Language and the Construction of Multiple Identities in the Nigerian Novel


Book Description

Language and the construction of multiple identities in the Nigerian novel examines the multifaceted relation between people and the various identities they construct for themselves and for others through the context-specific ways they use language. Specifically, this book pays attention to how forms of identities ethnic, cultural, national and gender are constructed through the use of language in select novels of Adichie, Atta and Betiang. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, this book draws analytical insights from critical discourse analysis, literary discourse analysis and socio-ethno-linguistic analysis. This approach enables the author to engage with the novels, to illuminate the link between the ways Nigerians use language and the identities they construct. Being a context-driven analysis, this book critically scrutinises literary language beyond stylistic borders by interrogating the micro and macro levels of language use, a core analytical paradigm frequently used by discourse analysts who engage in critical discourse analysis.




Language and the Construction of Multiple Identities in the Nigerian Novel


Book Description

Language and the construction of multiple identities in the Nigerian novel examines the multifaceted relation between people and the various identities they construct for themselves and for others through the context-specific ways they use language. Specifically, this book pays attention to how forms of identities ethnic, cultural, national and gender are constructed through the use of language in select novels of Adichie, Atta and Betiang. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, this book draws analytical insights from critical discourse analysis, literary discourse analysis and socio-ethno-linguistic analysis. This approach enables the author to engage with the novels, to illuminate the link between the ways Nigerians use language and the identities they construct. Being a context-driven analysis, this book critically scrutinises literary language beyond stylistic borders by interrogating the micro and macro levels of language use, a core analytical paradigm frequently used by discourse analysts who engage in critical discourse analysis.




Beneath the Rubble


Book Description




Languages and Culture in Nigeria


Book Description

Language and Culture in Nigeria contains 97 papers from a wide range of areas in Language and Linguistics written by colleagues, friends and former students of Professor Okon Essien. The collection fulfills a gap in the quest for a documented piece of work on the general pattern and structure of Nigerian names and is an invaluable material for comparative purposes. There are 19 papers in section A focusing mainly on various aspects of sociolinguistics and the role of language in society. Section B comprises 24 papers which fall in the area of stylistics, literature and gender studies. Section C contains 21 papers focusing on applied areas of linguistics. Section D comprises 11 papers on information science and communication studies. Section E contains papers that focus on the formal areas of linguistics, i.e. phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax & semantics. Section F is on Okon Essien as a celebrity. It comprises papers which not only x-ray the contributions of the celebrity to the study of languages and linguistics in Nigeria, but also situate him in the context of other linguistic celebrities globally. Section F is rapped up with a collection of brilliant poems dedicated to Professor Okon Essien by the 'Ode Grandmaster', Dr. Obed Ojukwu. There is also an appendix at the end of the work which is Professor Okon Essien's intimidating curriculum vitae.




Things Fall Apart


Book Description

“A true classic of world literature . . . A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world.” —Barack Obama “African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe.” —Toni Morrison Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.




Nigerian Languages, Literatures, Culture and Reforms


Book Description

The papers in this volume were selected from the Silver Jubilee edition of the Annual Conference of the Linguistic Association of Nigerian (LAN) which was held at the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Abuja, Nigeria. The Silver Jubilee edition is dedicated to the father of Nigerian Linguistics, Professor Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose. Professor Emeritus Bamgbose was the first indigenous Professor of Linguistics in Nigeria, and the first black African to teach linguistics in any known university south of the Sahara. He was there from the very beginning, and together with co-operation of people such as the late Professor Kay Williamson, he nurtured Nigerian linguistics. He is not just a foremost Nigerian linguist, but also a most famous, respected, celebrated, distinguished, and cherished African linguist of all times. To be candid, Nigerian linguistics is synonymous with Professor Emeritus Bamgbose. In 58 well-written chapters by experts in their fields, the book covers aspects of Nigerian languages, linguistics, literatures and culture. The papers have not been categorized into sections; rather they flow, hence there is some overlapping in the arrangement. The book is an essential resource for all who are interested to learn about current trends in the study of languages, linguistics and related subject-matters in Nigeria.




The New African Diaspora


Book Description

The New York Times reports that since 1990 more Africans have voluntarily relocated to the United States and Canada than had been forcibly brought here before the slave trade ended in 1807. The key reason for these migrations has been the collapse of social, political, economic, and educational structures in their home countries, which has driven Africans to seek security and self-realization in the West. This lively and timely collection of essays takes a look at the new immigrant experience. It traces the immigrants' progress from expatriation to arrival and covers the successes as well as problems they have encountered as they establish their lives in a new country. The contributors, most immigrants themselves, use their firsthand experiences to add clarity, honesty, and sensitivity to their discussions of the new African diaspora.




Language and Identity


Book Description

The language we use forms an important part of our sense of who we are - of our identity. This book outlines the relationship between our identity as members of groups - ethnic, national, religious and gender - and the language varieties important to each group. What is a language? What is a dialect? Are there such things as language 'rights'? Must every national group have its own unique language? How have languages, large and small, been used to spread religious ideas? Why have particular religious and linguistic 'markers' been so central, singly or in combination, to the ways in which we think about ourselves and others? Using a rich variety of examples, the book highlights the linkages among languages, dialects and identities, with special attention given to religious, ethnic and national allegiances.




Sterile Sky


Book Description

Winner of the 2013 Commonwealth Writer's Prize for African literature. E.E. Sule's debut novel, Sterile Sky, presents a community wrecked by religious conflict and a young boy hunting for a better future. On the day that Murtala comes of age, violent riots break out in his home city of Kano – leading to unspeakable tragedy within his own family. While chaos threatens to erase everything he holds dear, Murtala is stalked by monsters both real and imagined. A gifted student, he grows desperate to escape from the web of poverty and religious extremism that surrounds him. An immensely poignant and powerful novel, Sterile Sky captures the religious conflicts of modern Nigeria and the enduring hope for peace. 'An ambitious work that tells the definitive story of an important moment in Nigeria's sociopolitical history.' Sanya Osha




A Torrent of Terror


Book Description

Rome Aboh's poetry unmistakably enwraps the condition of the politically and socially cannibalised segment of his society; and the beauty of the verse radiates from his facility with language as the stylist and linguist. The section "patriotism" with such poems as "hour of truth" aptly brings out the socially obligatory role of the poets whose mission goes beyond versifying and sharing their personal fantasies and urges. Similarly the poem "letter to the mp" echoes the agonies of the common masses who feel deceived by the ruling elite in their so-called democratic nations.