Explicating the Nexus Between Language of Oppression and Injustice in Literary Texts Through Pragmatic Lens

Abstract

This study focuses on a pragmatic analysis and interpretation of the language that portrays oppression and injustice against women in Flora Nwapa’s One Is Enough and Ifeoma Okoye’s Behind The Clouds. In order to attain the set objectives for this study, Acheoah’s model of pragma-crafting theory was adopted. The study focused on manifestations of the linguistic, extra-linguistic, and psychological acts and pragma-crafting features in the chosen data. It was found that all three acts (linguistic, extra-linguistic, and psychological acts), together with the pragma-crafting features were used in all the selected data and some elements of speech acts, supra-segmental features, semiotic particulars like silencing, and so on were hugely utilized in the interactants’ expressions. Also, the pragma-crafting elements manifested in context presupposition, shared macro knowledge, contextual knowledge, behavioral implicature, and operational language. The study concludes that the speakers’ choice of words was in order to perform oppressive acts against women in our society.

Keywords:

• injustice
• language
• literature
• marital challenge
• oppression
• pragma-crafting
• pragmatics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).