Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) Online version available in : http://arbitrer.fib.unand.ac.id | 2339-1162 (Print) | 2550-1011 (Online) | JURNAL ARBITRER SubmiSSion Track A B S T R A C T Recieved: April 05, 2021 Final Revision: October 18, 2021 Available Online: October 27, 2021 Danfo Buses are one of the main means of transportation in Lagos. For commuters to move from one location to another, it is highly essential that they know their bus stops and how the Danfo bus conductors pronounce them. This is because an inability to understand how these bus stops are pronounced will make it difficult for commuters to locate their destination. This paper aims to classify Lagos bus stop names based on their languages and sources of origin and demystify their pronunciation by Danfo bus conductors. Data was gathered through audio recordings of the speeches of the Danfo bus conductors. Data shows that bus stops in Lagos were named using both the local and English languages. Data also reveals that the names of these bus stops were derived from several ancient landmarks, including religious landmarks, commercial activities, agro-related landmarks, ancient edifices, and long-standing handiwork practices around these bus stops either now or in time past. The data further shows that the Danfo bus conductors employ various phonological processes such as vowel deletion, nasal deletion, vowel lengthening, consonant deletion, and word deletion in the pronunciation of bus stop names. The public is urged to take cognisance of these pronunciations in order not to miss their locations. keyword Lagos, Bus stop names, Danfo Bus Conductors correSpondence E-mail: obiorahkenneth@yahoo.com Articles Lagos’ Bus Stop Names and Their Pronunciation by Danfo Bus Conductors Kenneth Obiorah1 1University of Lagos, Nigeria Under Liscense of Creative Commons Attributioni-NonCommercial 4.0 International.DOI: https://doi.org/10.25077/ar.8.2.180-188.2021 I. INTRODUCTION Lagos, which was formerly the capital of Nigeria, is located in southwest Nigeria. Current information on en.m.wikipedia.org indicates that Lagos currently houses close to 15 million Nigerians with different ethnic backgrounds. It is considered one of the largest cities in the world and regarded as the largest commercial and financial center of Nigeria in terms of population and economy (Emordi and Osiki 2008). Transportation is one of the key economic sectors in Lagos. One of the means of transportation in Lagos is through local buses, otherwise called the Yellow or Danfo buses. The term yellow bus is derived from the colour of the bus, while ‘Danfo’ is derived from the local Nigerian indigenous language of the immediate environment. The Danfo buses can be found in all corners of Lagos. They comprise different types of fourteen-seater buses that carry 14-18 people (Otunola et al., 2019). Different types of busses are used for Danfo in Lagos. Initially, Kombi buses were the first types of Danfo buses used for local transport in Lagos, later Volkswagen transporter, Toyota Hiace, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and then L300 started to appear, etc. The Danfo bus is facilitated by a bus driver who is often referred to as Danfo driver and a bus conductor popularly and simply known as ‘Danfo conductor’ or ‘conductor’. Many residents of Lagos prefer Danfo bus to other means of transportation. The advantage of using Danfo buses is its ability to ply almost all routes. However, the success of the passengers’ journey depends partly on their ability to understand the pronunciation of these Danfo bus conductors. This is because the way Danfo bus conductor pronounces the names of bus stops differs from the normal way that the populace knows and pronounces them. The difference in articulation has led to a situation where new travelers often time miss their bus stops.180 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) Recent research by Adedun (2005) and Akanmu (2017) shows that the use of language by Danfo bus conductors differs when they interact with their different clients. Consequently, this paper will focus on classifying Lagos bus stop names based on their derivations and pronunciations. This study will increase the understanding of the language of Danfo bus conductors in the area of pronunciations and different types of Lagos bus stop names in general. A name is what a person, a place, or a thing is known for. A name can refer to anything (William 2003). Bus stop names are places where vehicles that commute people from one place to another may stop to pick or drop passengers. Who then is the Danfo Bus conductor? A Danfo bus conductor is the one who announces bus stop names and collects transport fare from passengers. They sit beside the main door of the bus. They also hang on the bus