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This paper reports the outcome of a Contrastive Analysis undertaken in order to account for some general principles governing the expression of time location in two apparently non cognate languages: English (Nigeria's official language) and ỤKWụANị, one of the indigenous languages of Nigeria. It focuses on the verb phrase component with temporal significance in signaling temporal sequences: temporal ordering previous, (past) simultaneous, (present) and subsequent (future) to given time reference. The linguistic framework adopted for analysis is Government and Binding (GB) Revised version of Transformational Generative Grammar which is premised on systems of principles of Universal Grammar. It explicates the possibilities and limits of rule interaction and functions in grammars. English syntactic strings and their ỤKWụANị translation equivalent provide the data for analysis. Aspects of grammatical convergence revealed in both languages show English Past signaled by {D1} and {li} in ỤKWụANị). Simultaneous and subsequent time marking in English is morphologically realized in relation to subject-verb concord whereas a T - marker "ne" is the simultaneity signal in ỤKWụANị. Subsequent time (Future) in English is M(AUX) "will"+ V and in Ukwuan M[VP] +V. It also shows that whereas in English, this is morphologically signaled, ỤKWụANị adds phonologically signal to the grammatical marker. Present and past tense structures in both languages are quite similar; resulting in significant congruent structures. Divergent as future time grammar may seem, our analysis also reveal quite similar patterns. There are indeed then meeting points for the two grammars in spite of geographical and cultural non contiguity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of rural decay, youth unemployment and crime in Nigeria, and the attendant social consequences as the country is besieged by a "formidable army" of disillusioned youth, are examined. Youths account for an estimated sixty percent of Nigeria's 160 million people. Less than ten percent of these youths are gainfully employed. A significant percent of even those employed, are grossly under-employed since their remuneration is far below their qualification and expertise. The criminal neglect and glaring poor infrastructural development in the rural areas, has led young people to migrate massively to the cities in search of a non-existent better life. They end up in crime. They have become ready tools as political thugs to unscrupulous politicians who use them to rig elections and wreck mayhem on opponents. Some youths operate as kidnappers, crude oil thieves, child traffickers or fraudsters. Some have gone to the extreme of taking up arms; being involved in militancy or insurgency. The activities of the disgruntled youths have brought untold pains and needless tears to thousands. The paper concludes that the survival of the Nigerian nation state lies in the urgent reversal of the current high level youth unemployment, massive investment in agriculture, rural transformation and urgent job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to highlight some issues raised by Soyinka in an adulatory composition, public tribute (Mandela's Earth and Other Poems) to Nelson Mandela and the gains arising thereof for progressive leadership in Africa. The text is handled as a political poem, since it celebrates the anti-apartheid, and a psychic weapon for fostering 'African brotherhood.' Four Yoruba poetic forms (Owe, Alo Apamo, Oriki and Ofo) and their rhetorical strategies in creative translation are examined and adopted along with functional linguistic stylistic model as theoretical framework. Seventeen excerpts are then quoted in situ and analysed within the extra linguistic context of Vintage Mandela's death and continuing adulation. It concludes that Yoruba rhetoric adopted and integrated into EL2 expression are signals of an expressive compromise which by the poet's mature handling of cultural and linguistic translatability communicates only as effectively as possible while revealing the limits of translation. On misrule and transformative democracy in Africa, it advocates urgent election of able and sincere leaders to show how much of the Mandela-gainfrom- pain lessons can help to liberate Africa from the ills of misrule: hunger, chronic poverty, disease, ignorance, avoidable wars, pseudo democracy, other forms of injustices and terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the outcome of a study aimed at discovering linguistic and socio-cultural similarities and differences between kinship terms in English and Ukwuani languages. It shows how anthropology and sociology impact on the taxonomy of kinship terms for meaning interpretation; 'descent', being gradually and strongly integrative of social affinity, and revealing how speakers use their language to organize the world around them. The research methodology employed questionnaires, oral interview and anthropological data, designed to generate authentic responses from mature native speakers and regular users of Ukwuani and English living speeches. The findings reveal among other facts, that both languages do not have kinship terms which express all possible kinship, both languages do not have exact translation equivalent and English has more lexicalized terms while Ukwuani has some lexicalized marriage kinship, not lexicalized in English, and additional markings indicating seniority. The study also confirms universals in human kinship which remain functionally stable with linguistic principles of classificatory terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines recreation as a fun generating, attractive, and potentially productive aspects of socio-political life in Nigeria. It argues that the rapid growth of the Nigerian Pidgin (NP Naijá), enhanced by its vitality and visibility through party comedians, shows how productive recreation can be in the socio-political life of a nation. The evolution of NP as a possible solution to Nigeria's national language problem is anchored and explicated on psychosociolinguistic and ethnolinguistic theories of language function and language planning. Evidences from the public and private work force showing the status of partying as both formal and informal recreation; are provided; while tracing and showing how both indigenous Nigerian languages and Naijá in particular, are being developed in the course of their being used as vehicle of social inter-ethnic communication; for jokes and anecdotes by party comedians. An analysis of the extent of productivity and creativity is undertaken to show how Naijá is being developed. It argues that partying can be harnessed to develop Nigeria beyond job creation for comedians and health therapy for stress-related medical conditions; it can develop the acceptable lingua franca needed for Nigeria's unity, national identity, and pride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: This paper attempts an identification and examination of some of the features that make Wole Soyinka's poems unmistakably bilingual and bicultural. Four linguistic strategies revealing some features often employed in Yoruba poetic discourse are identified across the poet's four anthologies to date (1967-89). While drawing attention to the poet's manner of incorporating these features into his poetry of English L[sub 2] (EL[sub 2]) expression, the paper also focuses on stylistic translation; an imitation of Yoruba poetic forms. Consequently the stylistic imitation of two Yoruba forms: Owe and Ofo are also explored across the four anthologies. The manner of these usages by the poet are examined vis-a-vis their stylistic effect in the new L[sub 2] linguistic and extra linguistic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]