Indexicality of won: Yoruba language and culture

The Yoruba pronoun won is equivalent to the English pronoun they, and can occur in various syntactical constructions including passives. Indefinite pronouns of passive constructions by definition are silent about the identity of their subject. However, Yoruba peoples' cultural interpretation at...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of African cultural studies Jg. 24; H. 2; S. 195 - 207
1. Verfasser: Agwuele, Augustine
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.12.2012
Schlagworte:
African culture
African languages
Causality
Cultural continuity
Cultural Identity
Culture
Deixis
English language
Identity
Identity formation
Interpersonal communication
Interpersonal relations
Language
Language Culture Relationship
Linguistics
Modernity
Narratives
Passive voice
Pronoun
Pronouns
Reference (Semantic)
Religion
Religious traditions
Syntactic Structures
Syntax
Traditions
Utterances
Worldview
Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yoruba people
Africa
ISSN:1369-6815, 1469-9346
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Zusammenfassung:The Yoruba pronoun won is equivalent to the English pronoun they, and can occur in various syntactical constructions including passives. Indefinite pronouns of passive constructions by definition are silent about the identity of their subject. However, Yoruba peoples' cultural interpretation attributes definiteness, concreteness, and agency to the indefinite pronoun won in specific usages. Based on the study of utterances obtained from popular, contemporary usages, and individual narratives all featuring the passivized pronoun won, this article examines Yoruba habitual practices. It argues that understanding the cultural meaning of won is invaluable for understanding the Yoruba peoples' habitual view of causality in addition to the way it guides their interpersonal interactions. Further, won is shown to index a certain Yoruba worldview and to guide their efforts to achieve their presumed goals of earthly existence. The article does four things: (1) it explicates the content of the pronoun won, exemplifying its various manifestations in contemporary popular Yoruba usages; (2) it shows the spiritual foundation of won; (3) it provides evidence to argue for its cultural continuity in spite of modernity and western/eastern religious traditions; and (4) it discusses its place in the socio-political continuity and identity formation of Yoruba peoples. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
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ISSN:1369-6815
1469-9346
DOI:10.1080/13696815.2012.697310