Abstract
This article reports that Reverend Gbade Ogunlana, popularly known as Paito wa, uses the Ibadan dialect of Yoruba in his preaching, but deploys available phonological mechanisms to add a sort of comic impression to his speech. Consonant deletion, which is usually minimised in public domains of speaking are rather maximised in his speaking, while tone spreading is accentuated to produce acute rising and falling contours. Further, it is reported that he prefers lexical borrowings which allow him the freedom to then adapt the borrowed words in the layman’s manner. This freedom is also apparent in the use of novel words which he is able to pronounce in the layman’s manner. It is argued that the intent of these is to add humour to his preaching, and accommodate his target audience for social identity and better understanding, an intention he appears to achieve with his choice of style.
Highlights
Yoruba is one of the most widely-studied members of the West Benue-Congo languages
The aim of this study is to investigate how Reverend Gbade Ogunlana, a public speaker popularly known as Paito wa “our Pastor”, deploys this Ibadan dialect in his preaching to obvious effects
Data for this study were collected from the public preachings of Paito wa aired on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), Gateway Television (GTV) in Ogun State and Kwara Television, three television stations whose transmissions cut across Yorubaland, and especially on YouTube where he has a large depository of videos of his preachings
Summary
Yoruba is one of the most widely-studied members of the West Benue-Congo languages. It is spoken predominantly in southwestern Nigeria, as well as in countries such as the Republic ofBenin, Togo, and Sierra Leone in Africa, and in Cuba, Brazil and many other non-African countries (Fabunmi 2013). Yoruba is one of the most widely-studied members of the West Benue-Congo languages. It is spoken predominantly in southwestern Nigeria, as well as in countries such as the Republic of. Togo, and Sierra Leone in Africa, and in Cuba, Brazil and many other non-African countries (Fabunmi 2013). Among its widely varied dialects are Igbomina, Ondo, Ijeṣa, OkeOgun, Ibolo, Ife, Yewa, Egba, Ijebu, Awori, Oyo, and Ibadan. The Oyo dialect was the basis of Yoruba standardisation (Fabunmi 2013: 1), but the present-day Standard Yoruba (SY) has diverged so much from the Oyo dialect that it is regarded as different. While speaking in public domains, most Yoruba speakers aim at SY, and especially away from their dialects. As a matter of fact, dialectal interference in public domains is often considered an issue to scoff at
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