The Pragmatic Analysis of Arbitration among Relatives of Murderer and Murdered: With Reference to Gumaa Tradition of Tulama Oromo.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2011-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study is an attempt made to analyze Afaan Oromo pragmatic aspects in Arbitration. The purpose of the study is to assess language uses, to examine and distinguish some pragmatic elements and to explore the intended and implied meanings while communication is held in this targeted language during an arbitration processes and performances through Gumaa ritual ceremonies. The study is also aimed at providing some information on the pragmatic analysis of the language usage while arbitrating the parties in feud by applying traditional laws. The study is conducted at the selected study areas focusing on Gumaa ritual practices of Tulama Oromo (who are) living in Shewa zones. The research procedures of data collection are participants’ observation, targeted group discussion, taking photos for further illustration, and via informal and formal interviews. Some concepts of pragmatics, previous related works, native Afan Oromo speakers, specifically Tulama dialect are also consulted. Besides, the researcher has participated in Gumaa practices and recorded from which he has transcribed the conversation for analysis purposes. To this end, different speech acts such as cursing and blessing, warning, taking pledge or oath, making others promise and different deictic expressions like personal deixis (we, me/I, you, they, he, she, etc), spatial deixis (here, there), temporal deixis (now, then) and so forth have been examined in chapters three and four, especially in the later one, it is discussed in detail. In chapter four, starting from pleading, the first performance, up to the final phase, blessing, of the performance, Gadaa Leader(s) has been leading the stages as a dominant and making a lot of speech acts. The discussion of utterances in relation to arbitration events, politeness and interactions, conversational implicatures, presuppositions, economy principles, adjacency pairs, and others have been attempted.
Description
Keywords
analyze Afaan Oromo pragmatic aspects in Arbitration, The purpose of the study is to assess language uses