doorway when the vehicle is on the move. In Lagos, they are known as Agbero by the locale. Danfo Bus conducting is a men’s job, but female bus conductors are also very rare. (Edewor 2014) reported that most homeless children and youths in Lagos State survive by working as bus conductors while waiting for their life dream to manifest. Passengers are their regular clients. The interaction between a conductor and passengers is very important to how each workday will turn out for passengers. Premium Times newspaper of Wednesday, January 8, 2020, reported that one of the criteria for working as a Lagos bus conductor is being able to pronounce bus stop names in their own manner quickly. The Danfo bus conductor must also be creative, and able to chop off syllables from names of popular places around the city in a way that passengers would relate with, making quickly the ‘keja’ ‘shodi’ and ‘blende’ sounds as against ‘ikeja’, ‘oshodi’ and ‘obalende’ in such a manner that passengers moving towards these places in no time will understand. The writer of the article on Premium Times newspaper also noted that another criterion for being a good Danfo bus conductor in Lagos is modulating their vocal deliveries to sound out within the cacophony of bus stations and drawing the attention of potential passengers. In the midst of all the noise in the Lagos city; a Danfo bus conductor must be heard. The voice must be loud enough to suppress the loud noise of the engine’s silencer, loudspeakers, hawkers, horns chatters, and verbal mapping of other conductors; else, the day’s work may be a disaster. The article placed so much emphasis on the ability to articulate sounds without emphasis on the manner in which these bus stops are articulated. The truth is that the harsh pitches of a typical talker that the Danfo bus conductors employ contribute to how they speak, which makes them different from passengers. Interestingly, every passenger is expected to know their bus stop names and how they are articulated if they do not want to lose their way. The study by Olorunmbi et al. (2017) gives insight into the nature of services available to some bus stops in Lagos, such as ‘Oshodi bus stop’ and ‘Sango bus stop’ without reference to the nature and service rendered by the Danfo bus conductors. Studies that examine the nature of bus stop names in Lagos are scarce. In most places in Lagos, bus stop names are written and displayed in their locations. The majority of these bus stop names are also on Google Maps, but their pronunciation on Google map and real-life differ from how Danfo bus conductors pronounce them. The information on Lagos bus stop names will be needed as long as these buses are used for transportation in Lagos. Consequently, research on Lagos bus stop names and their pronunciation can no longer be neglected. This is because there is hardly any bus stop or garage in Lagos that one cannot find a Danfo bus conductor in a Danfo bus ‘shouting’ names of several locations to passengers. Few articles have described transport activities in Lagos concerning passengers and Danfo bus conductors. For example, the behaviour patterns of commercial, public transport passengers in Lagos metropolis were examined by Afolabi et al. (2017). The study noted that travellers in Lagos are not provided with an adequate bus-stop facility in Lagos. The authors projected that the situation might get worse if no improvement is made. The study by Adedun (2005) was conducted to show different linguistic practices by the Danfo bus conductors toward all types of transport workers. According to the author, Danfo bus conductors create different registers and metaphors to communicate with other transport workers such as the police, the driver, the park, and bus stop workers. Adedun (2005) notes that words such as Oshodi, Oshodi Oke, Oshodi kan (one Oshodi), Eko Straight, Mile Two, one 181 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) nyash (one more space for commuter going to mile 2), go (proceed on the journey), cable lo (continue) cablong (drive at high speed) wole one time (enter one time) are major words in the language of Danfo bus conductors. Adedun (2005) concluded by saying that the uniqueness in the use of language by these Danfo bus conductors creates a peculiar linguistic act. According to Akanmu (2017), Danfo bus conductors use neologism, compounding, borrowing, phonaesthetics, and coinage to create new idioms and idiomatic expressions that are peculiar and idiosyncratic to their jobs. Agbiboa (2017) investigated the meaning of the slogan painted on yellow buses in Lagos showed that bus workers document their slogan on the stickers placed on their buses. Common slogans such as remember your six feet, life is war, monkey dey work baboon dey chop, anything can happen, no more persons, and