CHAPTER THREE
3.7 JUSTIFICATION OF SELECTED MODEL
Bilinguals/ Multilinguals are open to many codes but in order to explain the choices that bilinguals make in conversations, Myers-Scotton mentioned three different models. She presents them as the model that emphasizes and explains the role of individuals in negotiating their way through everyday interactions by selecting among the linguistic varieties they know. This research work employed ―Markedness model‖ developed by Myers-Scotton (1993) and it attempts to explain language choices as negotiations of self-identity and desired relationships with others. The model she explained as having helped us understand the language choices bilinguals make in interactions with each other.
A number of studies for instance, Myers-Scotton (1993) and Finlayson and Slabbert (1997) have been conducted on the functions, motivation and implications of code-switching between African
languages and English. The study focuses on code-switching and mixing between English and other Nigerian languages like Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio and NPE in the songs within the theoretical framework of Myers-Scotton‘s (1993) Markedness Model. The Markedness Model is based on the assumption that speakers have a sense of ―Markedness‖ regarding available codes for any interaction but choose their codes based on the person or audience, mood and the relationship they have with others within the communication. The study will be useful in understanding the motivation and functions of code-switching thus revealing that speakers and singers who use code- switching as a communication strategy in most cases are not incompetent in the languages.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 4.1 DATA PRESENTATION
Five different songs by five different Nigerian secular artistes are to be analyzed in this chapter.
Each song has switches between two or more different languages and the switches are either inter-sentential or intra-sentential.
4.1:1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE DATA
The table below shows the names of the selected artistes, their selected songs and the code – switched languages that can be found in each song.
NAME OF TITLE OF ALBUM YEAR OF CODE-SWITCHING
ARTISTE SONG TITLE
ADEKUNLE ORENTE SINGLE
RELEASE 2015
LANGUAGE
ENGLISH,YORUBA, IGBO,
GOLD NPE
DIJA YARO SINGLE 2015 ENGLISH,HAUSA,YORUBA,
IGBO, NPE
FLAVOUR OLOLUFE THANKFUL 2015 ENGLISH,YORUBA, IGBO,
NPE
MISH AKWA SINGLE 2012 ENGLISH, NPE, IBIBIO
IBOM AYAYA
NIYOLA TOH BAD SINGLE 2013 ENGLISH,YORUBA, NPE
These listed artistes are some of the most respected Nigerian hip hop artistes. They are popular artists and each chosen song from the various artists is recognized by almost all Nigerians. Their albums are constantly in the Nigerian charts and the songs have won various awards both within and outside the Nigerian entertainment industry. One notable stylistic feature of code-switching in Nigerian hip-hop songs is that Yoruba is prominent in all of them. Above, we have five songs;
―Orente‖ by Adekunle Gold, ―Yaro‟ by Di‘Ja, ―Ololufe‖ by Flavour,‖ ―Akwa Ibom Ayaya‖ by Mish, and ―Toh Bad‖ by Niyola.
When we listen to Nigerian hip hop songs, we will discover that a lot of the artists use Yoruba as part of their language(s) of composition. Not all these artistes are Yoruba by origin; most of them acquired the language while growing up. This is because most of these artistes reside in the western part of Nigeria. This is where most of them started their career as hip hop artists and as well as pursue it. You either find these artists in Lagos or in Ibadan with the majority of them in Lagos. Lagos is a Yoruba speaking state and in order to develop a closer relationship and better communication with the people around, the non-Yoruba speakers in this part of Nigeria tend to learn the language in addition to their mother tongue.
For instance, Flavour, whose birth name is Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli is from Anambra State, Nigeria but still speaks Yoruba and even uses bits of the language in his song compositions. It is obvious that these artistes do not have to belong to the Yoruba tribe for them to speak or use the language. Some of their songs even have their titles in Yoruba (for example, Flavour‘s
―Ololufe‖). Niyola on the other hand is a typical Yoruba girl who does not only write parts of her songs in Yoruba but also uses some Yoruba idiomatic expressions to drive home her point.
Despite the fact that fans of secular music in Nigeria are not just the Yoruba speakers alone, the use of Yoruba by these Nigerian artistes seem to be widely embraced all over the country.
