AFFECTIVE MEANING AND CULTURAL REFLECTIONS OF GENDER-BASED CONSTRUCTS OF "OKAY"

This research engaged with an examination of the affective meanings conveyed in the various usages of the English lexical item, “Okay”. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of culture on gender-based constructs of “Okay” as used by the feminine gender in interpersonal communication, with reference to married Igbo women in Nigeria. The theoretical orientation of this research is framed around affective meaning as presented by Leech (1981). The data for this research is collected, through observation technique, from spoken interactions between some enlightened married Igbo couples in Nigeria, that speak English as a second language. The method of this research is qualitative, with an interpretive methodological paradigm. This research showed that affective meaning, which relates to feelings, moods, emotions, and attitudes, is reflected in the gender-based constructs of “Okay”. However, it was observed that the tone used by the women during the spoken interaction helps to convey the affective meanings conveyed by the gender-based constructs of “Okay”. Moreover, it was discovered that the women use “Okay” to prevent being disrespectful and refrain from engaging in conflictual arguments, to maintain peaceful interpersonal relationships with their husbands. Nevertheless, do the affective meanings derived from gender-based constructs of “Okay” engender sustainable real peace in interpersonal relationships? These, amongst other questions, are highlighted in this research.