AN ETHNOGRAPHIC IMPORT OF SOME ASPECTS OF ẸDO (BENIN) OTUẸ ‘GREETINGS’ CODES

Abstract

Greetings (Otuẹ) are general tools for exchanging pleasantries among the Benin people within and outside any community they found themselves. But it differs from culture to culture. While many cultures share the same semantic greeting system, the Ẹdo (Benin) people tend to exhibit a complex morning greeting system called Ukhu meaning “heritage”. Thus, this research provides an in-depth representation, classification and analysis of some greeting codes used in Ẹdo (Benin) language. The purpose of this research work is to analyse various realizations, types and usage of greetings in accordance to a context, and individuals. To achieve the aim of this study, the researcher used the tenet of the speech act theory and ethnography of communication to analyse fifty-four (54) greeting codes obtained from the observation of discourses, the interview of native speakers and users and also sourcing online. The study revealed that greetings in Ẹdo language have several derivations pertinent to the context, gender, age group and individuals using it. Greetings in Ẹdo language is gender, age, clan, occasion and contextually sensitive. The morning greetings Ukhu “heritage” is particularly ascribed to family lineage. It exposes the ancestral home of the users. The researcher recommends that language enthusiasts and linguists should do proper documentation on the greeting forms across the indigenous languages in the country.