The Communicative Metaphor in Idoma Idiomatic Expression and English as Panacea for Development Initiatives

Abstract

This study reviews the communicative metaphor and Idiomatic expression in Idoma using metaphors and idioms in the Agatu dialect. This paper is of the opinion that communication and its application has the capability that helps bridge the worlds of individuals thus aligning with scholarly submissions in some quarters that communication is indeed the process of understanding and the sharing of meaning. We maintain that, we supports scholars views that, in normal social discourse, communication takes place both in verbal and nonverbal channels and, the information being communicated is put out to the group for negotiation even though it is relatively transient. Thus the effectiveness depends of the intensity and how it is coded and this is where metaphors and idioms come in. In comparing Idiomatic expression in Idoma and the English Language, we identified best approaches embedded in both cultural and semantic ambiguity that discolour the understanding of development  campaign messages aimed at engaging or mobilizing community participation. It is hoped that, an understanding of the differences in this expression will help bridge the language gap between development initiatives/workers and the community populace who to a large extent are not grounded in the different Languages, yet are the recipients of the development initiatives. This study is justifiably important because, among other things, the success of any development drive depends on how well the people participate in the initiative. To participate requires that the people fully understand the strategic requirements on their path. This study is thus directed towards identifying the metaphoric transliteration that will help foster understanding between both groups. To achieve this lofty objective, the study adopted the desk review research methodology which involves in-depth sourcing of data from secondary sources.