Abstract

New lexical items have entered the Igbo lexicon through the indigenous music of the Igbo people. This study aims to explicate how cultural and linguistic resources are harnessed by Igbo indigenous musicians in creating new expressions to convey new ideas, and how these expressions diffuse into the mainstream lexicon of the language. A total of 19 innovated words from 10 musicians both from former and contemporary periods were used in the study. The results show that the Igbo belief system was the main basis of the created words. Such words include ákáńcháwá, bùnyém̄ úchè, élétéàghàrá, òtím̄ kpū, òkóǹgwù, and èkpèrìmà. The study also found that factors such as innovations and communication channels were responsible for the rapid diffusion of the terms and expressions into the lexicon of the language. I randomly used AntConc search and Igwe's (2001) Igbo–English dictionary to confirm that these words have diffused and become permanent additions to the mainstream lexicon.

摘要

通过伊格博人的土著音乐，新的词汇已进入伊格博词典。这项研究旨在阐明伊博土著音乐家如何利用文化和语言资源来创建表达新思想的新表达方式，以及这些表达方式如何扩散到该语言的主流词典中。这项研究共使用了来自10个以前和现代时期的音乐家的19个创新词。结果表明，Igbo信念系统是创造单词的主要基础。这样的词包括ákáńcháwá，bùnyém̄úchè，élétéàghàrá，òtím̄kpū，òkóǹgwù和èkpèrìmà。该研究还发现，诸如创新和交流渠道等因素促使术语和表达迅速传播到语言词典中。我随机使用AntConc搜索和Igwe（2001）Igbo-English字典来确认这些单词已经扩散并成为主流词典的永久添加。