Language and the Quest for Identity: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
If language is spoken by two different persons within the same writing community, then, there are always different ways they use the language to create identity.
Therefore, this study is designed to identify how the use of language has created different quest for identities for both Achebe and Adichie, as well, find out their implications to the development of the African literature at large.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
This chapter takes a critical look at available literature as it relates to the topic under review. This chapter is intended to throw more light on the issue of language as a determining factor for identity in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Adichie’s Americanah as opined by scholars. The researcher will however evaluate the scholars’ views and as well defines the stand in which the researcher wants to present the literature or this work. Views on the concepts of language and identity shall be reviewed as well as their link to the two novels under review.
Conceptual Framework
All forms of writings are based on one language or the other. The language wherever it is used, it is expected to communicate meanings to the listeners. Many scholars have different views as to what are language as well as identity. However, the definitions that are explicit shall be considered.
Language
Every human knows at least one language, spoken or written words in human language are finite, but sentences are not. It is this creative aspect of human language that sets it apart from animal languages, which are essentially response to stimuli. Language is one of the most obvious tools or characteristic that distinguishes human mankind from other type of animals. It is in line that, Barber (2) posits that “a human language is a signaling system. As its materials, it uses vocal sounds. Basically, a language is something which is spoken: the written language is secondary and derivative. In the history of each individual, speech is learned before writing ….”
In a similar situation, the Ms e-dictionary in Ngonebu (4), looks at language from three perspectives:
- The means of human communication, consisting of the use of spoken or written words in a structured way;
- The system of communication used by a particular community or country,and
- A particular style of speaking or writing, example legal
To Ajayi (2) language is a formalized system of communication that uses sounds or symbols and which the majority of a particular community readily understands. Thus the communication process, which involves the use of transmitted messages, is a cultural phenomenon. In a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country like Nigeria, socio-political units are linguistically defined and culturally determined….
From the above definitions of language, one could see uniformity of language from the area of communicating messages, experiences, views, etc. that is particular to a person or a group of persons. Language being a unifying factor for cultural and linguistic groups is very crucial to every human existence, for it is the only medium through which personal or group identification can be ascertained. As language facilities communication, it is very easy to exchange cultural values, beliefs, opinion, tradition, etc. which will fast-track cultural unity and solidarity.
Onuigbo and Eyisi (3-6) quoting Hockett identify ten features which characterize human language as:
- Semanticity: Linguistic signs and symbols are specifically attached to meaningful events, elements and actions in the world; that is, human language is language because of the meaning it
- Arbitrariness: There is no logical connection between a linguistic sign and the word which it represents. By implication, there is no inherent connection between a word and what it represents in the physical
- Conventionality (Tradition): The relationship between a linguistic sign and what it represents in guided by unwritten laws are usually learnt rather than
- Duality of Pattern: Every human language has a pattern of meaningless speech sounds called phonemes that combine with each other to form a larger sequence of meaningful elements called
CHAPTER THREE
Research Methodology and Theoretical Framework
Introduction
This chapter dwells on procedures, methods and theory employed in the collection of data appropriate for this research or study. The discussion of this chapter is principally premised as follows:
- Research design
- Data collection technique
- Method of data analysis
- Theoretical frameworks
Every research adopts a method which would best fit into its objectives research of this magnitude is expected to be as qualitative as possible. It is on this note that Fayne and Payne
(179) argue that qualitative research often draws on some of the stick in-trade of what are normally regarded as quantitative techniques. To justify this, Pawson quoted in M. Haralambos and M. Holborn (804) says that nowadays, it is much accurate to describe the relationship between those who do qualitative research and those who do quantitative research as one of truce; what this portends is that this study drew from the strengths of the two, as methodological plurality makes the finding of a research more objective.
Research Design
A research design is a logical model of proof that allows the researcher to draw inferences concerning causal relations among variables under investigation. It is on this note that Nworgu (67) opines that a research design is a detailed outline of how an investigation will take place. This will determine how research data will be collected and the instrument which will be used to analyze the collected data.
This research hence adopts the use of descriptive research design since the study is proposed to undertake a contrastive study of two novels: Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Adichie’s Americanah on how their language creates identify for them.
This design is considered appropriate to this work because, the research is basically to probe the topic to what extent the language used by Achebe and Adichie in their novels has been able to create identity for them.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter of the work deals with the presentation of the findings of this research. The concern of this chapter is to present how the quest for language and identity are presented in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Americanah by Chimammanda Ngozi Adichie. A special attention is paid to their difference and similarities. Language and identity as the researcher had mentioned earlier are inseparable which define the status of an individual or a group of people in a given linguistic and geographical entity.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
This chapter gives the summary of the study and based on the issues obtained from the findings recommendations and conclusion is given.
Summary
This study is on The Quest for Language and Identity in Things Fall Apart and Americanah. Chapter one of this study is introduction; chapter two is review of related literature; chapter three is research methodology and theoretical framework; chapter four is the presentation of and analysis of findings and chapter five is summary, recommendation and conclusion. The study has been able to show how Achebe in Things Fall Apart and Adichie’s Americanah creatively used language to create identity; the categories of identity created through language in their texts were equally examined.
Recommendations
From the study, the following recommendations are made:
- The researcher suggests that students of English and literary studies should look inward to see how language could be used in a quest for identity in other African texts in order to establish a sound knowledge of how language works in the
- Students should as well select more than just a text to study how powerful language can be employed in the different texts in order to see the identity of the authors and the world-views for a pedagogic
- Future researchers should as a matter of importance look into other text written by Achebe and Adichie apart from the ones in this study to see how they have disciplined their texts using language as quest for
Conclusion
This study has been able to identify the use of language as a quest for identity in Things Fall Apart and Americanah. The different kinds of identity created by the two texts were equally x-rayed. There cannot be a study of language without having identity at heart. This work has actually shown how Things Fall Apart and Americanah have been able to create a clear language in their quest for identity. It is very important to note that what set Achebe and Adichie out as a world recognized novelist are the distinctive display of their language in passing across information about the ancestral homes, their cultural traditional and their world-view at large; these gave this two authors very clear identities which make them both the images of both the old and the new Igbo colonial and post-colonial world.
Works Cited
- A Book, A Week. A Review of Americanah by Chimnanada Ngozi Adichie. January 02, 2015. online.
- Achebe, Chinua. Home and Exile. New York: Oxford, 2000. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Longman , 1988.
- Achebe, Chinua. Arrow of God. London: Heinemann, 1974.
- Achugar, M. “Writers on the Borderlands: Constructing a Bilingual Identity in
- Southwest Texas.” Journal of Language, Identity, and Education 5.2, (2006): 97-122.
- Ajayi, J.P.A. The Past in the Present: the Factor of Tradition in Development. Nigerian National Merit Award Winners Lecture. NP.:2002.
- Annemarie Pabel. Indigenous Identity in Witi Ihimaera’s “Whale Rider” and Chinua Achebe’s Fiction. Munich: GRIN Publishing Gmbh,2011.
- Barber, Charles. The English Language: A Historical Introduction. Leed: university of Leeds, 1992.
- Basu, Tapan. Things Fall Apart: a Critical Companion. New Delhi: Worldview Publications, 2003.
