CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background to the Study

Communication has always been a vital part of human existence and language plays a pivotal role in the communicative process, since it is the medium of all imaginative, spoken, written or gestured expressions. Over the years, the flexibility of language has afforded language users the opportunity to creatively manipulate language in order to express human thoughts, ideas, and emotions in subtle ways to foster harmonious relationships. To this end, people often make deliberate choices of communicating through indirect or pleasant expressions as against the use of expressions which are considered unpleasant or rude in communication. 

Euphemism is a subtle form of language used amidst the varieties of language system employed by language users both in written and spoken form for effective communication. According to Fromkin and Rodman (2003) “euphemisms are words or phrases that replace a taboo word or serves to avoid frightening or unpleasant subjects”. That means it is generally an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant. Akanbi (2008) also refers to euphemism as “a word or phrase which replaces a taboo word or is used in an attempt to avoid either fearful or unpleasant happenings”. For example, in many societies, because death is feared, there are so many euphemisms used as substitutes such that it is more comfortable to say that “people have passed away or passed on”, than to use the word „die‟. 

According to Enright (1985) “a language without euphemism would be a defective instrument of communication. Thus, euphemism is an indispensable and natural part of human language; it is a cultural phenomenon which cuts across all languages and cultures, for almost all cultures seem to have certain behaviour or words that are tagged as forbidden for people to mention directly at least not in a polite company. Such words as described by Fromkin and Rodman (2003) are called taboo words – they refer to acts that are forbidden or to be avoided, and in situations where an act is a taboo, reference to it automatically becomes a taboo. For example in

English it is a taboo to talk about some vulgar words or swear words in public such as; „fuck‟,

„prick‟ „tits‟ „balls‟, etc. Such words are often seen as dirty, as most people avoid discussions that relate to them directly or rather use less meaningful words for them. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the existence of taboo words and ideas stimulates the creation of euphemisms.

The use of euphemism is common among the Yorùbas who as a way of life take their norms, practices and traditions very serious such that words are not just uttered anyhow; they are weighed before they are uttered . It is the belief of the Yorùbás that certain words are not to be said in their lucid forms, this consciousness is what informs the Yoruba saying; „Gbogbo as̩ o̩ kó̩̩ là ń s̩ á lóòrùn’ meaning ‘It is not all clothes that are spread in the sun’. This explains the fact that not all words can be said in public. For example, taboo words that relate to human sexual organs, human sexual activities and the likes, are not just discussed freely; for such words, people create euphemisms as substitutes which help to reduce the effects they could have on the hearer‟s mind. Taboo words in Yorùbá culture however go beyond those that relate to human sexuality, they also extend to areas such as; dressing, food, hygiene, death, names, birth, business, and royalty Oyetade (1994). Taboo is a major component of the Yorùbá culture , it is one way in which the Yorùbá society expresses its disapproval of certain kinds of behaviour believed to be harmful to its members, either for supernatural reasons or because such behaviours violate the moral code. Salami (2006), affirms that the Yorùbá people ; for example, do not often describe the genitals by their technical terms and it is also a taboo to mention women‟s menstrual activity by name. Therefore, in a bid to avoid such taboo words which could make them sound loose, indecent, rude, too direct or impolite, the language users tend to settle for words that help to present them in a pleasant or mild way for effective communication.  

It is against this background that this study sets out to examine the inevitability of the use of euphemism in the Yoruba society, the types of acts performed either directly or indirectly through these euphemisms in conversations and how politeness is manifested in the use of these euphemisms in Yoruba Language.  For example; in Yoruba Language, when one dies, in order to sound polite and to present the news to people in a subtle and appropriate manner that will lessen the effects the news might have on its hearers, such may be expressed euphemistically by saying “He has changed position” (ó tí pa ipò dá). Here, the euphemistic term “change position” used as a substitute for death performs directly an assertive act and indirectly an expressive act.

Politeness is also demonstrated by the speaker‟s use of the euphemism as the tact maxim is being maintained as a means to reduce the serious threats the news might pose on the addressee if he says what he intends to say directly. Thus, cost is minimised and benefit is maximised to the addressee by the speaker by expressing a substitute of what he intends to convey.

1.1 The Yorùbá People and Cul ture

According to Okediji (2008), when the question is put forward, “What is Yorùbá : language, people, culture, community or geographical definition?” such question poses a lot of problem, as it seems complex. It is not easy to provide a definite answer since the manifestations of

Yorùbá cultures are not only found in Africa       , but in various parts of the world           , such as ; in the Americas , Caribbean Islands and Europe . Who are those referred to with the phrase “The Yorùbás” ? Are they those who speak the language and any of its dialects? Or should it be limited only to those people who at one time claim origin from Ife directly or indirectly? Are they those people who at one time or the other were either conquered or incorporated into one or the other Yorùbá kingdoms ? Or do we look around for people who have similar institutions, similar objects of worship, similar concept of beliefs and similar customs and include them into this cultural group? Owing to these facts, it seems difficult to arrive at an accurate classification or definition of „the Yorùbás‟ .

