A Lexico-Semantic Analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives of the Study
This research therefore aims at linguistic stylistic analysis of those features used by Chimamanda Adichie in expressing her thoughts, emotions and ideas in the text; Half of a Yellow Sun (2006). The study explores the author‟s use of several ideologies, experiences, histories, analysis, and how she communicates them via language. Thus the specific objectives of the study are to:
- highlight the stylistic features used by Adichie in her texts: Purple Hibiscus(2005) and
- identify and explain the various stylistic features Adichie uses to pass across her intended message.
- highlight the extent to which Adichie‟s cultural and linguistic background affect her style of writing.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Preamble
Style in relation to language is the personal use an individual makes in speech or writing of language at his disposal. It is the choices a speaker makes from among the phonological grammatical and lexical resources of his language. This chapter discusses language in relation to society, context and use, the concept of style, selected approaches to the study of style, the history and development of stylistics, literary stylistics in relation to linguistic stylistics, foregrounding as a deviation in stylistics. It also presents the theoretical framework on which the study is based.
Language and Society
Language and society are intricately woven and deeply rooted because language performs a lot of functions in the society. As a tool for communication, it also establishes peace and order, showing authority and power and for attaining goals and objectives. However, it can also destroy the society if used inappropriately. It must be in conformity with the rules governing the society to avoid conflict and meet the boundary of individual differences and situations. Thio (1981:11) (internet source) proposes that language shows us how people interact with one another, how groups or societies differ, and how language as a social unit affects human behavior. From her statement, we can conclude that language is one of the ways to interact with each other and affect human behavior.
Social context recognises that people use language and that language is a part of the society. Social context also describes and accounts for the different ways that people use language by looking at the relationship between language and society and how people use language considering the relationship between a person‟s language and their social identity.
Fishman (in Chaer and Augustina 1995:4) says the characteristics of language, its function and speakers vary as these three constantly interact and influence one another within a speech community. This is mostly because language varies according to whom people are, what they are doing, and the attitudes they have to their language. Thus language can be used in many different ways, depending on the situation they are in. The sort of language they use also depends on their social background and social identity. This study therefore attempts to analyse how the writer reflects the society using the various linguistic features at her disposal to stylistically explore language in writing.
Language and Context
Halliday‟s systemic functional linguistics is mainly preoccupied with the study of language use in context; secondly, it emphasises the socio-functional nature of language-the fact that Language is generally programmed to provide information on how an author is able, through various choices in meaning open to him, to communicate his message to his readers. Language is a resource people use to accomplish their purposes by expressing meaning in context. Halliday (1985:7-11) describes the fundamental concepts of this theory, saying that language exists and must be studied in various contexts, (professional settings, classrooms, etc.). Particular aspects of a given context define the meanings likely to be expressed and the language likely to be used to express those meanings. In addition, particular aspects of context comprise elements such as topics being discussed, the language users and the medium of communication.
These elements are used to describe the linguistic variation in a given text, more widely recognised as register (Halliday 1985:12). It is seen as a linguistic consequence of the interaction of the aforementioned aspects of context which Halliday calls “field, tenor and mode”. Field refers to the topics and actions which language expresses; tenor denotes language users, their relationships and their purposes, and Mode describes the channel in which communication takes place, be it speaking, writing or any combination of the two. Any analysed text can be viewed as having three important facets: textual, interpersonal and ideational. The first one refers to the type/token ratio, vocabulary use and register, the second one relies on concepts like exchange structure, involvement and detachment, personal reference and use of pronouns and discourse markers, whereas the third one describes propositional content and modality. This study is also an attempt at unfolding the language used in situational contexts to create meaning. That is to say that if language is used outside of its context or does not relate to the situation, the use of that language becomes meaningless.
Language and Use
Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication. It is also a specific example of such a system. Language can be used in different ways and for many different purposes; we speak and write language, we work and play with it, earn a living with it. We also court and seduce, buy and sell, insult and praise, all by means of language. Language is the most important and available instrument employed to foster cohesive social interaction by playing several roles in its use or function in relating to specific texts and contexts which can be determined by social factors (Tarry, 1993).
Language use is not independent from the power of those who use it or control its use. However, there are at least four different basic functions of language; The informative use of language where words can be used to pass information in form of reports, descriptions, analysis, explanations and arguments while the expressive use of language is best characterised by its lack of directedness. We can express our joy, sadness, or pain privately or publicly. Expressions such as “oh”, “wow” and “ouch”, curses and cheers are typical of the expressive use. Because we are social beings, and language is a primary vehicle of our social interaction, it is frequently the case that language is simultaneously used to express and evoke. We have empathy with people and when they express joy through laughter, we laugh with them (Duranti and Godwin, 1992).
