INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we will study the way in which the Nigerian writers have been applying the English language in order to accommodate the various linguistic tastes of Nigerians. Nigeria is a complex linguistic setting of over 500 languages. In each of these languages there are writers. English language becomes the main communication tool because of the need to allow the work reach wider audience within and outside the country. However, there have been attempts at indigenizing the English language used in Nigerian literature. One of these ways is the application of local colour tradition. By local colour, we mean the use of Nigerian expressions that capture Nigerian culture and environment although expressed in English language. They include transliteration of Nigerian language in English, the consistent use of proverbs and other forms of lores. We shall examine this using some Nigerian novels, poetry and drama in the exemplifications.
3.1 General Overview
In a situation where two or more languages and cultures are in contact, there is bound to be linguistic and cultural interference. This is the situation with Nigerian literature of English expression where important socio-cultural habits and traits are expressed in a foreign language. Many Nigerian writers have appropriated and reconstituted the English language in their text through some linguistic processes which include loan words, loan coinages, loan blends, pidginisation, code switching and the like. This is one way they strive to find a solution to the problem of bilingualism and biculturalism by relying heavily on the domestication of the imported tongue, which is English language. Many of these writers have deviated from the international literary norms {Linguistically}. They have not falsified the tradition they have transformed into the English Language. Rather they have been able to bridge the gap between the local colour variety and the appropriate English language diction suitable to the characters and themes they depict. The linguistic innovations in their works offer outlets for creativity in language and put a new life into the imported language. At this stage of globalization, Nigerian writers cannot afford to deny their works of wide readership; therefore they should consider the appropriation and reconstruction of English as a medium of Nigerian literature.
The place of English in the socio-political and economic activities of Nigeria has been widely discussed. Also, the status of the language as a dominant medium of African literature has been critically commented upon. African literary critics and writers have been arguing for and against the use of the imported language as the prevailing medium of African literature. As such, writers like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Akachi Ezeigbo among others try to Africanize the English language by adding local words of African origin. They use these local words firstly to express their meaning and for the reader to read and identify with them and secondly to create a unique language of its own, an African version of the English language. Using local words adds life and beauty to the otherwise dull English language and some things that are associated with Africa and the African culture which have no equivalent in English are easily introduced into the English language through their writings.
In a situation where two languages and two cultures are in contact, there will certainly be linguistic and cultural interferences. Such is the case of African literature of English expression where important cultural habits and geo-political phenomena are expressed. Since English is a “global language”, it has been modified and domesticated by writers across the globe. Even the new generation writers have also domesticated the English language in their literary texts. Literature depends primarily on language; it is language put in action, that is, language put into practice. The African writer’s effort in translating his or her multilingual or multicultural postcolonial experiences into literary work is always fraught with problems. Therefore he is often faced with the dilemma of negotiating between the English language in its ancestral place and the English language in the Diaspora.
This quandary has motivated some African writers to advocate a linguistic decolonization of African literature. For instance, Ngugi advocates the need to decolonize African cultures, including the return to writing in vernacular languages. He believes that Africans must use their languages and people as a strength with which they can leap into tomorrow. Osundare also reacts insistently against the continuity of writing African literature in foreign languages. Most Nigerian writers use local colour words because they believe that no foreign language can adequately express native experiences and problems and there are some words that cannot be easily translated in English, thus such words are transliterated into the English language in writing.
There are two major opposing camps that can be isolated in African writer’s views on the desirability or otherwise of English as the literary language of the continent. The first camp advocates the abrogation of the use of the language as the prime medium of African literature; Ngugi and Osundare are key members of this exclusive class. On the other hand, the second group calls for the appropriation and reconstitution of English as a medium of African literature. With this, the group believes that the rigid hegemony of the language can be unmasked. This method is an attempt to convey in a language that is not one’s own, the spirit that is one’s own. Consequently, the postcolonial African writer expresses his thoughts through an Africanized version of the almighty English language. According to Chinua Achebe, English is being made to “bear the burden” of the post colonial writer’s experience (62). The African writers, for instance, always strive to free themselves from the standard rules of the imported language by using a unique form of the language whose standard version is being interrogated and subverted to be able to express their sense of otherness.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Discuss the need for the domestication of the English language in Nigerian literature.