      Akinjogbin in Okedeji                  (2008) proposes certain criteria to be considered in defining “the

Yorùbás” . The first criterion he came up with is „Language‟ which is seen as an important and basic identity in any culture . Therefore , wherever the Yorùbá language or any of its dialects is spoken in West Africa , such is assumed to have one time or the other formed part of what can be called Yorùbá land . The second criterion is based on the assumption that quite a large group claimed to have migrated from Ife ; therefore , wherever one finds this claim , such areas should be included in the Yorùbá continuum . Despite the fact that not all these people with this claim have Oduduwa as their father, in which they are said not to speak the recognizable Yorùbá , their oral tradition cannot be dismissed and as such they should be considered as belonging to the

Yorùbá culture . The third criterion is predicated on the fact that where a Yorùbá kingdom has succeeded in incorporating a non Yorùbá group for a sufficiently long period        , to the extent that such an incorporated group has imbibed ; the language , the institutions , the religion and mores of the Yorùbá people , it is right to include such people or group in the Yorùbá continuum      .

The fourth criterion which is the last he gave is based on the claims that some former Yorùbá kingdoms were lost to Oduduwa princes and that some of those kingdoms may have taken on other languages. However, it will be right or legitimate where the traces or evidences so permit to include such kingdoms; that is if it is possible to find similar traits and strong historical links.

In drawing a geographical boundary, the present Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Lagos states within Nigeria fall within the boundary and includes a large part of Kwara State, particularly, the Offa

Igbomina and other parts of Kwara such as; Ipee, Ojoku ,Omu Aran, and Ajase Ipo.  Ilorin, Ekiti, Owe and Kabba/ Bunnu are also being accepted. Westward, the Ancient kingdom of Ketu, Sabe and the Ana in the present Republic of Benin, and the Atapama in the present

     Republic of Togo, also present no problem in being accepted as falling within the Yorùbá Land                                       .

All these people described understand one single Yorùbá language though they have several dialects of the same language . For instance , there are about twenty dialects of Yorùb  á spoken in areas such as; Ijebu,Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti.

The Yorùbá tribe is known in West Africa and even all over the continent as one blessed with rich cultural values, so rich is the culture that its presence is felt in every aspect such as greeting, naming, language use, religious worship, arts, music, dressing and other aspects of life

Adebileje (2012). The Yorùbás are also well known for their great recognition of the Supreme

Being „God‟ such that they are a religious group of people who are mainly Christians and Muslims. However, before the advent of Christianity and Islam, they had their own religion and they believed in their own deities , which differ according to geographical location . There are many deities such as s̩ àngó (god of thunder ), ògún (god of iron ), sanpanna (god of smallpox ), es̩ ù (the devil ), oya, o̩ bàtálá, yemoja and many other gods believed to be intermediaries between

God (Olódùmare ) and man.

The Yorùbá culture has a developed sense of right and wrong over the years , and this moral sense has produced so many customs, rules, laws, traditions and taboos which make the people sensitive to any form of departure from them by the members of the society. In the Yoruba culture certain things are not meant to be mentioned or discussed. For instance, it is forbidden for wives to refer to their husbands by names; it is also wrong in the course of her relationship with her in-laws, especially his brother or sister, to call them by their real names, for doing that is seen as disrespect. Therefore, in order to avoid calling them by their real names she creates certain euphemistic names to refer to her husband and in-laws; examples include: Baale (the father of the house), Olowo ori mi (the one who has my bride price), Ade ori mi (my crown),

Oluwa mi (my lord) or pedigree names such as ‘Alani, Ajani, Ayinde’. She uses euphemisms

such as the following to refer to her brothers and sisters in-law;   

       Male                                                          Female  

Baba o̩ ko̩ mi (my father in-law)                      Sisi mi         (young lady)

Akowe          (secretary)                                  ìya o̩ ko̩ mi   (my mother in-law)

Adeoye (2014), states that Yorùbás beyond all these , as a result of  the fear certain words evoke, do not mention them, but come up with other words for them in order to erase the horror or pain that comes with such words, especially words like „death and disease‟, for example; due to the intense fear for death we are often afraid to say „if I should die today‟, instead we say „if anything happens to me‟, in the same vein people do not like to talk about some venereal diseases such as AIDS, they rather substitute the real word by using a similar less meaningful term like; (kòkòrò éédi or arun ko gboogun) meaning an insect called AIDS or an incurable disease. Furthermore, there are topics, themes or expressions that have come to be attached with stigmatization and would not be spoken by the members of the society so as not to be seen as rude or loose; instead euphemistic devices are employed to dress up such words. 

