The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s <i>Arrow of God</i>

Bawa Kammampoal

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God

Bawa Kammampoal

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 1)

Received: 14 December 2021 Accepted: 15 January 2022 Published: 24 January 2022

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Abstract

During colonization, the English language was not only the primary language of government and administration but it was also used in the education of colonized subjects. Consequently, English became a national language in the colonies and had since then complicated its own status as a significant medium of communication because of the colonized conflicting attitudes towards it. Since a writer brings his personality, experience and the totality of his personhood to bear on his work of art, postcolonial writers and critics felt that the use of English from its standard form as well as the cultural values it carried cannot give genuine artistic shape and form to their creative impulses. While some advocate for the return to writing in indigenous African languages others are of the opinion that the use of a foreign language is pointless. In this sense, Chinua Achebe’s quest for a postcolonial literary aesthetic is delineated in Arrow of God, where, with an unparalleled dexterity, he adapts the English language to suit the cultural norms, social interactions, ideas and ideals of his traditional Igbo society. The study was conducted by applying a postcolonial approach to literature which suggests that post-colonial writing seize the English language and replace it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonised place. The primary material used for arguments in this study is Arrow of God where data were purposely collected. Much more data informed by Igbo’s indigenous tradition and culture were abstracted from internet sources and many critical works. The result of the analysis shows that language and culture intertwine to subvert the colonial perspective on the colonized.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
Page(s)	28-37
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

Colonization, Social Use, Language, Culture, Discourse, Communication, Arrow of God, Postcolonial

References

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[4]	Kammampoal, Bawa (2010). “Orature in Modern Creative African Writing: Linguistic and Literary Power in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart”, CAMES, Sciences sociales et humaines, nouvelle série, B, (013) 11. 267-278.
[5]	Achebe, C. (1965). “English and the African writer”. Transition. 18, 29-30.
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[13]	Gikandi, S. (1991) “Chinua Achebe and the Post-colonial Esthetic: Writing, Identity, and National Formation,” Studies in 20th Century Literature: Vol. 15: Iss. 1, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1263.
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[22]	Iyasere, S. O. (1975). “Oral Tradition in the Criticism of African Literature.” The Journal of Modern African Studies. 13.1 107.
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[24]	Dadzie, A. B. K (2004). “Nigeria English: Influences and characteristics”. In A. B. K. Dalzie. & S. Awonusi (Eds). The concept of Nigeria English. Lagos: Concept publications Ltd.
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[26]	Emenyonu, E. (1978). The Rise of the Igbo Novel. Nigeria: Oxford University Press.
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Bawa Kammampoal. (2022). The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(1), 28-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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Bawa Kammampoal. The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(1), 28-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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Bawa Kammampoal. The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. Int J Lit Arts. 2022;10(1):28-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14,
  author = {Bawa Kammampoal},
  title = {The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {28-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221001.14},
  abstract = {During colonization, the English language was not only the primary language of government and administration but it was also used in the education of colonized subjects. Consequently, English became a national language in the colonies and had since then complicated its own status as a significant medium of communication because of the colonized conflicting attitudes towards it. Since a writer brings his personality, experience and the totality of his personhood to bear on his work of art, postcolonial writers and critics felt that the use of English from its standard form as well as the cultural values it carried cannot give genuine artistic shape and form to their creative impulses. While some advocate for the return to writing in indigenous African languages others are of the opinion that the use of a foreign language is pointless. In this sense, Chinua Achebe’s quest for a postcolonial literary aesthetic is delineated in Arrow of God, where, with an unparalleled dexterity, he adapts the English language to suit the cultural norms, social interactions, ideas and ideals of his traditional Igbo society. The study was conducted by applying a postcolonial approach to literature which suggests that post-colonial writing seize the English language and replace it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonised place. The primary material used for arguments in this study is Arrow of God where data were purposely collected. Much more data informed by Igbo’s indigenous tradition and culture were abstracted from internet sources and many critical works. The result of the analysis shows that language and culture intertwine to subvert the colonial perspective on the colonized.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God
AU  - Bawa Kammampoal
Y1  - 2022/01/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 28
EP  - 37
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
AB  - During colonization, the English language was not only the primary language of government and administration but it was also used in the education of colonized subjects. Consequently, English became a national language in the colonies and had since then complicated its own status as a significant medium of communication because of the colonized conflicting attitudes towards it. Since a writer brings his personality, experience and the totality of his personhood to bear on his work of art, postcolonial writers and critics felt that the use of English from its standard form as well as the cultural values it carried cannot give genuine artistic shape and form to their creative impulses. While some advocate for the return to writing in indigenous African languages others are of the opinion that the use of a foreign language is pointless. In this sense, Chinua Achebe’s quest for a postcolonial literary aesthetic is delineated in Arrow of God, where, with an unparalleled dexterity, he adapts the English language to suit the cultural norms, social interactions, ideas and ideals of his traditional Igbo society. The study was conducted by applying a postcolonial approach to literature which suggests that post-colonial writing seize the English language and replace it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonised place. The primary material used for arguments in this study is Arrow of God where data were purposely collected. Much more data informed by Igbo’s indigenous tradition and culture were abstracted from internet sources and many critical works. The result of the analysis shows that language and culture intertwine to subvert the colonial perspective on the colonized.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Bawa Kammampoal

