Sacred Language Among the Yamba People: A Case Study of the Power of Language
Description
A study of the sacred language used by the Yamba people of Cameroon, in ceremonies performed within their society throughout the year. The collector selects samples of sacred utterances (prayers, injunctions, curses, oaths), and analyses them linguistically to determine what makes this variety of language different from the language used in everyday communication in Yamba society. Data for the study was collected in eleven villages, during 1975, 1976 and 1977, and involved observation of ceremonies in their natural setting (i.e., at the time when they were due), and in a contrived setting (i.e., the ceremony acted for the collector's research purposes). Interviews were also conducted with informants from a further six villages. The dissertation was submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of the Master's Degree in Sociolinguistic Studies, Department of English, University of Yaounde, June 1979. The study is divided into five chapters. The first outlines the scope and purpose of the study, some theoretical considerations and the research methodology employed. Chapter Two presents contextual information on the Yamba people, including the topography of the region in which they live, the origin and history of the people, external influences on the people, the Yamba cosmological concept and socio-political organisation. Chapter Three concerns the language, and includes sections on eight types of utterance (including admonition, purification, initiation and divination). The fourth chapter presents an analysis of the data, and looks at voice set, paralanguage, voice qualities, vocalisations, syntax, sentences, clauses, groups, non-verbal communication and lexicology. The final chapter considers the impact of the sacred language on the Yamba society, with sections on socio-political stability, the corporate nature of the society, the reduction in certain crimes and psychological satisfaction.
Metadata
| Identifier | m89pcdvz |
| IRN | 410411 |
| Class Mark | LAVC/SRP/4/017 |
| Level | File |
| Type of Record | Archives - ISAD(G) |
| Peristent Link | http://prototype1.library.leeds.ac.uk/m89pcdvz |
| Collection(s) | Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture |
| Category | Archive |
| Parent Record | Non-Institute Theses and Dissertations |
| Creator(s) | Yeriwa, Jikong Stephen |
| Date | 1979 |
| Size and Medium | ii, 160 bound typed leaves. |