A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach

Datondji Cocou André

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

| Peer-Reviewed

A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach

Datondji Cocou André

Published in Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 3, Issue 1)

Received: 3 October 2017 Accepted: 31 October 2017 Published: 30 November 2017

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

This article is a pragmatic analysis of the figurative language used by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta in her novel “The Rape of Shavi” published in 1983. It is an attempt of interpretation of the implied meaning she conveys to her readers through allusions, metaphors, similes and symbols. The analyzed data were collected through a selection of some important instances of figurative language during the proofreading of the novel. The interpretations were made with the integration of references and presuppositions relating to the author’s sociocultural and educational background that constitutes the contextual makeup of the novel. The analysis of the figurative language instances reveals that more is being communicated than written and that the intended message can only be uncovered by reaching beyond the bare linguistic structure. I concluded that the novel is a multiple layer literary work that requires from the reader, the possession of a shared knowledge with the author in order to reach an efficient interpretation that discloses the very message that lies beyond the words.

Published in	Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
Page(s)	5-14
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), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

The Rape of Shavi, Buchi Emecheta, Pragmatics, Figurative Language, Sociocultural Context, Educational Background, Shared Knowledge

References

[1]	Abrams, M. H. (1999). A glossary of literary terms (seventh edition). United States of America: Cornel University
[2]	Abrams, M. H. and Harpham, G. G. (2012). A glossary of Literary Terms (tenth edition). United States of America: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
[3]	Aitchison, J. (2003). Linguistics. England: Hodder Education
[4]	Black, E. (2006) Pragmatic Stylistics. London: Edinburgh University Press
[5]	Bloor, T. & Bloor, M. (2004). The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach, (2nd Edition) United States of America: Arnold
[6]	Bolinger, D. (2014) Language - The Loaded Weapon: The use and abuse of language today. London and New York: Routledge
[7]	Buchi, E. (1983). The Rape of Shavi (First Edition). Great Britain: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.
[8]	Carnap, R. (1942). Introduction to Semantics. United States of America: Harvard University Press
[9]	Carter, R. (2004). Language and Creativity. London: Routledge
[10]	Cooper, D. (1986). Metaphor. Oxford: Blackwell
[11]	Croft, W., and Cruse A. (2004). Cognitive linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[12]	Crystal, D. (2004), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[13]	Eco, U. (1984). Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language. Basingstoke: Macmillan
[14]	Eggins, S. (2004) An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics (Second Edition). London and New York: Continuum International Publishing Group
[15]	Fandel, J. (2006). Metaphors, Similes, and Other Word Pictures. United States of America / Minnesota: The Creative Company
[16]	Fogelin, R. J. (1988) Figuratively Speaking. New Haven: Yale University Press
[17]	Fontaine, L. (2013). Analysing English Grammar: A Systemic Functional Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[18]	Fishburn, K. (1995). Reading Buchi Emecheta: Cross Cultural Conversations. United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group
[19]	Glenn, C. (2012). The Harbrace Guide to Writing. Boston: Wadsworth
[20]	Goatly, A. (1998). The language of metaphors. London: Routledge
[21]	Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic. The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold
[22]	Kazemian, B. (2014). Hallidayan ideational grammatical metaphor in specialized texts. Germany: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing
[23]	Leech, G. N. (1969), Towards a Semantic Description of English. London: Longman
[24]	Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. London: Longman
