CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Language stands out as the only phenomenon through which human being in certain speech community successfully interact and pass across information. Certain scholars have tried to define what language is; Henry Lee Smith, (1969) sees language as: “A shared, learned, arbitrary symbol through which human beings in the same speech community or sub-culture communicates and hence interacts in terms of their common experiences and expectations.”
Odebunmi (2001, p.26) opines that “language is the rope that ties members of a speech community together in a continuing relationship”. He goes further to summit that “it is the common instrument that they draw on for socio cultural identification”. From this excerpt, language is portrayed as an inevitable phenomenon and the basis of mutual communication in man’s life. Language is glimpsed as an instrument for social identification and unity in a speech community. It is when they are able to share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas using the same language that they can have understanding which is one of the foundations of unity.
Also, Adejumobi (2009, p .9) asserts that “Language is human vocal sound, or it is the graphic representation of signs, symbols, gesticulations and signals for the purpose of communication” In this regard, Man uses language in conveying meanings and tends to display different attributes and most cases different styles. These styles therefore, determine the language habits and language use utilized by certain individuals.
This research therefore, intends to study the style used by Niyi Osundare in some of his selected socio political poems.
1.1      FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
As it is noted in the introductory aspect, language is used by man to express his mind, views, and contributions to the society. Speech acts such as sympathy, admirations excitement, ideas, jokes, reprimands, warnings, feelings, greetings and so on, are carried out through the use of language. Brown and Yule (1983) referred to by Odebunmi (2001, p.27) have described these as transactional and interaction functions of language.
Transactional function of language simply refers to the use of language as a medium of communication, in other words, it serves as a medium of information dissemination .For instance, certain traditions, cultures and the likes have been kept into existence through the use of language. In this function, vital information about old tradition has been brought into the new generation in order for them not to go into extinction. Societal issues have also been talked over through the use of this function of language.
Odebunmi (2001, p.28) notes that:
Right from the home  when the   child is   moving  close to school age,  parents   start giving   academic  Instructions    to him or her literate  parents   especially,   use   English  to   order    the   child   around and to request some responses  which are   either supplied  verbally or through child’s reaction or obedient   to the Instruction  given, thus the child is  being   prepared in  the    school    situation where instructions are provided in the classroom through language.
Transactional function of language is portrayed as a kind of mutual interaction that serves as a background for effective communication.
On the other hand, when language is used for the purpose of establishing, boosting and sustaining relationships that exist among members of a speech community, the language function is referred to as interactional. This can also be referred to as the secondary functions of language.