3.2 Nigerian Literature and Local Colour 1: Transliteration
in Okara’s The Voice
In Gabriel Okara’s The Voice, there is a high experimentation with language. He tries to recapture Ijaw language in English. Gabriel Okara tries through experimentation to enrich foreign languages by injecting ‘black blood’ into their rusty joints. Gabriel Okara in an article reprinted from Dialogue, Paris in Transition magazine in September 1963:
As a writer who believes in the utilization of African ideas, African philosophy and African folklore and imagery to the fullest extent possible, I am of the opinion that the only way to use them effectively is to translate them almost literally from the African language native to the writer into whatever European language he is using as medium of expression. . . . In order to capture the vivid images of African speech, I had to eschew the habit of expressing my thoughts first in English. It was difficult at first, but I had to learn. I had to study each Ijaw expression I used and to discover the probable situation in which it was used in order to bring out the nearest meaning in English. I found it a fascinating exercise.
Why, we may ask, should an African writer, or any writer, become so obsessed with using his mother-tongue to enrich other tongues? Why should he see it as his particular mission? We never asked ourselves: how can we enrich our languages?
Gabriel Okara, in The Voice, introduces Okolo, a man who dreams of a just and transparent society, is arrested and imprisoned for sharply lashing out at a corrupt regime, and is eventually delivered out of his dilemma by an old, illiterate woman in whose wisdom are personified the values and worth of society. The linguistic experimentation is unique. We see the attempts by Okara to realize his Ijaw tongue in English. We see a lot of linguistic aberrations in terms of semantic realizations. In English, the expressions do not carry much meaning and where there are meanings, they seem absurd, complex and distorted. The attempts at experimenting with language make the novel quite unreadable in terms of English usage. Even the Ijaw readers of the novel who are not familiar with English forms may find the text uninteresting. For instance, the novel started thus: “Some of the town’s men said that Okolo’s eyes were not good and that his head was not correct.” (1)
In an attempt at realizing the Ijaw language in the novel, we see such expressions as:
i. “he has no shadow … ”
ii. “his inside is bad … ”
iii. “his head is not correct … ”
iv. “his eyes were not good … ”
These expressions have been termed ‘poetic’, ‘absurd’, ‘complex’ and ‘incomprehensible’. The fact remains that Okara tries to create a unique Nigerian novel by realizing his mother tongue using transliteration as linguistic process. The question of whether he achieved his aimed has been the concern of linguists and literary critics. The fact still remains that Okara has attempted a form for the realization of the Nigerian novel through the process of transliteration.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
Discuss the effectiveness of transliteration in Okara’s The Voice.
3.3 Nigerian Literature and Local Colour 2: Proverbs in Ohaeto’s The Voice of the Night Masquerade
Proverbs picture practically all the details of everyday life of ordinary people and they can refer to practically any situation. Occasionally, among many tribes in Nigeria like the Igbos, proverb is the major vehicle of expression in the art of conversation and is regarded very highly because it serves to arm, to inform, to educate, to instruct and very often to embellish speech. The use of proverb in some Nigerian poetry is very instrumental to the passing across of the message of the poet to the reader. In Achebe’s words, “Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten” (Things Fall Apart, 6). Proverbs have a wide range of subject matter and they are based on every aspect of societal life. It captures the African style of rhetoric; expresses the African affinity of their culture. In the words of Obiechina (1975):
Proverbs are the kernels, which contain the wisdom of the traditional people. They are philosophical, moral expositions shrunk to a few words, and they form a mnemonic device in societies in which everything worth knowing and relevant to day-to-day life has to be committed to memory... These proverbs derive from a detailed observation of the behaviour of human beings, animals, plants and natural phenomena, from folklore, beliefs, attitudes, perception, emotions and the entire systems of thought.... (156)
In African literature, the literary and cultural significance of proverbs is the fact that they provide a rich source of imagery and succinct expression on which more elaborate forms are drawn. In its simplest form, a proverb is a saying, which has some moral to teach. These morals could be explicit or implied. The language of a proverb is generally image filled, simple and interesting. Every language has its proverbs, often, the same proverbs occur among several different people. In some cases, similar proverbs come from the same source, but in other cases, they probably have no connection. In Africa, proverbs play prominent roles in communication. Values, beliefs and traditions of a people are often reflected in their proverbs, parables, and incantations, etc. Ezenwa Ohaeto exploited the rich Igbo proverbs in The Voice of the Night Masquerade. It gives his work a local colour quality. He believes that the language of proverbs is more than ordinary words. Some of these words refer to objects, which on their own are symbolic or represent something else. Ohaeto uses proverbs in his collection of poems to give force and dignity to his work.
