REG NO: ……………………………

CASE OF STUDY: LANGUAGE

BY

MEDICINE AND SURGERY GROUP 1

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

MADONNA UNIVERSITY ELELE, CAMPUS.

June, 2023
 GROUP 1

MEDICINE AND SURGERY

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction

2. What Emmanuel Edeh said in his book "Towards Igbo Metaphysics"

3. Disadvantages, Advantages/Importance of Igbo Language in our society

4. General view

5. Personal point of view

6. Bibliography
 INTRODUCTION

The concept of language is what makes us humans, it is how people

communicate. By learning a language, it means you have mastered a complex
system of words, structures and grammar to effectively communicate with others.
Not all communication is through language but mastering a language is the most
effective and helps speed up the process of communication. Humans all learn to
talk slightly at different times e.g observing when a child begins to speak is a sign
of development.

DEFINITION OF TERMS BY PHILOSOPHER

1. LOCKE: Language is a tool for communicating with other humans.

2. JOHN DEWEY: Language is a vehicle of thought and communication.it is the

ultimate tool by which meanings, concepts and constituents of human thought are
brought into existence.

3. HEGEL: Language comprise of three parts: Logic, philosophy of nature and

philosophy of spirits.

4. ARISTOTLE: Language is a speech sound produced by humans to express their

emotions, thoughts, desires and feelings.

5.LEDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: The limits of my language is the limits of my

world.

SEVEN THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1. Plato and innate knowledge

2. Descartes and cartesian linguistics

3. Locke and Tabula Rasa

4.Skinner and the theory of behaviourism

5. Chomsky and Universal grammar

6. Schmann and the Acculturation Model

7. Icrashen and the Monitor Model

 Language is perceived as an essential and internal part of life. It is full of
symbolism that metaphysics is embedded in its heart. Plato has two general models
of language and knowledge; The simplest one in which there's a speaker(knower)
who signifies(knows) and on the other hand there's an object that is signified.
There are two types of language: The Physical language which is worldly,
conventional and used under ordinary circumstance. The metaphysical language is
based on mental and has to be studied, learned and understood.

ORIGIN OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE

The Igbo language is said to have originated in 9th century AD in area near the
conference of Niger and Benue rivers and then spread over South eastern Nigeria.
There are approximately 30 Igbo dialects but the Owerri and Onitsha Igbo are the
two widely recognized. The official Igbo orthography known as "Onwu" uses a
roman script.

The language of the Igbos is Igbo. The word stress and syllables determine the
meaning of the words. Therefore, many words can have same orthography but
different meanings e.g aziza meaning answer and aziza meaning brush or broom,
ama meaning space and ama meaning witness. At the present stage of the
development of the Igbo, oral tradition has a prominent place. The understanding
of the Igbo people can be arrived at through two most recognizable Igbo oral
literature which are Igbo proverbs and Igbo folklore or folktale.

EDEH’S VIEW ON PHILOSOPHY

Professor Emmanuel Edeh’s perspective on the language philosophically. He said

that the two main avenues to the thought-content of any people are its language
and culture. According to Edeh in his book he explained the importance of
language in his book (igbo metaphysis) using Igbo metaphysics as his case study.
In Igbo language, the stress of the word is determinant of the meaning, there are
some words spelt the same way but different in meaning, they have different
dialects. Oral tradition refers to the dynamic and highly diverse oral- medium for
evolving, storing and transmitting knowledge and this could only be possible
through language using a way of passing down traditions of people through stories
which could be told by elders from generation to generation. There are numerous
works done by son of the soil to be seen by the present generation these novelist
include; Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi

Under the traditional ways of oral communication Prof. Edeh raises the idea
of proverb and folktales. Folktales are already stated above while proverbs are
static, they could be manipulated e.g ‘Eziokwu bu ndu- Truth is life and ‘oke
mmadu abughi oke okwu- size does not determine the amount of wisdom one has

IGBO PROVERBS: These are brief popular epigrams common among the
Igbos. They are commonly used by elders to express traditional wisdom. Among
the Igbos,"ilu bu mmanu eji esuru okwu" that is proverb is the oil with which
word is eaten. It signifies the importance of Proverb to Igbos, they are used in
settling disputes, commercial bargaining and form of oratory, it is a language of
diplomacy. Igbo proverb is an artistic device for giving complexity to narrative,
unity to form and creates anew an inert mood of oral tradition.

IGBO FOLKTALES: It refers to traditional tales or stories preserved orally by

the people. Folktales are characteristically anonymous. It is introduced with "
n'oge gboo gboo" meaning a long long time ago or "na be mmuo" meaning in
the abode of the supreme beings. They are a means of entertainment and
teaching morals to the young. The wisdom of the ancient is transmitted to the
young through tales because it is more captured and understood when spoken.

ADVANTAGES OF LANGUAGE

1. It provides theories of origin, migration and settlement of various communities.

2. They compliment oral tradition and other sources of historical information

3. It is the primary method of human communication

4. Through language historians discover previously unknown links between

different communities.

DISADVANTAGES OF LANGUAGE

1. Delay of information since it takes long to learn a particular language

2. Borrowing of words may interfer with parent-language

3. Some words can be omitted while translating a language

GENERAL VIEW OF LANGUAGE

1. Structural view: Is based on assumption that language teaching is best done

through systematic selection and grading of structures. it was implemented in US
in 1950s. The basic principle is that language is speech not writing.

2. Functional view: This looks at how language enables us to do things like share
info, express ourselves, make enquiries and make snse of the world.

3. Interactional view: This suggests that people use different languages based on
context and people e.g A college student does not use same vocabulary and
structure with her professor and her playmates.

LANGUAGE FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW

From our point of view, language enables us connect to our ancestors and
afterlife e.g during religious practices and rituals. Igbo people believe the words
and sounds they hear have a profound impact on reality it can either create or
destroy. Therefore, they place a great deal of importance on choice of words.
Language is a means of access to connect with the divine, manifest reality and
communicate. It is a powerful tool that must be used with care to achieve harmony
with the universe.

In conclusion, language stands as an intricate and profound aspect of human

existence, shaping our thoughts, communication and culture. The significance of
language lies not only in the ability to convey information but also in ability to
shape your perception of the world, we can see this in Igbo Language as described
by Edeh Emmanuel in his book Igbo Metaphysics. He described the uniqueness of
the Igbo language and how it intertwine with their daily life and this makes it
special in it's own peculiar way.