Language and reality in Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah

Authors

  • Igharha Jacinta

Abstract

Language can be described in terms of from (expression) and meaning (content). This -work investigates aspects of Chinua Achebe's language in Anthills of the Savannah and reveals that life is full of intrigues and conflicts. Our focus is on how expression is artistically manipulated to inquire into the meaning of life in a contemporary African society. It reveals Achebe's instinct for appropriate metaphors and symbols and concludes that his combination of proverbial and pidgin patterning, including his language of lyricism, portrays life in a thoroughly African setting. Achebe's Anthills in so realistic that in analyzing it one is tempted to forget that it is a work of fiction.

Author Biography

Igharha Jacinta

Achebe, Chinua. Anthills of the Savannah. London: Heinemann, 1987. Print. Adegbite, Wale. Perspectives of Interpretation of Meaning in English. Ed.

Moji Olateju and Lekan Oyeleye. Ile-Ife: OAU, 2005.Print.

Finnegan, Ruth. Oral Literature in Africa. Kenya: U of Oxford P,1970. Print. Gikandi, S. Reading Chinua Achebe: Language and ideology in fiction.

London: Heinemann, 1991. Print.

Griffiths, Gareth. “Language and Action in the Novels of Chinua Achebe.” African Literature Today 5 (1971 ):88-105. Print.

Innes, C.C, and Bernth Lindfors. Critical Perspectives on Chinua Achebe. London: Heinemann, 1979. Print.

Lyons, J. Semantics II. London: U of Cambridge P, 1979.Print.

Mafeni, B. Nigerian Pidgin. Ed. John Spencer. London: Longman, 1971. Print.

Moore, Gerald. Seven African Writers. Oxford: U of Oxford P, 1962. Print. Ojinmah, Umelo. Chinua Achebe: New Perspectives. Ibadan: spectrum, 1991. Print.

Sapir, Edward. Language, Culture and Personality. Ed. David Madelbaum. Califonia: U of California P, 1983. Print

References

Achebe, Chinua. Anthills of the Savannah. London: Heinemann, 1987. Print. Adegbite, Wale. Perspectives of Interpretation of Meaning in English. Ed.

Moji Olateju and Lekan Oyeleye. Ile-Ife: OAU, 2005.Print.

Finnegan, Ruth. Oral Literature in Africa. Kenya: U of Oxford P,1970. Print. Gikandi, S. Reading Chinua Achebe: Language and ideology in fiction.

London: Heinemann, 1991. Print.

Griffiths, Gareth. “Language and Action in the Novels of Chinua Achebe.” African Literature Today 5 (1971 ):88-105. Print.

Innes, C.C, and Bernth Lindfors. Critical Perspectives on Chinua Achebe. London: Heinemann, 1979. Print.

Lyons, J. Semantics II. London: U of Cambridge P, 1979.Print.

Mafeni, B. Nigerian Pidgin. Ed. John Spencer. London: Longman, 1971. Print.

Moore, Gerald. Seven African Writers. Oxford: U of Oxford P, 1962. Print. Ojinmah, Umelo. Chinua Achebe: New Perspectives. Ibadan: spectrum, 1991. Print.

Sapir, Edward. Language, Culture and Personality. Ed. David Madelbaum. Califonia: U of California P, 1983. Print

Downloads

Published

2025-05-01

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2011): JOURNAL OF THE LITERARY SOCIETY OF NIGERIA (JLSN) VOL. 3 NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011 (SPECIAL EDITION IN HONOUR OF PROF. R.N. EGUDU)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.