A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF DJ ZUBIS’ TA’AZIYA

Abstract

This study is a sociolinguistic investigation into a Nupe song titled Ta’aziya (condolences) by DJ Zubis. Ta’aziya is a track in the Nupe musical artist’s album titled “Boro toh Elu”. A total of twelve (12) sampled texts are purposively selected from the song and analysed based on Dell Hymes Ethnography of Communication, the mnemonic of S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G, which means setting, participants, end, act, key, instrumentality, norm and genre. Being constant in the song, setting and participants are first explained. The analysis is in a tabular form. The findings of the study reveal that the intents of the song are to: urge people to be grateful to Allah even in bereavement or grief, always seek Allah’s forgiveness, and to be humble, all of which are achieved through informative and directive acts. The artist explores gestures such as weeping to reveal the depth of his grief and nodding to confirm oneness and supremacy of Allah. The text is characterised by code mixing and switching between Arabic and Nupe languages. The study concludes that DJ Zubis’ “Ta’aziya” is a religious song not only intended to lament the demise of his departed colleagues in Nupe music and film industry but also to promote the teachings or gospel of Islam.