Another noticeable point in the table above is that almost all of these songs are done in Six languages; English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ibibio and Pidgin (the Nigerian Pidgin English).
Generally, English has been the language on which most of these artistes base their compositions. As English is known to be the language in which Nigerians carry out all official and formal duties and communication, it has automatically won the place of a second language in the lives of Nigerians. It is the major language used for education and socialization. Therefore, artists make use of English in their songs in order to be able to reach out to all parts of Nigeria.
Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) on the other hand, is an English based language spoken all over the country. Beyond the important role it plays as an inter-ethnic lingua franca, it is also used by the Nigerian youth of the same tribe for communication. NPE is much more common among Nigerians in the coastal regions. In fact, we can say that NPE is gradually becoming a Creole in some parts of Nigeria such as Anambra, Delta State and Rivers State. As Pidgin is widely accepted and spoken in Nigeria, most Nigerian secular artistes do not just see it as a form of communication among peers but also as a way for them to reach out to the whole of Nigeria and outside Nigeria with their songs.
4.1:2 SONG 1
“ORENTE” BY ADEKUNLE GOLD [Verse 1]
oya now
shout out to my one and only na you be my alobam
Nnkem you are my one in a million shout out to my baby honey…
na you be my girlie o!
Temi you are one in a million [Chorus]
Ale ma ni owo lowo,sugbon a ni alafia.
Ale ma ni ile lori o, aye wa dun bi oyin Ale ma ni owo lowo…sugbon ani ifokan bale Ale ma ni ile lori o, orente no dey complain oh!
Ebami ki orente o! Orente o! Shout out to my orente o! orente o (2ce) Ebami ki orente! Orenteeeee!
Iyawo mi ni orente….
[Verse 2]
Dorobuchi dey toast you you tell am say you no do
shey you no go leave me ? omoge to loyal
baby mi to sure ju,
shey you no go leave mi ?
4.1:3 SONG 2
“YARO” BY DIJA Intro (x2)
My name na Di‘ja I dey sing for my baby Nwannem Yaro I dey love you I crazy
[Verse 1]
Something like a brother I go be your keeper Something like Annie Wey e catch Idibia
Something like Tee Billions Wey e love hin Tiwa
Something like Romie Romie
Kill himself for Julie [Bridge 1]
Something like Anini
You dey thief my heart baby Something like your shadow I go follow you my baby I go dey gum your body Something like MTN Everywhere you go I go follow you my baby Follow you my baby [Bridge 2]
All I need is your love Your love is all I need Yes! No one can compare To how you make me feel
I place no one above Oya show me you love me
Show me you love me baby [Chorus]
You thief my heart o (yaro) Bust my brain ni (yaro) Smooth criminal (yaro o)
I just dey love you (yaro o) I no dey paro (yaro) Kai !shege banza (yaro o) I go love you ahn
Love you (yaro) [Verse 2]
This soyayya is sweet oo E dey sweet me well wellioo Woi woi woi woi yo
Duya abeg no leave o This love is crazy Even I can‘t deny it
Don‘t understand how I feel But I like it
4.1:4 SONG 3
“OLOLUFE” BY FLAVOUR [Verse 1]
Ololufe, Angel of my life
For the love I have it's so real (It's so real) How can I be your Mr Right?
Baby, what I feel it's so strong…
[Chorus]
Ife ifeife
You are the apple of eyes… Ife ifeife I'm gonna love you till I die
Ololufe mi, Jowo I'm thinking about that day It will be just you and I Will you be my wifey? I go be your wifey
Angel of my lifey… Angel of my lifey Will you be my wifey? I go be your wifey
Baby Arapuna namuo –ooo
[Verse 2] Chidinma
Iwo ni mofe the love of my life…Nobody compares to you Na you be my life o I go be your wife o Baby, I go die for you Na you be my joy and happiness
Baby, are you sure there's nobody else?