I dey like dead bodies, which tell the story of the city life of Lagos, the philosophy and aspiration of bus workers are well documented in several Danfo buses in Lagos. The works of these scholars buttress the supposition that conductors create and use language differently. Lagos bus stop names and the phonological strategies used by Danfo bus conductors to signal where commuters are going and where they have arrived have not been considered; a presupposition that makes the current study a critical one. This study investigates different Lagos bus stop names and how they are pronounced by Danfo bus conductors, which previous research has neglected. To achieve this aim, the study is guided by the following objectives: 1. How is Lagos bus stop names classified? 2. What are the phonological strategies used by Danfo bus conductors in the pronunciation of Lagos bus stop names? II. Methods The data used for this study were recorded from different bus stops in Lagos. Some were recorded by the researcher inside the Danfo buses and motorcycle as a passenger, while others were recorded as observers at different bus-stop stations while standing. The recordings were done without the knowledge of the Danfo bus conductors hence there was no problem of observer paradox. From his experience as a resident of Lagos for so many years, the researcher traveled around the State, with a tape recorder, and a jotter, recording and jotting various bus-stop names on the signpost and their pronunciations by the passengers and Danfo bus conductors. The original names of these bus stops were written down and classified based on the language of origin and the ancient landmarks they are associated with. The recorded data were studied perceptual and transcribed for phonological analysis. The pronunciations of these bus stop names were later compared with the pronunciation provided on Google Map App. A total number of one hundred and thirty bus stop names were recorded and analysed. Throughout the period of data collection, a member check was employed to validate the data. This is used to ensure that all data are reliably and accurately documented. This method helps to correct every error or false information that could have occurred in the documentation and interpretation of the data. III. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Before proceeding to look at how Danfo bus conductor pronounces lagos bus stop names, it is very important to show different languages used in naming Lagos bus stops and their source of origin. From the data, several bus stop names are derived from different sources. While some are named using the local language, others are named using English. Consequently language is one of the basis for classifying Lagos bus stop names. Nigeria is a multilingual nation, however, the bus stop names in Lagos are derived majorly from English language and Yoruba; a local indigenous Nigerian language spoken in the immediate community of Lagos. Classifications of Lagos bus stop based on the language of origin a. Indigenous Bus stop names They are names derived from Yoruba, the major language spoken in Lagos. Examples of such names are [oʃodi] bus-stop, [obalende] bus-stop, [agege] bus-stop, [ɪjanupaʤa] bus-stop, [ketu] bus-stop, [idumɔta] bus-stop, [ekoidumɔta] bus- stop, [ɪjanaɔba] bus-stop, [aʤamgbadi] bus-stop, [ikorodu] bus-stop, [oʤuelegba] bus-stop, [ɪʤu] bus-stop, [bariga] bus-stop, [falɔmɔ] bus-stop, [ikoji] bus-stop, [onikpanu] bus-stop, [alakra] bus- stop, [agbotukojɔ] bus-stop, [ogologo] bus-stop, [tabo tabo] bus-stop, [ogogoro] bus-stop, [alakiʤa] 182 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) bus-stop, [abule] ado bus-stop, [kpako] bus-stop, [agidimgbi] bus-stop, [okpebi] bus-stop, [ileekpo] bus-stop, [ʤakande] bus-stop, [onigbongbo] bus- stop, [muʃi] bus-stop, and [ilasa] bus-stop. Despite the facts that these bus stop names are in local language, majority of these bus stop names are written with English orthography while a few like [muʃi], [ilepo] and [ilasa] are written using Yoruba orthographic writings. Yoruba and Egun are languages indigenous to the native of Lagos, but Yoruba is the only indigenous language used in naming bus stops in Lagos. Igbo and Hausa, which are among the three major indigenous languages in Nigeria, are also used in many places in Lagos but do not appear in the Lagos bus stop names. b. Foreign Bus stop names These are names derived from non-indigenous languages, especially English, a colonial language and a lingua franca in Nigeria. There are many bus- stop names that are in English. Examples of such bus stop names include West Minister bus-stop, Along bus-stop, Mile 2 bus-stop, Dustbin bus-stop, Cele bus-stop, Church Bus-stop, Under bridge bus-stop, Cemetery bus-stop, Vulcanizer bus-stop, Bakery bus-stop, Last