Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Second Language Studies
First Advisor
Felice Coles
Second Advisor
Donald Dyer
Third Advisor
Tamara Warhol
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This dissertation is a sociolinguistic analysis of the activities of the Ogu General Assembly (OGA), a sociopolitical group fighting for the preservation of Gugbe, also known as the Ogu language, in Nigeria. Gugbe is one the minority languages in Western Africa. The objectives are to identify the goals of the group, the processes through which they plan to achieve their goals, the challenges, and the possible ways available to sustain the processes. Fishman’s Reversing Language Shift Theory and Crystal’s Language Revitalization theory are adopted for background studies. For deeper analysis, this research examines the OGA’ s activities, through a combination of the Core Value Theory (CVT), the Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory (EVT), the Attitude Theory (AT), and the Language Activism Theory (LAT). A triangulation method was adopted as data was collected through an online questionnaire for the OGA members, online Zoom interviews with some OGA board members, and an examination of artifacts such as messages and other publications on the OGA’s WhatsApp and Facebook pages. Thematic analysis, employing manual and ChatGPT for coding and theme generation, was used in order to identify the OGA’s core value system through recurring patterns. Findings reveal that the OGA’s target is to reclaim the Ogu identity, seeing the language as the major tool to achieve such a goal. Moreover, the results show that Family Language Policy, intentionality, and the agency of the linguistic community’s elites play a vital role in achieving the goals of the OGA. Finally, the double status of Gugbe, lack of funding and the limited number of qualified resource persons for educational purposes are the major challenges facing the OGA. The study made some suggestions to alleviate the challenges.
Recommended Citation
Anthony, Horeb Midjochedo, "A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Activities of the Ogu General Assembly Toward the Preservation of Gugbe in Nigeria" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3230.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3230