[25]	Leezenberg, M. (2001). Contexts of Metaphor. United Kingdom: Elsevier Science Ltd.
[26]	Lennon, P. (2004). Allusions in the Press: An Applied Linguistic Study. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter
[27]	McClanahan, R. (2014). Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively. United States of America: Writers’ Digest Books
[28]	Norgaard, N. et al. (2010). Key Terms in Stylistics. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group
[29]	Quinn, A. (1982). Figures of Speech: Sixty ways to Turn a Phrase. United States of America: Peregrine Smith Book
[30]	Saeed, J. I. (2007), Semantics, (3rd edition), Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
[31]	Sam, G. (2001). Understanding Figurative Language: from Metaphors to Idioms. Oxford: Oxford University Press
[32]	Shibatani, M and T. Bynon (eds). (1995b). Approaches to language typology: a Conceptus: Oxford: Oxford University press
[33]	Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1995). Relevance: Communication and Cognition, Oxford: Blackwell
[34]	Sunderland, J. (2006). Language and Gender: An Advanced Resource Book. London and New York: Routledge
[35]	Traugott, E. C. & Pratt, M. L. (1980). Linguistics for Students of Literature. London and New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
[36]	Tunca, D. (2014). Stylistic Approaches to Nigerian Fiction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
[37]	Waugh, P. (1984). Metaﬁction. London: Methuen
[38]	Widdowson, H. G. (2000). Linguistics. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press
[39]	Yule, G. (2010). The Study of Language (fourth edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[40]	Bedana, L. et al. (2016). “Impact of Christianity on African Women. In Buchi Emecheta’s Novels. Preprints (doi: 10.20944/preprints201607.0082. v1)
[41]	Charteris-Black, J. (2003). “A contrastive cognitive perspective on Malay and English figurative language” In Jaszczolt K. M. and Turner, Meaning through Language Contrast. Volume 2 Amsterdam_/_Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. (pp. 142–157)
[42]	Datondji, C. A. (2014). A Study of the syntactic structures of new trade names in five francophone West African capital cities: a sociolinguistic perspective. Unpublished Doctoral thesis defended at the Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin
[43]	Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. New York: Harper and Row
[44]	Johansen, J. D. (2003). “Iconizing literature” In Müller, W. G. and Fisher, O. (Eds) From Sign to Signing Iconicity in language and literature. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company (379–410)
[45]	Kruntz, J. K. (2008). “Growling dogs and Thirsty deer: uses of animal Imagery in Psalmic rhetoric”. In Foster, R. L. and Howard, D. M. Jr. (Eds) My Words are Lovely: Studies in the Rhetoric of the Psalms. New York and London: T&T Clark. Pp. 46-62
[46]	MacCormac, R. (1985) “Suburban syntax” In Architectural Review (October 1985 Edition). United Kingdom: Metropolis
[47]	Morris, W. C. (1955) "Value Scales and Dimensions." In Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (51^th Edition) USA: American Association of Psychology. Pp. 523-535
[48]	Okonkwo E. (2003) “Marriage in the Christian and Igbo Traditional Context: Towards an Inculturation”. Frankfurt/M: Peter Lang
[49]	Porto Requejo, M. (2007). “The Role of Context in Word Meaning Construction: A Case Study”. International Journal of English Studies, Vol. 7, pp. 169-173
[50]	Rafeli, A. & Worline, M. (2000). “Symbols in organizational culture”. In Ashkanasy, N. M., Wilderom, C. P. M., and Peterson, M. F (Eds). Handbook of organisational culture and climate. United States of America: Sage Publications, Inc. (pp 71–84)
[51]	Song, L. (2010). “The Role of Context in Discourse Analysis.” In Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 876-879, November. Finland: Academy Publisher doi:10.4304/jltr.1.6.876-879
[52]	Verschueren, J. (2008) “Context and Structure in a Theory of Pragmatics.” In Studies in Pragmatics Vol 10, pp. 14 – 24, Belgium: University of Antwerp
[53]	https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary retrieved on September 11^th, 2017
[54]	https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linguistics/Pragmatics retrieved on September 20^th, 2017
[55]	https://fr.slideshare.net/mehwishnazar77/pragmatics-presentation-36657885 retrieved on September 30^th, 2017