bus-stop, Mechanic bus- stop, Coconut bus-stop, Along Estate bus stop, First-gate bus-stop, Boundary bus-stop, Agric bus- stop, Law school bus-stop, Junction bus-stop, Gate bus-stop, Second gate bus-stop, Abattoir bus-stop, Chevron bus-stop, Mangoro bus-stop, 7/8 bus-stop, Maryland bus-stop, Church bus-stop, Berger bus- stop, Curstan bus-stop, Airport bus-stop, Anthony bus-stop, Palmgrove bus-stop, Banana bus-stop etc. All these bus stops names are documented in English. Apart from the language of naming, there are classes of names whose origin are associated with ancient landmarks in Lagos, such as religious landmarks, commercial landmarks, agro-related landmarks, edifices, and special handiworks, while some names are derived from abbreviations. Classification of Lagos bus stop names based on ancient landmarks The second classification of Lagos bus stop names is based on ancient landmarks. These types of Lagos bus-stops are not far from the source of the name. Although some of these bus stops have outgrown their sources, the only way to trace their source is through history. This category also contains names originating from both native and non-native languages. The Lagos bus stop names that are derived from different landmarks are listed below: a. Religious based bus stop name These are bus stop names derived from the name of religious activities around the location of bus stop. In this category, the tendency to find or link a religious center or religious activities around the bus stop location is very high. Examples of Lagos bus stops that are derived from religious activities are: 1. Cele bus-stop is derived from the name of a Celestial Church, a Christian religious organisation. 2. Church bus-stop is derived from an area where churches are located. 3. [mosalaʃi] bus-stop is derived from Muslim praying center, [mosalaʃi] is a local name for mosque in Yoruba language. b. Commercial bus stop names These types of bus stop names are derived from commercial activities around the bus-stops. They include: 1. Chevron bus-stop derived from the name of an oil Company. 2. [ileepo] bus-stop is derived from a local name for where fuel is sold. 3. Abattoir bus-stop is used for bus stop where meat is sold. 4. Berger bus stop is derived from the location of Julius Berger, a construction company. 5. [onikpanu] bus-stop is a local name derived from one who sells roof. 6. [alakara] bus-stop is a local name derived from place where bean cake is sold. 7. Total bus-stop is derived from the name of a petrol filling station where fuel is sold. 8. Oando bus-stop is derived from the name of a petrol filling station where fuel is sold. 9. [ɔʤa] bus-stop is derived from a local name 183 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) for market. 10. Bakery bus-stop is derived from the location where bread is made. 11. Law school bus-stop is derived from a location close to the Nigeria Law School in Lagos. Some of the names have equivalent meanings. For instance [ileepo] is a general name in Yoruba for an outlet station where fuel is sold, while Oando and Total are different companies that sell fuel. c. Agro related bus-stop These classes of names are derived from botanical plant names. Some of these plants had existed, while some still exist around the location of this group of bus stops. They include: 1. Mango bus-stop. 2. Agric bus-stop. 3. Coconut bus-stop. 4. Pamlgrove bus-stop. 5. Banana bus-stop. d. Names derived from the edifice/site location They include: 1. Estate bus-stop is derived from several block of buildings cited in one location. 2. Under-bridge bus-stop is associated with where flyovers are located in most places in Lagos. 3. Dustbin bus-stop is derived from the location where waste or refuse is dumped. e. Handiwork Activities 1. Mechanic bus stop is derived from motor mechanic workshop. 2. Vulcanizer bus stop is derived from a location where an individual attend to those who has bad tire. e. Other class of names derived from abbreviation. 1. V.I derived from Victoria Island 2. TBS derived from Tafawa Balewa Square 3. CMS derived from Church Missionary Society 4. BRT derived from Lagos Bus Transit System Sample evidences above show that Lagos bus stop names are derived from different sources. These bus stop names are not given by Danfo bus conductors. The categorisation shows the nature of names that the Danfo bus conductors as well as commuters encounter each day in their daily work. They were given by earliest dwellers, and are as old as these bus stops themselves. The government mostly provide sign post to indicate the name. Although it is hard to establish how the Danfo bus conductors learn these pronunciations, but one obvious fact is that there are some names that they do not pronounce exactly like the populace. Phonological strategies used by