Abstract

It has been pointed out that word is multifaceted as a communicated scenery. This paper therefore sets out to use Yorùbá oral literature as a medium of expression to explicate the complex faces of word (afò/òrò) as a stylistic phenomenon in Yorùbá communication process.

A wide range of oral literature such as: praise descriptive poetry-oriki, masquerade poetry (èsà), epithalamium (ewì ajemóyàwó), riddles (àló àpamò/àrò), Ifá poetry, and hunters' genre (ìjálá/ìrèmòjé) are used as paradigms for our analysis. This study shows that the Yorùbá poets use different stylistics devices in their quest for ensuing better understanding of their genres. The poets' uses of language as linguistic choices reflect and influence their relations with their audience in the society. Also, it shows that a particular genre and the focus of the producer of that particular genre determine the face of the word that is projected more than the other.