LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 10 : 1 January 2010
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         K. Karunakaran, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.

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English: A Blessing in Disguise
A Study of Chinua Achebe's Technique of Hybridization

Smitha Mohandas

Criticism against Chinua Achebe's Position on Language

The main objective of this paper is to look into Achebe's technique of hybridization of English language wherein it is metamorphosed into a brand new usage and by its uniqueness becomes an inevitable asset to its users.

"Language is a weapon and we use it. There is no point in fighting over a language" (quoted in Gallaghar,260). This is an observation put forth by one of the greatest writers of African literature, "the voice of Nigeria" and the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, 2007 - Chinua Achebe. The issue of language had brought him scathing criticisms from the African writers.

How Achebe Views Hybridization

Achebe relies heavily on the hybridization of African and European culture wherein the English language turns out to be 'African English'.

While studying at the University of Ibadan, Achebe was appalled by the misguiding picture of Nigeria and the whole of Africa that he found in many novels written and published in the West. The stunning consequence of his yearning spirit to emancipate Africa from its Eurocentric version was the all-time favourite novel, Things Fall Apart (1958) - a novel that demonstrates the linguistic and social sophistication of pre-colonial African societies.

What Is Hybridization?

The novel is written in English but a hybrid English. Now let us see what hybridization actually means. As defined by Garcia Canclini, an anthropologist, hybridization is an intersectional and transactional process, it avoids the elements of segregation present in multiculturalism and facilitates the transition from multiculturalism to interculturalism (qtd. in "Cultural Diversity: Source of conflict or solution?").

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Linguistic Purism and Language Planning in a Multilingual Context | The Problems of Teaching/Learning Tenses | Language and Literature: An Exposition - Papers Presented in Karunya University International Seminar | Similes in Meghduta - The Absolute Craftsmanship in Language | Culture of the Tamil Society as Portrayed in Ponniyin Selvan | Deconstructing Human Society: An Appreciation of Amitav Ghosh's Sea Of Poppies | Enabling Students to Interpret Literary Texts Independently by Enhancing their Vocabulary | Coping with the Problems of Mixed Ability Students | Displaced Diasporic Identities - A Case Study of Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | English Language Teaching in Developing Countries Error Analysis and Remedial Teaching Methods - An Overview | Diaspora Literature - A Hybrid or a Hybridized Product? | Anita Desai's Journey To Ithaca - A Manifestation of Vedantic Knowledge | A Study on the Physiological, Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives of Different Selves in a Self with Special Reference to Yann Martel's SELF | Conveniences and Complexities of Computer-Aided Language Learning | The Danger Lurking Within: The African American Woman in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye | Practices and Paradigms of Using Multimedia and Language Laboratory for Teaching Communication Skills to Technical Students | English: A Blessing in Disguise - A Study of Chinua Achebe's Technique of Hybridization | Language Teaching - The Present Day Challenges | Is Literature a Viable Medium for ESL Acquisition? | The Lord of The Rings : Galadriel, The Light Of Middle-Earth | Teaching Reading - A Challenge in Itself | The Silent Way | Translator as Reader: Phenomenology and Text Reception - An Investigation of Indulekha | The Dysfunctional Women in Mary Gordon'sThe Other Side | Utopia and Dystopia, Conflict Between Two Extremes - An Appraisal of Anita Desai's Cry, The Peacock | Reading 'god' Backwards | The Comic Vision in the Stories and Sketches of R.K.Narayan | My Responses to The English Teacher | 'Fall from Grace into Grief': Putting into Perspective the Outrages of Terrorism in Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown | Style and Language in M. G. Vassanji's The Assassin's Song | Affirmation of Life in Lloyd C. Douglas' Magnificent Obsession | Effectiveness of Group Investigation Model and Simulation Model in Teaching English | A Mathematical Treatment of Feministic Literature for the Prediction of Social Trends | Multiple Intelligences and Second Language Learning | Amitav Ghosh's The Circle Of Reason - A Study of Diaspora | The Role of Multimedia in Teaching Writing in English | A PRINT VERSION OF ALL THE PAPERS OF JANUARY 2010 ISSUE IN BOOK FORMAT | HOME PAGE of January 2010 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR

Smitha Mohandas
Department of English
Amrita School of Engineering Ettimadai
Coimbatore
Tamilnadu, India
smithamohandas123@rediffmail.com

 
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