Obinmo, oko mi
I just wanna let you know…
4.1:5 SONG 4
“AKWA IBOM AYAYA” BY MISH
[Verse 1]
there comes a time we all leave home in search of so called green pastures this was the case of ini-obong who had left home for very long for all the hustle nothing much until one day he met Nicki a young rich girl who so pretty he said ?? come with me i just like you forget money whatever you want just tell me to her surprise Ini said
[Chorus]
I want to go home I'm from Akwa Ibom In case you don‘t know Akwa Ibom Ayaya you can enter motor or fly for Aero
and land for Uyo
you should come with me I'm missing the love at home(4x) [Verse 2]
Home sweet home no place like home I‘m a king at home so baby feel at home You are in Akwa Ibom
and its sweet like a honey-comb you go chop am dey carry go cos they call it the promise land I‘m so proud of my motherland mbok ndoko mien what you want uyai mmi this is the home of soups
you want afang or edikan ikong (types of soups)?
you love ?? and ekpang nkukwo from pot to pot, pot to mouth no need for spoon no need for plate waste of time just five alive
pls drop the knief and chop this life [Verse 3]
ufan di yak ukpeb mkpo i say let me school you
koro nfana ibagha infact there's no problem dimi means come here
diamkpo means come chop Ima means God‘s Love that‘s what I feel for you
and I know you‘re feeling it too God's gift equals to Eno-Obong Thank God equals to Itoro Obong yong di idung mbaku dukpa obiong
I know you love Champaign to pop your brain and blow your pain just take ukot nsung to calm your brain
i mean palm wine don‘t mind the flies the flies are spice to make you high
[Bridge 1]
ikwo ami anem ke mmuk ofong ukot unek ami anem ke mmuk ofong idem Akwa Ibom ofon yak Isin ubok Idia Owo ado iyene ano imo-imo owo kpukpru idong ado eyin eka ayid mbon ?? Ibesikpo,
Eket, Onna, Eastern Obolo
Mkpat Enin, Ukanafun me Ikot Abasi
Itu, Itam me Ikot Ekpene
Esien Udim, Ekpene Ukim, Etinan Afaha Eket, ???, Ikono
back to uyo
I no fit go i miss home Calaba na same mother I love hausa and yoruba Igbo man and Nigeria... Africa Land of birth
4.1:6 SONG 5
“TOH BAD” BY NIYOLA [Refrain]
I love you ,you love me Oh baby I know it's true But sometimes it's crazy the kind of things that you do I'm tired of trying to be your number one
I love you (I no go lie) I love you (I no go lie) [Verse 1]
I'm trying to use my head the more I try, the worse situation is getting
I'm trying to say goodbye I feel the hurt inside I think you got me bad
Baby I no go lie [Chorus]
Ife yiga o Ife yi le o
Ife to ma dun dundun bi oyin Telegan ban soro
Lojo to ba kan ro
Da won lohun pe adun lo n gbeyin ewuro Toh bad o (toh bad o) (3ce)
Na you get my heart Toh bad o (toh bad) (3ce) Them say Bobo you bad o
Bobo you bad o but I love you
Bobo you bad o you bad o Yeah yeah yeah Yeah yeah [Refrain]
I need you, you need me… Oh baby I know it's true But sometimes it kills me...the kind of things that you do
But sometimes I'm trying to be your number one I love you (I no go lie) (2ce)
[Verse 2]
I'm lying in my bed
Trying to forget memories but is taking over me I'm trying not to cry tears are hard to find It's hard to let you go Baby I no go lie Chorus…
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS
This section will provide the types and reasons of code-mixing and code-switching, identify and conduct a sociolinguistic analysis of them. The data listed are excerpts from each of the selected songs‘ lyrics.
4.2:1 “Orente” by Adekunle Gold
In this song, Adekunle tries to tell us about the strong bond that exists between him and his lover.
A major part of verse one and two is written in NPE with a mixture of few Igbo and Yoruba words. In the first verse, the artiste gave a shout out to the love of his life and declares his strong love for her. The mixture of Yoruba, English and Pidgin in describing how content the lady is carries more emotions.
(1) oya now (let‟s start now)
(3) na you be my alobam (you are my friend) (4) Nnkem you are my one in a million (6) na you be my girlie o
(7) Temi you are one in a million
(Mine …)
(You are my girl o) (Mine…)
Line (1) signifies the starting of the song. He uses a Yoruba word ‗oya‘ which means ‗let‘s start‘.
