General Background
1.1 Introduction
This is a study on the Negation in Adim language, spoken in some parts of Cross river State, Nigeria. The speakers of the language are referred to as “The Adim People.” The speakers are located in Biase Local Government area.
The Adim language is spoken by about 16,000 speakers, the speakers of Adim are administered by clan heads and they are assisted by chief.
This chapter would explain further on the historical background, the socio-cultural background and the genetic classification of Adim language. It carefully spells out the scope and organisation of study, data analysis, basic syntactic concepts of the language and the concept of Negation in Adim language and application of transformational rules to negation in Adim
1.2 Historical Background of the Adim People
There is no cancerous among the people of Adim, as to their historical background or where their ancestors came from. Some people believe that their fore fathers came from Otum Usa, others believed that they had always lived where they found them self, and that they Usa Settlement in the present Abi local Government Area.
Biase consist of these desperate groups:
- The Isobo Areas
- The Otum Usa
- The Calabar Estuary
The Isobo origin believes that the Adim people were originally Igbos. These people were driven out of their original home by a more powerful group .The Adim people came into contact with Agwagune during the headship of Onun Eko Oti. Arising from the generosity of this leader, the Adim people were given a piece of land to settle on. Agwagune gave them the name “Adimi Mo Abba”, which means people pressed to the ground.
The Otum Usa origin claims that Adim migrated from a place called Otum Usa meaning Old settlement. It was situated between Usumotong and Behumono clan in the present Abi Local Government Area. My informant asserted that a Behumono man killed an Adim woman, which led to strained relationship between them. This situation forced the people of Adim to flee to small settlement like; Inuk Ogama Inamoka, Arummigon, Onolie Ejak and Ogwe.
The calaber estuary origin revealed that the wars and the search for food and new homes caused them to migrate with the Onum people by canoe up to the Cross river
1.3 Socio-cultural Profile of Adim people
In Adim the concept of marriage is well institutionalized as a social affair. In those days, Parent made choices of who their daughter would marry. They may have contracted since childhood days. The first approach was for the parent of the boy to present some token, a bunch of Indigo, Coconut, and a piece of cloth; not more than a yard to the parent of the Girl. The Girl is then betrothed. They may not have reach school age when the contact was made, but they grow up with this agreement, if the proposal partners had a violent objection to the union, it was possible to break off the agreement.
During the period of engagement, the suitors is required to work for a while on the farm of his prospective in-laws, to test his strength and devotion to the intended bride
Farming in Adim is segregated. Although both men and women can engage in farming but men are expected to clear the farm, till the land and other sundry activities that has to do with Farm cultivation, while the weeding of the farms was done by the women. Apart from farming the people of Adim practise other economic activities like hunting fishing trapping of animals among others.
Religion in Adim is traditional, the people believe in the existence of Supreme Being called Obasi Golok Ekpeyeng. The belief in the continuity of life and the community of interest between the living and the dead and the generation yet unborn was fundamental to the religious life of the Adim people
The belief of the people in life after death was portrayed in their burial rituals. They belief in burying some of the properties of the dead with him while is his buried. These properties of the deceased may include matchet, sniff box, sleeping mats, drinking cup, calabash of wine and some cloths. The heads of the deceased slaves are also buried with him. The significance of these practice is the believe that they would make use of these properties in their next life
The existence of many gods in the form of stone or trees and other creations were rampant in their culture. They make sacrifices of goat fowl and yams to these lesser deities from time to time. The spirit of these ancestors was usually evoked by pouring of oil, in the process Prayers and thanks were offered to the ancestors calling on them to the almighty God. But has time went on Gradually, Christianity was accepted.
The period of informal education in Adim is stretched from the period when work of art favoured among men and women. The men learnt, taught and carved works of art i.e. idols, while the women in their part were setting pace on decoration.
While the people of Adim were wallowing in abject ignorance, other villages in Biase specifically the Agwagune were making there marks in endeavours such as western education and commerce. This inability to imbibe western education early enough placed the Adim people in a disadvantaged position.
The period spanning the early 1916 through 1935 could be regarded as the Dark Age which marked a really dark period in the educational development of Adim.
1.4 Genetic Classification of Adim
Ruhlen, (1987:1) states that “the idea that groups of languages share certain systematic resemblances, have inherited those similarities from a common origin in the basis for genetic classification
Genetic classification is a method used in classifying languages based on the resemblances found in the element of languages. It is a sub-group of all relevant languages into genetic nodes. The essence of genetic classification of a language is to trace the origin of the language and show the relationship with other languages.
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