International Journal of Language & Literature

Code-Mixing in Selected Plays of the New Generation Yorùbá Playwrights
Bólánlé Kíkelomo Osoba (Mrs), Gabriel A. Osoba

Abstract
This paper is an attempt to examine code-mixing as a striking feature in the style of the new generation Yorùbá playwrights. The new generation Yorùbá playwrights in the context of this study are those who wrote Yorùbá plays in the first twelve years of this new millennium, that is from (2000-2012). The data for this work are excerpts from three selected plays of the new generation Yorùbá playwrights: Abraham Adéoyè’s Oge Ìwòyí (2001), Akínyelé Adétúnjí’s Alárédè (2004) and Olúwagbémiga Akínbámi’s Ìpinnu Lánléyìn (2004).This study employs Communication Accommodation Theory developed by a psychologist, Howard Giles and his associates in (2006). The theory postulates that “what speakers say is not a product of who they are in terms of group membership but a product of what they wish to accomplish. This is found relevant to this paper’s investigation of code-mixing and the purpose it serves in the style of the new generation Yorùbá playwrights. The analytical approach is based on the process of (a) Insertion (b) alternation and (c) congruent lexicalization order under which code mixing can be examined.The paper reveals that the new generation Yorùbá playwrights are bilinguals who employ code-mixing as a result of their competence in both English and Yoruba languages to reflect contemporary issues in the society. The code-mixing portrays the plays as relevant to the present age, creating a kind of style that is already in vogue in the modern Yoruba society. The paper recommends that the new generation Yorùbá playwrights exercise caution in the use of code-mixing of Yorùbá with English; so as not to compromise the purity of the Yorùbá language which may lead to language endangerment.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v2n3a4