Discourse analysis on Buchi Emecheta's The Slave Girl

2.2. Songs and dances

Songs constitute an important element in the African society. They represent a major activity during which the Negro Africans show their joy, their unhappiness. In this regard, writers use them in their works for various occasions. They are songs appropriate to every situation: funeral songs, religious ones, and so on. Accordingly, Maxime Le Forestier (27 mars 20037 : 12) asserts that «La chanson, c'est le dernier refuge de la tradition orale».

Truly, African writers bestow a particular interest to songs to evoke the real feeling throughout their characters. In fact, most of ceremonies are celebrated with songs. That is the reason why Buchi Emecheta uses them in The Slave Girl.

Actually, in this novel, songs are embedded in it discourse. Indeed, in the seventh part of The Slave Girl, one old woman and the members of the group begin singing to congratulate Okolie's way of dancing. This is elucidated below:

"Who was born in the centre of the biggest market in Ibuza?"

"He!" the crowd replied

She went out: "Who makes the earth shake when he walks

"He!"

"Who has a body like those of the polished images made by wood covers?"

«He!»

«Who is going to be the greatest farmer of this time?»

«He, he, he is now going to be the greatest farmer - 'Ugbo Ukwu', the young man with the biggest farm.»(Buchi Emecheta, 1977: 83)

It results from the above passage that the main function of this song is to make praise and cult of personality and give eulogy to the interlocutors. What is literary interesting in this song is the arrangement of sentences. We remark that the structure is rich by the use of adjectives which explain description of Okolie, and the use of superlatives «the biggest market», «the greatest farmer», «the biggest market». Also, this paragraph comprises some hyperboles. Additionally, there is the use of inverted comas, which means that this song is expressed through the direct speech.

The use of songs in The Slave Girl raises a particular interest when expressing characters' state of mind. This is sometimes expressed by the dance. As a case of matters, needing to satisfy his need to have money in order to gain and celebrate the dance's coming day, Okolie comes to sell her only sister to Ma palagada as illustrated in the following example:

I deserve to have the money I need so badly for my coming - of - age dance. What does it I have to trade my sister to get it? (Buchi Emecheta, 1977: 37)

All goes to show that African people really are interested in songs and dance because it constitutes the way of maintaining their cultural identity as Henri Lopès (1976: 46) puts out:

«Moi, je chante mon bonheur dansa langue dont je n'ai pas honte, vous vous avez vendu vôtre âme aux Blancs.»

All by all, the insertion of proverbs ands songs in the novel involves a harmonious aesthetic diversity of the narrative. Buchi Emecheta's work is a symbiosis where the Western novelistic technique merges with African tradition work. Accordingly Professor Joseph Kizerbo (1977: 60-61) quotes:

«Ce qui frappe cette littérature outre sa richesse, c'est son caractère fonctionnel utilitaire. Rien qui ressemble à la contemplation devant la nature. Certes on fera aux gazouillis des oiseaux, mais on ne composera pas uniquement pour les fleuves et des murmures du vent.»

To close this chapter, we could say that Buchi Emecheta's style and her use of oral traditions in The Slave Girl comprises various African narrative characteristics. This analysis will be sustained by what will be done in the next part. Language functions and linguistic forms will bring more light in what has been said previously.

Erreur ! Source du renvoi introuvable.

Referring to the importance given to language in a work of literature, it sounds interesting to analyse the author's language skills as to have an overview on the writer's literary talent. In this respect, Emmanuel Ngara (1982: 10) asserts:

An African critic has said that language is the `thing' by which we judge the process of the author. Although a work of art consists of various elements - such as plot, theme, character and ideas - without language these elements would not be what they are; in other words they are realized and given form through the medium of language.

The second part and the last part of our study is devoted to language functions and linguistic forms. In fact, language is a key issue in literature because it is the medium through communication is established. It comes out that African writers have to express ideas, feelings, and emotions into European languages although structured and organised differently as stated by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (1981: 8):

«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 the only way to use them effectively is to translate them almost literally from the African language native to the writer rite whatever European language he is using as medium of expression. I have endeavoured in my words to keep as close as possible to the vernacular expressions. For, from a word, a group of words, a sentence and even a name in any African language, one can gleam the social norms, attitudes and values of a people.»

From this assertion, we can assert that the issue will always be debated when analysing a work of Anglophone African literature. This lies my interest in the work of Buchi Emecheta.

Actually, our main concern in this part is to answer the following subdiary question: How does Buchi Emecheta organise ideas to express her character's feelings in The Slave Girl? That is the question we will try to answer trough two chapters: Language functions and linguistic forms.