Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language

John Justice Nwankwo

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

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Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language

John Justice Nwankwo

Published in International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 10, Issue 1)

Received: 6 January 2022 Accepted: 28 January 2022 Published: 16 February 2022

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Abstract

A people’s philosophy emanates from their worldview. Sometimes, some worldviews are similar or even related, but there are no two worldviews that are the same or that share exactly the same ideas. Worldviews are expressed through languages and the differences in worldviews are visible in the differences in the various world languages but often more visible during translation of literatures from one language to another. This difficulty cuts across different areas of various worldviews such as the days of the week, where many African worldviews have just four (4) days, but the Gregorian calendar, which could be called western calendar has seven (7) days. Therefore, the imposition of the Gregorian calendar on the African calendar will definitely leave gaps for comprehension. The same thing holds sway about used words; sometimes, words used in Africa do not get perfect literally translations into English language and this should not be strange, realizing that there are experiences of people that are dependent on their environments. But this work will be restricted to showcasing these difficulties through the ambiguity in translating the word ‘mmuo’ into English; should it be translated as soul or spirit? This research work seeks to bring to bare the ambiguity of translation and the problem of lack of equivalent or exact matching words; ending up in the imposing of meaning to words that are not the same. It will adopt the analytical philosophical method and will use the Igbo background in its study. It intends to help one another in appreciating people and their cultures, without the conscious or unconscious efforts to extinguish some cultures from the world.

Published in	International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
Page(s)	13-16
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mmuo, Soul, Spirit, Problem, Imposition, Language

References

[1]	Ndimele, O. (2005). A Concise Grammer and Lexicon of Echie. Aba: National Institute for Nigerian Languages, pp. 80, 81.
[2]	Mbiti, J. S. (1969). African Religions and Philosophy. Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya Ltd, p. 149.
[3]	Iteyo, C. (June 2009). “Belief in the Spirits of the Dead in Africa: A Philosophical Interpretation” in Thought and Practice: A Journal of Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK), 1 (1), 147-159.
[4]	Gyekye, K. (1987). An Essay on African Philosophical Thought; The Akan Conceptual Scheme. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 85.
[5]	Sahakian, W. S. (1968). Outline-History of Philosophy. From the Earliest Times to the Present. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc, pp. 140-145.
[6]	Asouzu, I. I. (2004). The Method and Principles of Complementary Reflection in and beyond African Philosophy. Calabar: University of Calabar Press. pp. 96, 98.
[7]	Mondin, B. (1991). Philosophical Anthropology. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, p. 146.
[8]	Taylor, R. B (1972). Elements of Cultural Anthropology, Bologne: Mulino, p. 27.
[9]	Wiredu, K. (1980). Philosophy and an African Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 37.
[10]	Eboh, M. P. (1996). Introduction to Clear and Correct Reasoning. Port Harcourt: Pearl Publisher, p. 22.
[11]	Efemini, A. O. (2011). Fundamentals of Logic. Port Harcourt: Blestgrafix, p. 25.
[12]	Elechi, M. (2018). Intrologia: In Initial Acquaintance with Logic. Port Harcourt: Fordyke Print and Publishing Ltd, p. 168.
[13]	Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical Investigations. Trans. G. E. M. Ansombe. Oxford: Blackwell, p. 116.
[14]	BBC English Dictionary: A Dictionary for the World. (1992). Harper Collins Publishers, p. 953.
[15]	Giesewetter, S. (2014). “Meaning is Use’ and Wittgenstein’s Treatment of Philosophical Problems” in Nordic Wittgenstein Review, 3 (1), p. 69.

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John Justice Nwankwo. (2022). Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. International Journal of Philosophy, 10(1), 13-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

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John Justice Nwankwo. Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. Int. J. Philos. 2022, 10(1), 13-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