This reflects the artiste‘s closeness to his audience as he uses the vocative in conversation with them and draws them closer to him. He tries to carry them along as he relates his feelings. This can also be seen as the artiste talks directly to his audience thereby drawing them closer to himself with the use of NPE.
In line (2), he tries to reach out to his‖ Alobam‖, an Igbo word meaning ‗my friend‘ signifies this. Line (3) is a continuation of line (2), making it an inter-sentential switch. In line 2,‖shout out to my one and only‖ can be seen as a Standard English when isolated but the addition of ―na you be my Alobam‖ which is Pidgin mixed with Igbo, changes the whole clause. He uses NPE to talk about the fact that he cannot deny about his lover. The artiste could have expressed himself in Standard English but the choice of NPE is significant as noted above. In line 4, there is an intra-sentential switch because the union between Igbo word ―Nnkem‖ meaning ―mine‖ and
―you are my one in a million‖ which can be seen as a Standard English. Also, there is a type of code-switching involving a change in pronunciation as seen in Line (6), “Girl as Girlie”.
The whole verse 1 is about love confessions from the artiste to a special one out there as he uses.
―Orente‖ as used in the lyrics by the artiste is to show cultural colouration. He used that not because he didn‘t have the target equivalent, but to use it stylistically.
(11) Ale mani ile lori o, orente no dey complain oh! (We might not have a house, but my baby doesn‟t complain)
(16) Dorobuchi dey toast you (19) omoge to loyal
(20) Baby mi to sure ju,
(A rich man woo you) ( A loyal lady)
(My sure-baby)
There is an inter-sentential switching in Line 11. The chorus is mainly in Yoruba with few English words. The artiste feels more at home expressing himself in his mother tongue and that is significant as seen above. The artiste draws his audience to the values and dignity of his one and only love. The second verse of this song started out in NPE as the artiste expresses his convictions about the loyalty of his lover.
Again, he starts to explain how faithful and loyal his lover is. ―Dorobuchi‖ in line 16 is a slang word used in Nigerian Pidgin to refer to a range of personalities depending on the context. It can stand for a rich, handsome, cool person. But in this song, the artiste used the term to refer to a rich man. The link is evident in Line 8 & 9, that is, irrespective of not having a house and money to spend on her, ―Orente” still loves him and that has made the artiste to love her the more.
Intra-sentential code-mixing is also evident in Line 19 and 20. The alternation of languages especially from Yoruba to English in the lyrics indicate a Yoruba cultural background and terms like ‗Dorobuchi, Toast‘ indicates the era of Civilization.
4.2:2 “Yaro” by Di‟Ja
In this song, Di‘ja expresses the kind of love she feels for the addressee .The singer in the first five lines of the song introduces her and gives reason for the song and to whom the song is
directed towards. The introduction alone is written in three different languages. ―Nwannem‖
(Igbo), ―Yaro‖ (Hausa), others in NPE.
(2) I dey sing for my baby (3) Nwannem Yaro
(I‟m singing for my baby) (My boy/friend)
The Verse 1 is written completely in NPE. She describes the kind of love she has for the addressee and further uses famous people, organization and story to back up her type of feelings. ―Annie‖ is an actress who married Tu‘Face Idibia, an artiste. ‗Tee Billions is a Manager and husband to Tiwa Savage, a singer. And lastly for Verse1, the singer relates her kind of love to that that existed between Romeo and Juliet although theirs was that of a tragic love story.
(8) Something like Annie (Just like Annie who caught Idibia) (9) Wey e catch Idibia
(10) Something like Tee Billions (Just like Tee Billions who loves his Tiwa) (11) Wey e love hin Tiwa
(12) Something like Romie Romie (Just like Romeo who killed himself for Juliet) (13) Kill himself for Julie
The singer in bridge 1 of this song relates her feelings to ―Anini‖, a famous armed robber. She explains that the addressee stole her heart just like the way ‗Anini‖ robs people. She added that she will shadow, follow, gum and stick to the addressee everywhere he goes, just like MTN, a famous network provider in Nigeria. This explanation is meant for the audience and the use of NPE by the artiste stands for her effort at connecting with her audience since NPE is a general conversational language in the country (as we already know).
(14) Something like Anini (Just like Anini, you stole my heart)