Danfo bus conductors Attention is now shifted to how Danfo bus conductors pronounce these bus stop names. Pronunciation deals with how words are articulated in a language (Awonusi 2007). There are many phonological processes involved in the pronunciation of Lagos bus stop names by Danfo bus conductors that make it different from the normal way that the populace articulates them. The phonological strategies employed by the Danfo bus conductors are deletion of sounds, deletion of nasality, consonant deletion, deletion of words and vowel lengthening. They occur in a fast speech employed by the Danfo bus conductors. These processes are generated from deep structure or phonological form, that is, the original pronunciation of these bus stop names otherwise known as the input, and then mapped out and transformed into phonetic form using the phonological processes which result in the manner that Danfo bus conductor pronounced them which is referred in this paper as the output. They are presented below: a. Deletion Deletion is a process where a segment is lost in a phonological component. When the deletion of sound(s) occurs in a word, the number of segments is reduced. There are four deletion processes observed when Danfo bus conductors call bus stop names in Lagos. They are as follows:184 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) (i) Initial vowel deletion: initial vowel deletion simply means the removal of a vowel segment that occurs first in a word. In the data below, the initial vowels in the following Lagos bus-stop names may be omitted in some instances by the Danfo bus conductors. The inputs are what the populace pronounce, while the output is what Danfo bus conductors pronounce. Consider the following bus stop names in example. In the examples above, both the vowel /i/ and /ʊ/ are lost at the output level. (iv) Nasal deletion: Nasal deletion is a process where nasality is lost in a segment. Nasality is a common phonological element in Yoruba (Fadairo 2014). Among Danfo bus conductors where you have people who are not Yoruba, the chance of omitting nasality in a bus stop name is very high especially when the conductor has not gained competence in the production of nasality. Nasal deletion is attested in the pronunciation of Mushin bus stop, Onyinbo bus stop, Ijigon bus stop, and Ilasan bus stop. In orthographic writing in Yoruba where the bus stops names are derived, nasality is represented with /n/, while the tilde is a sign for nasality in phonetic (Oyebade 1998). Samples are presented below: In example above, the vowel /i/, /a/ and /ɔ/ becomes null in the pronunciation of Ishiaga, Ipaaja, Obalende, Iyano̩ipaja, Alapere, Ikeja and Ikorodu when pronounced by Danfo bus conductors. (ii) Medial vowel deletion: medial vowel deletion simply means the removal of a vowel segment that occurs at the middle or within a word. Medial vowel deletion is seen in the data below: The number of sound shows that the first words that serve as inputs which contain six sounds in the initial input in the word Oriile is also realised as five sounds Orile in the output, showing that the vowel /i/ has been deleted. In Iyanuipeja /ijanɔikpaʤa/, the vowel /u/ is deleted from the input Iyanuikpaja/ and becomes Iyanikpaja. (iii) Final deletion: Final vowel deletion simply means the removal of a vowel segment that occurs at the end of a word. Final vowel deletion is recorded in example below: The tilde is a sign of nasality. The nasal sign is lost in the outputs in example above. (v) Consonant deletion: Consonant deletion simply indicates that a consonant sound in a Lagos bus-stop name disappears as the bus- conductors pronounce the name. Instances where consonant deletion occurs are seen in the pronunciation of Agege bus stop, Ikorodu bus stop, Alapere bus stop and Tollgate bus stop as recorded below: In example above, /g/, /r/ /l/ and /t/ which are all consonants are all deleted in the middle position in above examples. In Agege, Alakpere and Tolgate in example 1, 3, and 4, the first consonants in each bus stop names were lost, while in the pronunciation of Ikorodu in example 2, it is the second consonant /r/ that was lost.185 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) (vi) Vowel lengthening: Vowel lengthening is the process of elongating the duration of a vowel segment in a word. Vowel lengthening is common when Danfo bus conductors are calling bus-stop names in Lagos. This can be seen in the following data: the full pronunciation of these bus-stop names are retained regardless. It is important to state that not all pronunciation of Lagos bus stop names involves phonological manipulation. For instance, bus stops such as Yaba bus stop, Sabo bus stop, Idumota bus stop, and Lekki bus stop maintain the same inputs and outputs. The phonological processes