted. Language is one of the most important codes used in transmitting meaning.

The art of communication is as old as the existence of man himself: for man is a social being who, from time to time, develops means and the need to communicate with both living and non-living creatures around him. The early man, gave his successors an inkling into the kind of life he lived through cave paintings, drawings etc. The Nsibidi dating back 400 to 1400ce, indigenous to Cross riverians, Igbo, Efik, Ekoi, made use of pictures, drawings to communicate ideas; these symbols were public, while those for sacred duties were kept secret.

In the ancient world, according to Bushby (2013), dating back to 4,000 years, communication was characterized by the use of oral language, audial symbols such as grunts and guttural sounds. The transition from guttural sounds to oral language was as a result of expansion in man’s activities from just hunting to agricultural activities. Over the years, due to population boom, expansion and migration, codes of communication have transcended the realm of guttural sounds to language which is more complex. The above notion is best captured in the words of Anshen (1957:341) that “the mind of man can proceed from the common speech of daily life to the language of metaphysics, religion, art, science, physics, mathematics, law or logic.” The vast array of activities in which the present day man is involved in has given rise to this multiplicity of codes.

A code is a system for using signs. This system is based on rules and conventions shared by those who use the code. They come in different forms such as dress code, musical notes, language, colour, body language, signs etc. They are classified into verbal codes (oral or written); non-verbal codes (body language, sign language etc); and para-linguistics (pitch, stress, rhythm, tone, etc).

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CODES OF COMMUNICATION: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF ÁZụ́ọ́FŪ IN NOMEH COMMUNITY (

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