Communicative Competence Of Palm Wine In Igbo Traditional Marriage Process In Ezinifite-Aguata

In semantics, communication is one of the key elements. This paper is about the communicative competence of palm wine in Igbo traditional marriage process in Ezinifite-Aguata. The paper relates how Igbo language is used to express Igbo culture and how Igbo culture houses Igbo language. Meaning is only expressed through communication, because an utterance or expression that is devoid of meaning stands for nothing. Marriage is one of the prominent aspects of Igbo culture. In the process of marriage negotiation, palm wine serves as a means of communication among the people involved. In order to solidify the foundation of this work, the writer looked into some concepts like language, communication, culture, marriage and palm wine. They serve as foot stool for a better understanding of the work. The research was guided by Semiotics theory of Kress and Van Leeuwen (1996). At the end of the study, the work shows that there are five stages involved in the process of marriage in Ezinifite-Aguata. The first stage is knocking at the door (Ịkụ aka n’ụzọ), the second is presentation of gifts (Ịgbanye ihe), third is outing ceremony (Ịkpọta nwaanyị), fourth is paying of bride price (Ime ego), and the fifth is the traditional marriage ceremony (Ịgba mmanya ọha niile). At each stage, communication is carried out through palm wine. As such, palm wine is a sign language which the natives understand. It is used to give approval or disapproval in every stage in the marriage process.