"Igbo Linguistic Expressions" As Ethnic Identity in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine

Joseph A Ushie and Romanus A Aboh

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2013, vol. 2, issue 1, 39-53

Abstract: The basic concern of this article is to interpret Elechi Amadi’s novel, The Concubine, as an Igbo novel (i.e., a novel that specifically reflects on the ways of life of the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria). Relying on insights from sociolinguistics and ethnic studies, the paper analyses select expressions in Igbo, along with ethno-linguistic and cultural features of the people as manifested in the novel. It shows that Amadi’s use of language in The Concubine appears to be a peculiar speech form of the Igbo language. The paper further reveals that the novelist makes conscious use of certain linguistic items in order to express ethnic identity as a way of projecting “Igbo linguistics” and their cultural values as these were before the advent of colonialism.

Keywords: Igbo; Cultural ethos; Colonialism; Identity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:asi:ijells:v:2:y:2013:i:1:p:39-53:id:685

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