Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on "o" at the end of sentences in v arious African languages.
This post presents several online excerpts about "o" at the end of sentences in Yoruba, Igbo, Nigerian Pidgin English and various other African languages.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/o-at-end-of-sentences-in-yoruba-igbo_78.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents selected YouTube discussion thread comments that are examples of "o" at the end of sentences in various African languages.
The content of this post is presented for historical, linguistic, cultural, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
EXCERPTS FROM ONLINE SOURCES
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
EXCERPT #1
From https://journals.openedition.org/linx/8350 The sentence final particle o in Ikwere
Sylvester N. OSU, « The sentence final particle o in Ikwere
», Linx [En ligne], 83 | 2021, mis en ligne le 30 décembre 2021
"Introduction
1 Sentence-final particle (SFP) is used here in place of
utterance-final particle (UFP) just as sente (...)
1 The sentence final particle (henceforth SFP)1 o has
been identified in several Nigerian languages (e.g., Igbo, Yoruba, Ikwere)
extending to the Nigerian Pidgin English. According to Williamson (1972: 350),
it is used at the end of sentences in Igbo (Benue-Congo, Igboid, Nigeria) when
speaking to someone at a distance; it is also used as a sign of affirmation, or
assent to a salutation. Sachnine (1997: 200) reports that it has a slight
emphatic function in Yoruba (Benue-Congo, Yoruboid, Nigeria). Faraclas (1996:
116) finds that it has an emphatic marking function and adds meanings of
empathy, solidarity and realis modality to the assertion in the Nigerian Pidgin
English. Interestingly, the SFP o does exist in other languages outside Nigeria.
For instance, Helmlinger (1972: 387) states that it is used in Duala
(Benue-Congo, Bantu, Cameroon) for questions or calls at a distance.
Furthermore, Singler (1988: 123) suggests that “the sentence-final particle o
is a real feature par excellence, extending along the West African coast from
Sierra Leone to Nigeria. English-and French-lexifier pidgins and creoles
display it as well, not only in West Africa but also in the Caribbean”. To
buttress this point, Singler (1988: 123-125) draws examples from Klao, Bassa,
Kroumen, Wobe (Kru); Nkonya, Twi (Kwa); Mende, Kpelle, Mano (Mande); Kisi (West
Atlantic); as well as Ibibio (Benue-Congo).
I do not intend to study this particle in all of the
languages mentioned above whether individually or cross-linguistically. This
article focuses on the SFP o in the Ikwere language2. First, it intends to make
a contribution towards addressing the dearth of work on this topic as reported
by Singler (1988). He writes (p. 123): “Despite the breadth of o's distribution
and despite the frequency of its occurrence within particular languages, its
functions have gone largely unexamined”. The investigation in the present
article, however, will go beyond the functions of this particle. Second, the
SFP o in Ikwere belongs to a subset of nonderived particles that occur in
sentence final position in Ikwere. This subset of particles includes kɔ3, o, ʔɔ,
nu, ta̰ and we. However, o, we, ta̰ and ʔɔ consistently occur in the sentence
final position while the others can occur elsewhere. All these particles in
turn can be subsumed under a much larger class that is often referred to as
discourse markers in the linguistic literature (see, inter alia, Schiffrin
1987, Hartmann 1994: 2957, Schourup 1999, Paillard 2002)4. See also Ameka (1990)
and Dimmendaal (1996) for the study of similar units in some African languages
spoken outside Nigeria.5
[…]
Different uses of the SFP o and analysis
4.1. Affirmative sentences
4.2. Negative sentences
4.3. Injunctive sentences
4.4. Interrogative sentences
4.4.1. Yes-no questions
4.4.2. Interro-negative questions
4.4.3. Rhetorical questions"...
****
EXCERPT #2
From
written by Loreto Todd (with help from Martin Jumbam and Herbert Wamey) [no date cited; retrieved on Septembe 19, 2022]
"Introduction
Kamtok is the pidginised English of Cameroon. This English-related language has been a lingua franca in the country since at least the 1880s. The 35-year period since 1966 has seen dramatic changes in the attitude of speakers towards the language. Speakers have always recognised the usefulness of the language but, in early writings, it was frequently referred to as "Bad English", "Broken English" and "Bush English". Today, due mainly to its extended use in Churches and on Radio and Television, it is becoming known as Kamtok from Cameroon Talk, and is taking its place as a recognised medium of interaction.