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Datondji Cocou André. (2017). A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 3(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Datondji Cocou André. A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2017, 3(1), 5-14. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Datondji Cocou André. A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Commun Linguist Stud. 2017;3(1):5-14. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12,
  author = {Datondji Cocou André},
  title = {A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {5-14},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20170301.12},
  abstract = {This article is a pragmatic analysis of the figurative language used by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta in her novel “The Rape of Shavi” published in 1983. It is an attempt of interpretation of the implied meaning she conveys to her readers through allusions, metaphors, similes and symbols. The analyzed data were collected through a selection of some important instances of figurative language during the proofreading of the novel. The interpretations were made with the integration of references and presuppositions relating to the author’s sociocultural and educational background that constitutes the contextual makeup of the novel. The analysis of the figurative language instances reveals that more is being communicated than written and that the intended message can only be uncovered by reaching beyond the bare linguistic structure. I concluded that the novel is a multiple layer literary work that requires from the reader, the possession of a shared knowledge with the author in order to reach an efficient interpretation that discloses the very message that lies beyond the words.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach
AU  - Datondji Cocou André
Y1  - 2017/11/30
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
T2  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JF  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JO  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
SP  - 5
EP  - 14
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2380-2529
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
AB  - This article is a pragmatic analysis of the figurative language used by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta in her novel “The Rape of Shavi” published in 1983. It is an attempt of interpretation of the implied meaning she conveys to her readers through allusions, metaphors, similes and symbols. The analyzed data were collected through a selection of some important instances of figurative language during the proofreading of the novel. The interpretations were made with the integration of references and presuppositions relating to the author’s sociocultural and educational background that constitutes the contextual makeup of the novel. The analysis of the figurative language instances reveals that more is being communicated than written and that the intended message can only be uncovered by reaching beyond the bare linguistic structure. I concluded that the novel is a multiple layer literary work that requires from the reader, the possession of a shared knowledge with the author in order to reach an efficient interpretation that discloses the very message that lies beyond the words.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Datondji Cocou André

Department of English, Abomey-Calavi University, Abomey-Calavi, Republic of Benin

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Datondji Cocou André. (2017). A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 3(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Datondji Cocou André. A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2017, 3(1), 5-14. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Datondji Cocou André. A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach. Commun Linguist Stud. 2017;3(1):5-14. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12,
  author = {Datondji Cocou André},
  title = {A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {5-14},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20170301.12},
  abstract = {This article is a pragmatic analysis of the figurative language used by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta in her novel “The Rape of Shavi” published in 1983. It is an attempt of interpretation of the implied meaning she conveys to her readers through allusions, metaphors, similes and symbols. The analyzed data were collected through a selection of some important instances of figurative language during the proofreading of the novel. The interpretations were made with the integration of references and presuppositions relating to the author’s sociocultural and educational background that constitutes the contextual makeup of the novel. The analysis of the figurative language instances reveals that more is being communicated than written and that the intended message can only be uncovered by reaching beyond the bare linguistic structure. I concluded that the novel is a multiple layer literary work that requires from the reader, the possession of a shared knowledge with the author in order to reach an efficient interpretation that discloses the very message that lies beyond the words.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study of Context and Figurative Language in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape of Shavi”: A Pragmatic Approach
AU  - Datondji Cocou André
Y1  - 2017/11/30
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
T2  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JF  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JO  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
SP  - 5
EP  - 14
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2380-2529
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20170301.12
AB  - This article is a pragmatic analysis of the figurative language used by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta in her novel “The Rape of Shavi” published in 1983. It is an attempt of interpretation of the implied meaning she conveys to her readers through allusions, metaphors, similes and symbols. The analyzed data were collected through a selection of some important instances of figurative language during the proofreading of the novel. The interpretations were made with the integration of references and presuppositions relating to the author’s sociocultural and educational background that constitutes the contextual makeup of the novel. The analysis of the figurative language instances reveals that more is being communicated than written and that the intended message can only be uncovered by reaching beyond the bare linguistic structure. I concluded that the novel is a multiple layer literary work that requires from the reader, the possession of a shared knowledge with the author in order to reach an efficient interpretation that discloses the very message that lies beyond the words.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download