The Yorùbá culture is however dynamic and exceptional for its high regards for politeness as part of daily life. In Yoruba Language, euphemisms as explained earlier often relate to the regular taboo topics such as sexual organs, sexual play and ethnic differences, they also refer to people‟s character and attributes in a polite way, while some other euphemisms seek to conceal information, especially when conversing in public. It is in light of these, that the study examines the use of euphemisms in selected utterances from mundane conversations in Yoruba language, using certain pragmatic tool for analysis.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem   

Goodenough (1957:167) describes a society‟s culture to consist of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept….” He went further to state that “knowledge is socially acquired: the necessary behaviour learned and do not come from any kind of genetic environment”.  Language is an aspect of culture. Hence, people tend to behave in accordance with the norms of the society. These norms relate to different aspects of the lives of the people such as; taboos, euphemisms and politeness strategies which are universal to all languages and cultures. This is captured in Whorf‟s words thus; 

We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native language… we cut nature up, organise it into concepts and ascribe significances as we do largely because we are parties to an agreement to organise it in this way- an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language…Caroll,(1956).

Therefore, it can be said that people organise their thoughts to meet the demands of their language in speech such that it is difficult to talk about issues as it relates to tabooed words or idea without employing certain substitutes so as to avoid offences or emotional discomfort.  Considering all these, it is regrettably alarming to say that, nowadays, many Yoruba speakers especially in urban and multilingual areas and among the younger age group have little or no idea at all about the existence of such norms as euphemisms and taboos. This might be because such norms have been taken over by religion and technology as most parents and guardians see them as superstitious. They therefore have failed to educate or pass down the knowledge to their children who prefer to watch programmes on the television than sit down with their parents to learn these norms. As a result, most children grow up with no idea of such interactional norms like taboo or euphemisms. 

It is obvious that originally, words name or mean exactly the same things and objects they are meant to. But in language there are times when the need for word substitution while speaking on sensitive issue arises, such that people often search for milder alternatives to express their opinions whenever they feel their words might sound offensive or rude. The study therefore intends to examine the extent to which Yoruba speakers in the course of discussions communicate either directly or indirectly what their words mean in the language by using euphemisms. 

Also, since the use of euphemisms as noted by Arif (2015), requires that it should be studied within a specific discourse, this study takes a look at how the Yoruba cultural context affects the use and interpretation of euphemisms. The study adopts a more contextual approach and focuses on how Politeness maxims are adhered to by Yoruba speakers in their use of selected euphemisms.

1.3 Research Questions

In the light of the aforementioned, this research attempts to provide answers to the following research questions;

i.            What are the euphemisms used by the selected Yoruba speakers?

ii.           What are the Direct and Indirect Speech Acts performed in the selected euphemisms in Yoruba?

iii.         To what extent does the use of euphemism by Yoruba speakers adhere to the Politeness maxims in the selected mundane conversations? 

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The study aims to carry out a pragmatic analysis of Yorùbá Euphemisms         . The specific objectives the study sets out to achieve are to;

a.     identify and categorise the Yoruba euphemisms provided by the respondents.

b.     identify the Direct and Indirect Speech Acts performed in the selected euphemisms in Yoruba.

c.     examine the extent to which the Politeness maxims are usually adhered to in the use of Yoruba euphemisms in the selected mundane conversations.

1.5 Scope and Delimitation 

The present study is situated within the confines of Pragmatics. It examines specifically pragmatic elements such as; Speech Act Theory and Politeness maxims . It is limited to the euphemisms gathered from contexts of mundane conversations from the Yorùbá programme on African Independent Television (AIT)  „Minijojo‟ and also from recorded interview sessions with adult respondents who are believed to have a great mastery of the language. This study also limits itself to the euphemisms collected as responses from respondents to the word and sentence compilation task administered. The euphemisms are presented in the Akoto Ede Yoruba Ode Oni (the Yoruba spoken in Oyo town) not because of its superiority over other dialects but because it is believed to be the one most mutually intelligible to most Yoruba

speakers.                    

1.6 The Significance of the Study

Many studies have been done in various fields on euphemisms, such as in daily conversations, interactional communication, advertisements, literature, rhetoric and in linguistics; in areas like Semantics, Socio – linguistics and even in Pragmatics especially in English language but not much has been covered, with respect to indigenous languages in Nigeria. This is part of the justification for this research in the sense that the analysis of the use of euphemisms by the Yoruba speakers from a pragmatic perspective would arguably be an addition to knowledge in linguistics. It will yield valuable information on the use of euphemisms by Yoruba speakers and the various acts that are performed in its usage in various contexts. It will also shed more light on how euphemisms protect the integrity of interlocutors in conversations.  

The study is also significant because of its pedagogical implications in that, since Yorùbá is one of the celebrated three (3) languages in Nigeria taught at primary, secondary and tertiary level, the study could be used by both teachers and writers of Yorùbá language as a teaching material which will enhance the learning of Yorùbá and its interactional norms (i.e. euphemisms and taboos) in schools. And consequently, it will help to preserve the Yoruba cultural heritage, thereby, saving the language from extinction.

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