It is difficult to distinguish between a widely-used pidgin
and a creole. The sociological differentiation, often cited, is that a creole
is a mother tongue whereas a pidgin is not. However, this distinction is overly
simplistic in West Africa where multilingualism is the norm and where the same
language can, at any one time, be a mother tongue, a language of wider
communication and a first, second, third, fourth or foreign language. This is
the case with Kamtok. It is acquired by many in infancy at the same time as
their other mother tongue(s) and spoken at a similar speed and with similar
flexibility. Many, including clergymen, traders, travellers, gendarmes,
soldiers and prisoners utilise it as the most viable means of communication in
a country with two official languages, French and English, and a minimum of two
hundred mutually unintelligible vernaculars. Other people, including immigrants
and expatriates, learn it with varying degrees of proficiency and a few, albeit
a diminishing number, still refuse to speak it because they believe it
incapable of civilised discourse.
[…]
Worksong in Kamtok
masa, a wan wohk o!- Master, I want work.'
na wohk dis o! - This is work.'
masa, yu wan wohk o!- Master, you want work.'
na wohk dis o! This is work.'
o ya ya!
soso dai wohk o! Always killing work.'
mohni no dei o! There's no money.'
o ya ya!
mohni no dei o! There's no money.'
wuman no dei o! 'There are no women.'
o ya ya!
daso dai wohk o! Only killing work.'
na wohk dis o! This is work.'
o ya ya!”
-snip-
I added italics to the English translations for these Kamtok lyrics
****
EXCERPT #3
From https://dailytrust.com/broken-english-pidgin-english-and-nigerian-english Broken English, Pidgin English, And Nigerian English
By Webmaster, Sun, 20 Nov 2011
"In African languages, it is usual to end sentences with what
grammarians call terminal intensifiers. An intensifier is a word that has
little meaning except to accentuate the meaning of the word or phrase it
modifies.
A “terminal intensifier” is therefore an intensifier that appears at the end of a sentence. Words like “o” in “E don taya me o,” [I’m fed up], “na” in “wia you deyna?” [Where are you?], and “sha” in “Di ting get as e be sha” [That’s really unusual] are terminal intensifiers because they appear at the end of sentences and merely heighten the meanings of the phrases that preceded them. With a few exceptions, intensifiers appear either at the beginning or in the middle of sentences in English. E.g., “Honestly” in “Honestly, this doesn’t make sense to me,” “really” in “I’m really tired.”
Another structural characteristic in Nigerian Pidgin English, which is derived from indigenous Nigerian languages, is “reduplication.” Linguists use this term to describe the deliberate repetition of a word to create plurals or for emphasis. Examples: “Abeg come here quick quick [Please come here quickly], “The omoge fine well well” [The girl is very beautiful], “Di ting deyyanfuyanfu” [There is plenty of it], “Di kontri don jagajaga” [The country is terribly ruined].
[…]
Now, in Nigeria, it is customary to use “Pidgin English” and
“broken English” interchangeably. But Pidgin English isn’t broken English
because it does not attempt to approximate the linguistic conventions of
Standard English. In other words, it isn’t the product of an incompetent
attempt to speak or write Standard English; it’s the product of a historically
specific, socio-linguistic alchemy of Nigerian languages and English.
Additionally, it seems to me that broken English, deformed as it is, is often
comparatively more intelligible to monolingual native English speakers than
Pidgin English.
