English Language and the Igbo Worldview: A Review of Chapter Four, Nine & Eleven of Discourses and Interactions in Language & Literature edited by Austin Uzoma Nwagbara
English Language and the Igbo Worldview: A Review of Chapter Four, Nine & Eleven of Discourses and Interactions in Language & Literature edited by Austin Uzoma Nwagbara Introduction
This paper is a review of three profound chapters of Discourses and Interactions in Language & Literature edited by Austin Uzoma Nwagbara; namely chapters four, nine and eleven. These chapters are chosen because of their evocative discussions of the English language and the Igbo worldview. Chapter four entitled “The Language Repertoire of Nollywood Movies” by Emmanuel Adedayo Adedun posits that the Igbo language, among the three major languages in Nigeria, has been less preserved especially in the production of Nollywood movies. It argues that Igbo films in English language are an “expression of a commercial mentality”, etc. However, using Austin Uzoma Nwagbara’s “Mbari Heritage and Chinua Achebe’s Pluralingual Aesthetics” (chapter 9) and Onuora Benedict Nweke’s “From Repression to Displacement: A Psychoanalytic Re-Examination of the Hero in Things Fall Apart” (chapter 11). I shall attempt to re-examine the Igbo worldview in relation to the use of English as captured in literary works of Achebe.
A Review of Chapter Four: “The Language Repertoire of Nollywood Movies” by Emmanuel Adedayo Adedun
This powerful piece dovetails the movie industry of Nigeria, fondly known as “Nollywood” beginning from its evolutionary trend; its earliest influences (local and international); its mode of production and then the languages that are deployed in the scripting of the movies.
In this essay Adedun argues that Nollywood’s development began from the Travelling Theatre of the 1930s. The theatre, which operated chiefly by traveling from one location to the other presenting drama and dance, were mainly of Yoruba stock and that the materials of this group and the importation of empty video cassettes provided the needed platform for Igbo businessmen to produce and market films. In other
This paper is a review of three profound chapters of Discourses and Interactions in Language & Literature edited by Austin Uzoma Nwagbara; namely chapters four, nine and eleven. These chapters are chosen because of their evocative discussions of the English language and the Igbo worldview. Chapter four entitled “The Language Repertoire of Nollywood Movies” by Emmanuel Adedayo Adedun posits that the Igbo language, among the three major languages in Nigeria, has been less preserved especially in the production of Nollywood movies. It argues that Igbo films in English language are an “expression of a commercial mentality”, etc. However, using Austin Uzoma Nwagbara’s “Mbari Heritage and Chinua Achebe’s Pluralingual Aesthetics” (chapter 9) and Onuora Benedict Nweke’s “From Repression to Displacement: A Psychoanalytic Re-Examination of the Hero in Things Fall Apart” (chapter 11). I shall attempt to re-examine the Igbo worldview in relation to the use of English as captured in literary works of Achebe.
A Review of Chapter Four: “The Language Repertoire of Nollywood Movies” by Emmanuel Adedayo Adedun
This powerful piece dovetails the movie industry of Nigeria, fondly known as “Nollywood” beginning from its evolutionary trend; its earliest influences (local and international); its mode of production and then the languages that are deployed in the scripting of the movies.
In this essay Adedun argues that Nollywood’s development began from the Travelling Theatre of the 1930s. The theatre, which operated chiefly by traveling from one location to the other presenting drama and dance, were mainly of Yoruba stock and that the materials of this group and the importation of empty video cassettes provided the needed platform for Igbo businessmen to produce and market films. In other