Ohaeto’s choice of proverbs in his collection of poems reflects the warning, moral as well as philosophical values in the Igbo societies. We could say that proverbs are used to intensify language in order to be effective. Language has been known to serve man’s creativity. The Igbos are known to appreciate wisdom, knowledge and understanding in childhood use of proverbs. It is therefore not surprising to see Ohaeto employ extensive use of proverbs in his work. For example:
“What destroys the yams also destroys the cocoyams” (18). This proverb is Ohaeto’s way of warning that whatever affects the head of a house also affects the entire house, and so, precautions should be taken
when such cases of destruction arises.
Another is:
“The bone dog could not eat the fowl wants to eat” {29}.
Ohaeto uses proverbs in his poems as forces for teaching morals and as medium of warning.
His use of proverbs focuses on their positive cultural functions. One of the most significant applications of African orature in the poems is the use of proverbs. Ohaeto’s competence in the use of proverbs reflects his possession of cultural wisdom and rhetorical skills.
Ohaeto’s poetic vision in The Voice of the Night Masquerade is inspired by the indecency, disorderliness and untruthfulness in the society which are caused by the misdemeanor in the family, the deviance on the streets, the abnormalities in public affairs and the incongruities of socio- political activities. His vision is simply art for orderliness, justice and awareness. He takes sides out of his conviction of what is right. The Voice of the Night Masquerade is a heroic celebration of nature-sun, water, wind, sea- and also a celebration of tradition- spirits and masquerades. It however goes beyond mere celebration of ecological changes to satirize man’s indecency in the society, injustice in socio- political activities and man’s excesses in the society, that is, harmful and thoughtless actions that are socially or morally unacceptable. The proverbs are functional:
The creeper that tells
An elephant halt immediately
Must accompany the elephant
{‘A call at dusk’ 15}
This warns better on the abnormalities of public affairs and the incongruities of socio-political activities. In explaining this proverb, we see the creeper and the elephant as a minor and a major respectively. Ohaeto’s style of proverb use is expressed in a way that is clear and easily understood, vibrant, imaginative, intellectual and full of morals. It is of our time and the picture of our age. It carries the feelings and emotions of modern man. Its realities are present today and will perhaps colour tomorrow.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3
What are the poetic effects of proverb use in Ohaeto’s The Voice of the Night Masquerade?
4.0 CONCLUSION
The question of domestication of English in African literature has been a major concern of African writers. Nigerian writers beginning from Amos Tutuola have been experimenting with the English language. Others follow. Even Chinua Achebe who claimed to write in Standard English has one time or another delved into local colour, transliteration and the application of local lores in his writing. This is evident with the use of proverbs, clichés, and oral forms of communication. In almost all his novels, he created a linguistic style which other African writers have towed. Gabriel Okara stands out. His language in The Voice was experimental. Ohaeto makes proverbs useful tools in his poetry.
5.0 SUMMARY
The question still remains: must we write in English qualify as African literature? The whole area of literature and audience, and hence of language as a determinant of both the national and class audience did not really figure: the debate has been more about the subject matter and the racial origins and geographic habitation of the writer. English (like French and Portuguese) was assumed to be the natural language of literary and even political mediation between African people in the same nation and between Africa and other nations. In some instances these European languages were seen as having a capacity to unite African peoples against divisive tendencies inherent in the multiplicity of African languages within the same geographic state. Thus, the application of local colours whether through translation/transliteration or through the application of local lores has the singular tendency of making Nigerian (African) literature operate in unique style.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
Answer the following questions carefully:
1. What is transliteration? Explain its application in Okara’s The Voice.
2. Nigerian writers have been attempting to domesticate English. Discuss the forms of this domestication.
3. Assess the use of proverbs in Ohaeto’s poetry.
4. The question of language in African literature has been in favour of English. Explain the advantage it English has over African languages.
5. The use of local colour makes Nigerian literature unique in style. Defend this statement.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Achebe, Chinua (1975). Morning yet on Creation Day. London: Heinemann.
Obiechina, Emmanuel (1975). Culture, Tradition and Society in West African Novel. London: Heinemann.
Ohaeto, Ezenwa(2000). The Voice of the Night Masquerade. Ibadan: Kraft.
Okara, Gabriel (1964). The Voice. London: Heinemann.
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