THE ROLE OF DRESSING AND PHATIC COMMUNION AS MEANS OF CULTURAL EXPRESSION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

In recent times, there has been a lot of hue and cry over the eroding status of Nigerian local languages and their deteriorating values. Many scholars have made concerted efforts- especially in orthographic representations and language re-engineering-to bring them to limelight. However, little or no effort has been made towards harnessing the intrinsic aspect of language –the nonverbal expressions-to promote cultural values. This study projects phatic communion(greetings)and dressing as subtle means of cultural-cum- linguistic expressions by the major tribes in Nigeria to x-ray their communicative attributes. The Speech Act Theory of Searle which incorporates both the direct and indirect speech act was used to support the verbal and non-verbal communication in language. It was discovered that dressing and phatic communion of a speech community can positively and symbolically showcase its uniqueness and earn her social validity, acceptance and respect even on the global scene.