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John Justice Nwankwo. Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. Int J Philos. 2022;10(1):13-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13,
  author = {John Justice Nwankwo},
  title = {Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {13-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20221001.13},
  abstract = {A people’s philosophy emanates from their worldview. Sometimes, some worldviews are similar or even related, but there are no two worldviews that are the same or that share exactly the same ideas. Worldviews are expressed through languages and the differences in worldviews are visible in the differences in the various world languages but often more visible during translation of literatures from one language to another. This difficulty cuts across different areas of various worldviews such as the days of the week, where many African worldviews have just four (4) days, but the Gregorian calendar, which could be called western calendar has seven (7) days. Therefore, the imposition of the Gregorian calendar on the African calendar will definitely leave gaps for comprehension. The same thing holds sway about used words; sometimes, words used in Africa do not get perfect literally translations into English language and this should not be strange, realizing that there are experiences of people that are dependent on their environments. But this work will be restricted to showcasing these difficulties through the ambiguity in translating the word ‘mmuo’ into English; should it be translated as soul or spirit? This research work seeks to bring to bare the ambiguity of translation and the problem of lack of equivalent or exact matching words; ending up in the imposing of meaning to words that are not the same. It will adopt the analytical philosophical method and will use the Igbo background in its study. It intends to help one another in appreciating people and their cultures, without the conscious or unconscious efforts to extinguish some cultures from the world.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language
AU  - John Justice Nwankwo
Y1  - 2022/02/16
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
T2  - International Journal of Philosophy
JF  - International Journal of Philosophy
JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 13
EP  - 16
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7455
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
AB  - A people’s philosophy emanates from their worldview. Sometimes, some worldviews are similar or even related, but there are no two worldviews that are the same or that share exactly the same ideas. Worldviews are expressed through languages and the differences in worldviews are visible in the differences in the various world languages but often more visible during translation of literatures from one language to another. This difficulty cuts across different areas of various worldviews such as the days of the week, where many African worldviews have just four (4) days, but the Gregorian calendar, which could be called western calendar has seven (7) days. Therefore, the imposition of the Gregorian calendar on the African calendar will definitely leave gaps for comprehension. The same thing holds sway about used words; sometimes, words used in Africa do not get perfect literally translations into English language and this should not be strange, realizing that there are experiences of people that are dependent on their environments. But this work will be restricted to showcasing these difficulties through the ambiguity in translating the word ‘mmuo’ into English; should it be translated as soul or spirit? This research work seeks to bring to bare the ambiguity of translation and the problem of lack of equivalent or exact matching words; ending up in the imposing of meaning to words that are not the same. It will adopt the analytical philosophical method and will use the Igbo background in its study. It intends to help one another in appreciating people and their cultures, without the conscious or unconscious efforts to extinguish some cultures from the world.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

John Justice Nwankwo

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Rivers State University, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

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APA Style

John Justice Nwankwo. (2022). Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. International Journal of Philosophy, 10(1), 13-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

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ACS Style

John Justice Nwankwo. Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. Int. J. Philos. 2022, 10(1), 13-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

John Justice Nwankwo. Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language. Int J Philos. 2022;10(1):13-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13,
  author = {John Justice Nwankwo},
  title = {Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {13-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20221001.13},
  abstract = {A people’s philosophy emanates from their worldview. Sometimes, some worldviews are similar or even related, but there are no two worldviews that are the same or that share exactly the same ideas. Worldviews are expressed through languages and the differences in worldviews are visible in the differences in the various world languages but often more visible during translation of literatures from one language to another. This difficulty cuts across different areas of various worldviews such as the days of the week, where many African worldviews have just four (4) days, but the Gregorian calendar, which could be called western calendar has seven (7) days. Therefore, the imposition of the Gregorian calendar on the African calendar will definitely leave gaps for comprehension. The same thing holds sway about used words; sometimes, words used in Africa do not get perfect literally translations into English language and this should not be strange, realizing that there are experiences of people that are dependent on their environments. But this work will be restricted to showcasing these difficulties through the ambiguity in translating the word ‘mmuo’ into English; should it be translated as soul or spirit? This research work seeks to bring to bare the ambiguity of translation and the problem of lack of equivalent or exact matching words; ending up in the imposing of meaning to words that are not the same. It will adopt the analytical philosophical method and will use the Igbo background in its study. It intends to help one another in appreciating people and their cultures, without the conscious or unconscious efforts to extinguish some cultures from the world.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Mmuo: Soul or Spirit, a Problem of Imposition of Language
AU  - John Justice Nwankwo
Y1  - 2022/02/16
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
T2  - International Journal of Philosophy
JF  - International Journal of Philosophy
JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 13
EP  - 16
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7455
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221001.13
AB  - A people’s philosophy emanates from their worldview. Sometimes, some worldviews are similar or even related, but there are no two worldviews that are the same or that share exactly the same ideas. Worldviews are expressed through languages and the differences in worldviews are visible in the differences in the various world languages but often more visible during translation of literatures from one language to another. This difficulty cuts across different areas of various worldviews such as the days of the week, where many African worldviews have just four (4) days, but the Gregorian calendar, which could be called western calendar has seven (7) days. Therefore, the imposition of the Gregorian calendar on the African calendar will definitely leave gaps for comprehension. The same thing holds sway about used words; sometimes, words used in Africa do not get perfect literally translations into English language and this should not be strange, realizing that there are experiences of people that are dependent on their environments. But this work will be restricted to showcasing these difficulties through the ambiguity in translating the word ‘mmuo’ into English; should it be translated as soul or spirit? This research work seeks to bring to bare the ambiguity of translation and the problem of lack of equivalent or exact matching words; ending up in the imposing of meaning to words that are not the same. It will adopt the analytical philosophical method and will use the Igbo background in its study. It intends to help one another in appreciating people and their cultures, without the conscious or unconscious efforts to extinguish some cultures from the world.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download