Performative words can be a kind of symbol/action in and of them for example wedding vows are performed and not informed or expressed. Both the recognition and execution of performatives require knowledge of social roles and actions. Most performatives are carried out by priests, ministers, judges, and captains. The evaluative use of language is used to express ethical, aesthetic, or functional judgments. Terms like “good”, “bad”, “right”, and “wrong”, “beautiful”, “ugly” are clues to the evaluative use of language (Duranti and Godwin, 1992).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Preamble
This chapter explains the methodology used for this research. The objective here is to provide a guide as to how this study was carried out. The source of data, method of data collection and the method of data analysis.
Source of Data
The sources of data used for this study are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half Yellow Sun (2006). These novel which form the bulk of primary source is the documented source that will be used for analysis. The data collected include words, and types of sentences, which contain mixing and switching of codes and utterances used in context for the analysis of style from Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) with the intention of analysing how Adichie chose from a wide and broad spectrum of styles in dealing with issues of thematic relevance in her works. The texts is full of satiric events which serve as pointers to the individual writer‟s choice of language which she uses to explicate meaning that ultimately reflects her styles.
Method of Data Collection
The major method used in conducting this research is the documentary research method which involves the putting together of evidence derived from written texts: in this case, the novel under study is Half of a Yellow Sun (2006). The documentary research method is more appropriate to this study because words are informed by context. Furthermore, the primary task of the method is to provide a descriptive account of our institutions concerning the effects and functions produced on us by the aforementioned text, this supplies a source basis for interpretation of the texts and for teaching interpretation.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
Preamble
This chapter analyses the texts under study. The data for analysis are presented, and then the analysis is done in four broad categories: the lexical categories, the grammatical categories, context, and code switching and mixing.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Summary
This study attempted a stylistic analysis of two texts using functional linguistics as its theoretical framework. The study used a linguistic stylistic analytical procedure presented by Leech and Short (1981) to analyse the lexical, grammatical and contextual features used in the texts. Basil Bernstein‟s theory on code switching and mixing gave the backdrop for the analyses of the codes switched and mixed in the text, with an aim to highlight the extent to which Adichie‟s cultural and linguistic background affect her style. Also, the study has successfully carried out a stylistic analysis of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) by identifying methods and explaining how Adichie uses style to pass across her intended message, with the hope that it will be useful to its readers. In sum, the study observed that there were more frequent use of common nouns while abstract nouns played a subordinate role in the Text. The Text also had high frequencies of dynamic verbs; it had a higher frequency of adverbs and adjectives than A.A handful of simple, compound and complex sentences are obtainable in the texts. The variables of field were also used to recount the Biafran war while tenor was used to reveal the interpersonal relationships of characters in the texts. The choice of mixing and switching of code which although is counter intuitive, marks out the style of a writer from another.
Conclusion
This study satisfies the first major aim of the study which is to show how and why the text mean what they do especially the meaningful choices from language which informs style. The findings of the study has been summarised based on the findings, conclusions have been made in relation to the research questions of the study what was observed For example, proper abstract and common nouns are used at various frequencies .There is a high frequency in the use of material and verbal processes of which are dynamic verbs and Half of a Yellow Sun records a higher use of verbs; the use of adjectives are less frequent in Half of a Yellow Sun. Simple sentences give clarity and simplicity of message, compound and complex sentences are used to focus on a particular constituent of the sentence and for the purpose of emphasis. Half of a Yellow Sun is based on a context of war. Tenor is use to portray the levels of language use between the characters in the texts while mode of discourse presents the channel used to communicate the idea of the writer. Adichie also portrays the emotional and psychological states of the characters such as anger, joy, surprise, shock and many more actions, as situations demands through code switching and code mixing. The study further reveals that Adichie‟s characters often code mix by inserting Igbo words and expressions into English sentences and concludes that the use of code switching and mixing is a demonstration of some of the attempts by Adichie to reflect the realities of the use of English in Nigeria. The chapter concludes with the recommendations for future research which are mainly base on some imitations of an insights drawn from the study. The also study confirms that the choice of linguistic forms in literary work is motivated by demonstrating how Adichie uses some particular stylistic features to attain thematic concerns.
Recommendations for Further Study
This research does not in any way claim to be an exhaustive one. Thus, the researcher recommends that more writers, especially young and developing writers could adopt these
stylistic features in presenting their novels so as to give room for more research. The texts can also be analysed using these methods of analysis:
- A comparative linguistic stylistic analysis of the texts could be carried out to compare and contrast the stylistic features. (b) A literary-stylistic analysis of the texts analysed in this research could be embarked upon to bring out only the literary features used in the text for analysis. (c) A Pragmatic analysis of the texts could be carried out to make a pragmatic analysis of language use in texts and a semantic analysis of texts should be carried out to explicate types of meaning in texts. The study of all the processes of thematisation and postponement in the texts can be carried out.
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