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Paper short abstract:

This study is about the import of voice in constructing meaning of Jibes in Nigerian standup comedy. Data from twenty Stand-up comedy shows of five Nigerian comedians will be searched for features like indigenized exclamations and analysed perceptually and instrumentally.

Paper long abstract:

Abstract

Researches on the significance of voice for the cultural construction of humour are still scarce. Much of the Nigerian society places a lot of value on the paradigm of pele lobi o lako (The masculinity and femininity of sorry). This twin paradigm theorizes that the tone of voice rather than actual words is what depicts humour or vulgarity and offensiveness among interlocutors. This often overlooked paradigm is integral to fostering an egalitarian Africa, hence this study. This paper is set to describe the phonological features of Jibes in Nigerian standup comedy so as to ascertain the ideologies that comedians express in their voice undulations. Data will be drawn from twenty Standup comedy shows of five comedians, namely Basket mouth, Bovi, Seyi Law, Buchi and AY, (four for each). The selection is fairly representative of Southwest, Southeast and South-south, Nigeria. All the comedians speak Pidgin fluently and their ages fall between 22 and 40 years (older Nigerians are rarely found in standup comedy). The texts will be annotated and searched for features such as indigenized exclamations, feminization, lengthening, focus marking and the stylistic use of adverbials as pleas rather than as commands. These features will be analysed, using perceptual, instrumental and taxonomic frameworks.