employed in pronouncing these bus stop names are also found in the languages used to name these bus stops. For the Danfo bus conductors, it is all about using what is in the language to create a unique way of speaking. From the data presented in this study, it can be seen that there are several bus stops in Lagos, which are drawn from several sources. One basic thing to note in this study is the fact that most Lagos bus stop names are tied to the history of Lagos as a city. For example, the name of these bus stops, such as Cele (derived from Celestial Church) and others documented in this study, always remind one that a Celestial Church was once in or around the present location of the bus stop. Although one can only know that if you ask why such bus stop is being called Cele bus stop. The same thing is applied to other bus stop names. From observation, there is always a one narration or the other that is connected to a bus stop name in Lagos. The history of a bus stop is always tied to wherever a bus stop is located or whatever bus stops are named after in Lagos. This is a very important point for historians to note. Interaction with the locale and residents always proves this assumption to be true. It seems adequate that the Lagos bus stop’ names are classified based on their meaning but a historical study will show how the location of these bus stops have developed from what is used to be known, to what it is now. Apart from the issue of history which is left for historians to explore, this study has added more information to the linguistic behaviours of Danfo bus conductors, especially in the area of pronunciation which early studies such as Adedun (2005), Akanmu (2017), and Agbiboa (2017) fail to touch. It goes on to show that apart from different registers and idiomatic expressions which Danfo bus conductors create according to Adedun (2005) and Akanmu (2017), they also create a unique pattern of pronunciation which is evident from the data we have presented so far. The study on the In data above, all the vowel in the final position are elongated, covering more period in their pronunciation, unlike their initial input. In Ikorodu /korodu/ and Ikeja /ketu/, the lengthening of the vowel sound /u/ led coalescence where the sound /u/ becomes two similar but different vowels: vowel /u/ and /o/. The roundness of the vowels is retained but the height. This is different from other data where either the vowel sound /a/ or /e/ only takes more periods but retains its similarity and identity. (vii)Word Deletion: Word deletion is a phonological process in which one of the morphemes that makes up a bus stop name is lost in a compound noun bus-stop construction. Most bus-stop names are more than one word, and in most cases, a pronunciation of one part is enough for a regular commuter. Hence, this type of phonological process where a word may be null is common in the articulation of bus-stop names in Lagos. Examples below illustrates this point with Oworo-shoki bus stop, Iju- ishiaga bus stop, Iyanu-ipaja bus stops and Ifako ijaye bus stop. Samples are present: The mention of one part already gives a commuter an idea of where the vehicle is going. However, where the deletion of one word or morpheme may lead to confusion, 186 Kenneth Obiorah / Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021) classification and pronunciation of bus stop names are not common in literature to the best of our knowledge but it is something that can be explored even further as we have done this study. IV. CONCLUSION This study aims to show different Lagos bus stop names and their pronunciations by Danfo bus conductors. This study has attempted to bring to the limelight different types of Lagos bus stop names and their pronunciations, showing the different phonological processes involved in their pronunciation. Although, there are exceptions in that not all bus stop names show differences between input and output. 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Journal of Information, Society and Justice, Volume 2. (1) 95-109. these Lagos bus stop names and their pronunciation are part of language use in Lagos. The significance of this research is that it has exposed pronunciation of the Lagos bus stop names, which was difficult for newcomers in Lagos. In order to avoid the countless stories that are told about how passengers miss their way because of their inability to comprehend various ways that Danfo bus conductors pronounce Lagos bus- stop names, the public, town planners, and the government are advised to take cognisance of these pronunciations, which might of no doubt remain in the populace despite the presence of other means of transportation in Lagos. This study is, however, limited to just Lagos state, Nigeria. 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