Laboratory of Literature, Language and Sustainable Development (LaLD), Faculty of Letters and the Humanities, University of Kara, Kara, Togo

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Bawa Kammampoal. (2022). The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(1), 28-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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ACS Style

Bawa Kammampoal. The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(1), 28-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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AMA Style

Bawa Kammampoal. The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. Int J Lit Arts. 2022;10(1):28-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14,
  author = {Bawa Kammampoal},
  title = {The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {28-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221001.14},
  abstract = {During colonization, the English language was not only the primary language of government and administration but it was also used in the education of colonized subjects. Consequently, English became a national language in the colonies and had since then complicated its own status as a significant medium of communication because of the colonized conflicting attitudes towards it. Since a writer brings his personality, experience and the totality of his personhood to bear on his work of art, postcolonial writers and critics felt that the use of English from its standard form as well as the cultural values it carried cannot give genuine artistic shape and form to their creative impulses. While some advocate for the return to writing in indigenous African languages others are of the opinion that the use of a foreign language is pointless. In this sense, Chinua Achebe’s quest for a postcolonial literary aesthetic is delineated in Arrow of God, where, with an unparalleled dexterity, he adapts the English language to suit the cultural norms, social interactions, ideas and ideals of his traditional Igbo society. The study was conducted by applying a postcolonial approach to literature which suggests that post-colonial writing seize the English language and replace it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonised place. The primary material used for arguments in this study is Arrow of God where data were purposely collected. Much more data informed by Igbo’s indigenous tradition and culture were abstracted from internet sources and many critical works. The result of the analysis shows that language and culture intertwine to subvert the colonial perspective on the colonized.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Social Use of Language: An Ethnography of Communication in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God
AU  - Bawa Kammampoal
Y1  - 2022/01/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 28
EP  - 37
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.14
AB  - During colonization, the English language was not only the primary language of government and administration but it was also used in the education of colonized subjects. Consequently, English became a national language in the colonies and had since then complicated its own status as a significant medium of communication because of the colonized conflicting attitudes towards it. Since a writer brings his personality, experience and the totality of his personhood to bear on his work of art, postcolonial writers and critics felt that the use of English from its standard form as well as the cultural values it carried cannot give genuine artistic shape and form to their creative impulses. While some advocate for the return to writing in indigenous African languages others are of the opinion that the use of a foreign language is pointless. In this sense, Chinua Achebe’s quest for a postcolonial literary aesthetic is delineated in Arrow of God, where, with an unparalleled dexterity, he adapts the English language to suit the cultural norms, social interactions, ideas and ideals of his traditional Igbo society. The study was conducted by applying a postcolonial approach to literature which suggests that post-colonial writing seize the English language and replace it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonised place. The primary material used for arguments in this study is Arrow of God where data were purposely collected. Much more data informed by Igbo’s indigenous tradition and culture were abstracted from internet sources and many critical works. The result of the analysis shows that language and culture intertwine to subvert the colonial perspective on the colonized.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download