The Contributions of Oral Literature to the Development of Ibibio Language
Keywords:
verbal art, oral literature, communication, language, culture, societyAbstract
Oral literature is a form of verbal art that houses different forms of arts. Poetry, prose and drama were first performed orally before they were given permanent mark through documentation. The three genres of literature have captured the oral traditions of the Ibibio society with language for different purposes. This research seeks to advance the contributions of oral literature to the development of the Ibibio language. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Secondary data were most essential for this study. The study objectives bring to light the preservative, educative, aesthetic beauty of oral literature in revitalizing the Ibibio language. It evaluates how oral literature boosts the language content and competence of Ibibio language users as well as promotes the social identity and intellectual ingenuity of the people. The result shows that literary artefacts are great boosters of indigenous language performance capacity. They add flesh to language skeletons as well as to attenuate social identity and intellectual creativity of the language.
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