Interestingly, Nigerian Pidgin English is now increasingly being creolized especially in Nigeria’s deep south and in such cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic urban centers as Lagos and Abuja. It’s anybody’s guess where this will all end.”…
****
EXCERPT #4
From https://www.legit.ng/534689-why-nigerians-say-o-in-every-conversation.html Why Nigerians Overuse 'O'
August 31, 2015 by Onyinye Muomah
...‘O’; a simple word– rather, letter, with a simple sound. Its usage is so ubiquitous in the speech of an average Nigerian – especially those living in the city – that it is almost always the first thing most expatriates I have known learn when trying to take on the Nigerian swag. When speaking with an average Nigerian, especially in Nigeria, if you don’t hear at least one ‘O’ in a conversation of five short sentences, then be sure you are not speaking to a Nigerian. Take this conversation between two Nigerians for example:
"Good morning o."
"Yes o.
Who is there o?"
"It is me o. Is your husband at home?"
"No o."
"Haba! Where did he go now?" (Now is another overused word I may discuss someday.)
"I don’t know o. Since morning o."
"Ha. That’s not good o. Sha, tell him when he comes back that I came o."
"Ok o. I will o."
"Oya now, bye-bye o."
"O, bye-bye."
[...]
If you paid attention, you'd notice, that like most Nigerian exclamatory words, "O" connotes more than one idea/reaction. It can be an answer to a call, It can be used in agreement. It can be used to reiterate a point.
As for why Nigerians overuse it, to tell the truth, me, I don't know o. All I know is that me sef, I use it a lot o, and e tire me too o!
-snip-
The words given in italics were written that way in this article.
EXCERPT #5
https://www.rogerblench.info/Language/English/Nigerian%20English%20Dictionary.pdf
A DICTIONARY OF NIGERIAN
ENGLISH
DRAFT CIRCULATED FOR COMMENT]
Roger Blench, Mallam Dendo
Cambridge, Sunday, 07 August 2005
[…]
Nigerian /Ghanaian/ West African English
One of the more surprising things about Nigerian English is
the extent to which it has a common lexicon and
grammar with other West African Englishes, notably Ghanaian.
A guide to Ghanaian English (Kirby 1998)
provides an interesting comparison with the present document
and parallel forms are noted2
. I have less
information about Cameroun, Sierra Leone and Gambia and
would welcome further insights. However, the
puzzle is the history of some of these forms. Do they go
back to the early days of colonial presence on the
coast or are they more recent products of the massive
migration of Ghanaians to Nigeria during the oil-boom
era of the 1970s and 1980s? Probably both, but only a
detailed scanning of earlier sources will provide
answers.
[…]
O
oo s.t. tag placed at the end of sentences, to soften
the statement or give it slight emphasis I
think I would do it, oo! Go register now, oo [ID
Card poster, March 2003]"
-snip-
The sentence in italics was written this way in that dictionary.
****
EXCERPT #6
From http://bwari.tripod.com/FGGCABUJA/id18.html FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GIRLS' COLLEGE BWARI ABUJA PIDGIN DICTIONARY
"Babawilly's Dictionary of Pidgin English Words and Phrases.
...“O!: Placed at the end of sentences for emphasis
and effect E.g. I go broke bottle for yua head O!”
****
EXCERPT #7
From https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/15-nigerian-pidgin-english-phrases-you-need-to-know/ 15 Nigerian Pidgin English Phrases You Need to Know
by Fareeda Abdulkareem, Updated: 21 February 2017
….“Nawa oh!
This is an expression of surprise, similar to ‘wow’. The
‘oh’ ending is a kind of conversational tick that gets added to lots of words
and phrases to add emphasis.”
-snip-
Notice that "o" at the end of sentences is sometimes written as "oh". Also, since at least the early 21st century [?], "o" at the end of sentences is sometimes elongated with added "o"s [for example: "oo", "oooo". These elongations strengthen the meaning of "o" at the end of a sentence.
****
This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment