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- ItemOpen AccessAlioum Fantoure: Romancier D'une Societe en Quete de la Liberte.(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Eluchie, Victoria Ugoeze; Bestman, M.Alioum Fantoure is one of the African writers whose novels have received little attention, from literary critics. Some critics do not go beyond his first novel Le Cercle des Tropigue. This study is an in-depth analysis of the African searches for liberty as presented in the four novels of Fantoure. Attention is focused on the three major periods of the African search for liberation depicted in the novels - the colonial era, the period of the struggle for independence and the post-independence era. The analysis reveals a deep-rooted pessimism the part of Fantoure vis-ŕ-vis the liberation of Africa as a continent. The colonial era, with its oppression and exploitation is seen as the beginning of the African woes. Fantoure denounces the lack of unity among Africans fighting for their independence. To the author, Africa's independence is paradoxical in that the social ills of the colonial era are still present. Africans are still in need of liberation from indigenous colonialist but this time their liberation seems to be a myth because of the indifference of the masses and the insensitivity of the leaders to the social problems. Thus, Fantoure sees the African search for liberation as hopeless.
- ItemOpen AccessLa femme Chez Mongo Beti et Aminata Sow Fall (Women in the Works of Mongo Beti and Aminata Sow Fall).(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Lokulo-Sodipe, Yetunde; Mojola, I.This study attempts to bring out the different ways women are portrayed in the works of two authors. One is a male author while the other is a female author. It has been noted that male writers, over the ages, tend to attribute subordinate roles to females characters in their works. With the advent of female writers in the literary world, it is thought that these female writers will bring in their feminine point of view, thereby introducing new horizons into literature. It is also some-times thought that female writers will concern themselves mostly with domestic matters. The study has been divided into four chapters with each chapter devoted to the situation of women. The first chapter analyses the situation and attitude of the traditional woman as seen in different characters in the chosen texts. In the second chapter, the study examines the personality and mentality of the contemporary woman. The third chapter studies the socialization process that makes the woman what she is and her situation within the society. In the fourth chapter, interest her society. As regards the women, two major categories were found, namely the traditional passive, docile and submissive woman and the Contemporary woman who believes in the equality of the sexes. It was also found out that the traditional woman was not always submissive for she could be quite assertive at times, depending on her personality, irrespective of the norms passed down to her.
- ItemOpen AccessLes Tendances Womanistes Dans Les Oeuvres Des Romancieres De L'afrique Francophone(2015-04-17) Bestman, Rukayat FolajokeThe study examined the position of black women in relation to feminist theory, identified and discussed the varieties of womanism as an African version of feminism. It also analysed Francophone African women's novels from the womanist perspective. This was done with a view to exploring the thematic of Francophone African women's novelistic works. A review of Francophone African women's novels and of their criticism was carried out in relation to African literature in general. The works of several Francophone African women novelists were studied in depth within the womanist framework. Major themes of womanism such as motherhood, the family, African women's self-definition, the racial question and socio-political issues were analysed in the novels, using the womanist literary theory. The study revealed that although Francophone women novelists did not deliberately or consciously cultivate wornanism, certain womanist trends could be identified in their works, such as radical explorations of motherhood, celebration of womanhood, self-definition, affirmation of family values, representation of the principle of gender complementarity and engagement with socio-political and race issues. The theoretical position of Anglophone women on the goals of women's writing thus found its manifestation in the works of Francophone women novelists. Black female writers considered feminism inadequate in giving full expression to the experience of black women who, in addition to being victims of racial discrimination, suffered a double yoke at the hands of black and white male chauvinists. Varieties of womanism were identified, namely the orthodox womanism of Alice Walker which accommodated lesbianism; Clenora Hudson-Weems' Africana Womanism which was basically concerned with the experience of black women in the diaspora; and Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi's and M.E.M. Kolawole's African Womanisms which focused on the peculiar circumstances of African women on the African continent itself. Analysed from the womanist perspective, Francophone African female novels, it was shown, redefined motherhood as something that could be biological and also voluntary. They also foregrounded the notion of self- definition and emphasised the primacy of race. It was concluded that womanist trends were prevalent in the Francophone women's novels studied.
- ItemOpen AccessLinguistic Stylistics and Literary Interpretation: An Alternative Interpretation to Awonuga's Analysis of 'If'(1994) Adegbite, WaleThis study criticizes the linguistic stylistic procedure employed by Awonuga (1988) to interpret the poem 'If' by Jared Angira in his recent article in Ife Studies in English Language. The paper observes that while Awonuga's conception of linguistic stylistics and its principles is correct, his method of illustrating the approach is inadequate and inappropriate when considered, particularly, from the point of view of its relevance to learners/users of English as a Second Language. While the paper agrees to the fact that the linguistic stylistics approach always focuses the description of form in literary texts, it also believes firmly that such a description should never lose sight of the cultural context and speech situation of the texts under study. As it were, Awonuga's article can claim to have successfully spite of the latter's primary role in communicative language teaching.
- ItemOpen AccessMacro- Language Policy and Planning and Lack of Proficiency in Language Learning and Use by Nigerian Students(2008) Adegbite, WaleIn this study, the problem of' non-proficiency in language learning and use among Nigerian students is investigated. Using empirical data and information from available literature on the subject as evidence, it was observed that the language deficiencies of the students could be attributed to the lack of fit between the formulation of the national (macro-) language policy and planning and implementation procedures, in view of the complexity of the socio-cultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic context of the nation. The perceptions of students' language deficiencies at different levels of education were described and the attendant effects on national development stated. A "bottom-top" proposal was then made for initial prioritization of micro-language policies and planning procedures that would later provide bases for viable macro-policy and planning projects.
- ItemOpen AccessMultilingualism and National Development(2004) Adegbite, WaleThe discussion in this chapter is divided into four parts, apart from the introduction and conclusion. In the first part, a brief explanation of the term ‘multilingualism' is made and the phenomenon is described with references to its occurrence in the world, Africa, Nigeria and individuals. The second part discusses language and national development by examining the indices of national development of which language is an integral part. The third part describes language planning and language policy by focusing on the types and activities of planning as well as policy decisions and provisions on language in Africa/Nigeria. Lastly, the implications of language policy and planning for national development are observed by identifying the desirable goals of the Nigerian nation and then suggesting some steps for removing the constraints on language planning and policy formulation. In all, while the study has only attempted to study salient issues in the field, it does not claim to have fully exhausted the points or treated all the issues in detail. Students will nonetheless find the paper to be a useful introduction on the subject area.
- ItemOpen AccessPerspectives of interpretation of Meaning in English(2005) Adegbite, WaleIt is not unusual that 'meaning' presents a problem of definition to language scholars. Like many other concepts, meaning is either a vague or an ambiguous term, depending on the way one looks at it. As far back as 1923, Ogden and Richards gave a representative list of sixteen main definitions which, according to them, "reputable students of meaning have favoured". Recent studies may have observed some considerable overlaps in most of these definitions, but the multifarious types, perspectives and interpretations of meanings are still with us.