A Discourse Analysis of Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead
Chapter One
Purpose of the study
Since effective communication means the appropriate use of language in the relevant context (Oloruntoba-Oju 1999), this essay will examine the English language used in Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard using discourse analysis to determine the effectiveness of its language use.
Sizwe Bansi is Dead is a play text and we intend to examine how communication is achieved among the interlocutors. Many researchers have carried out discourse analysis of interview, interactions, newspapers, play texts, and so on but to our knowledge no research on discourse analysis has been carried out on this work Sizwe Bansi is Dead. Hence, the necessity for carrying out a discourse analysis of this work.
By carrying out a discourse analysis of this work, we will find out its discourse elements found in the work Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
CHAPTER TWO
LITRATURE REVIEW
Introduction:
In this chapter we shall review some related views of some scholars on the concept of “Discourse Analysis” and it’s elements or principles that make it work
The review is based on the opinions and intelligent definition of Linguists and scholars as they can be applied to the meaning of utterances in the text
THE CONCEPT OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
The term “Discourse Analysis” was first employed in (1952) by Zelling Harris as the name for “a method for the analysis of connected speech or writing (Harris 1952:1), that is for “continuing descriptive linguistic beyond the limits of a single sentences at a time” and for correlating culture and language.
Discourse Analysis has come a long way since Zelling Harris. Today, it is widely employed to encompass both literary and non- literary text, most especially the organisation of language above the level of sentences and it’s constituents. Today different linguist look it from various perspective.
According to Oxford Advanced Learners (2000) discourse is the use of language in speech and written in order to produce meaning, that is, discourse helps us to understand speech and writing of people.
According to Blommert (2005:2) as cited by John Stone (2008:2), discourse is the meaniful symbolic behaviour in any mode. To the discourse analyst discourse usually means actual instance of communicative action in the medium of language.
Abdullahi Idiagbon (2004:72) Cited by Akintola (2008) who asserts that “Gestures” have a notable role in adding to the meaning of a discourse. This means that discourse does not only deal with communication but language and actions are also involved.
Hugh Trappes Lomax (2004) sees discourse analysis as a broadly speaking, that is as the study of language viewed communicatively and of communication viewed linguistically. This involves reference to concept of language in use, language above or beyond the sentence, language as meaning in interaction, and language situational and cultural context.
Caroline Coffin (2006) sees discourse as the coherent understanding the reader makes from the text, it also includes how the values of the reader, the reading context affect the reading of the text in the production of coherence.
Van Dijk (1997:3) sees discourse analysis as applicable only to written form of language he says:
Those utterances which can be assigned to textual structures are acceptable discourse of the language at this level of the account of acceptability that is, the well formed ness and interpretable.
Crystal (1992:106) say Discourse Analysis is the study of continuous stretches of language longer than a single sentence also called “Discourse linguistic”
Elements of Discourse Analysis.
Elements of discourse are those tools used to achieve proper analysis of any discourse either writing or unwritten. The relevant ones for this work are: discourse participant, turn taking, exchange structure, discourse rank scale, topic negotiation, topic change, cohesion under which we have cohesion devices such as ellipsis, substitution, conjunction and repetition and some pragmatic concept of discourse such as: context, reference, presupposition, implicature, and inference each of these terms will be explain in the section below.
CHAPTER THREE
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the analysis of selected utterances in Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, elements of discourse such as participants, exchange structure, turn taking, discourse rank scale, reference, and pragmatic concepts of discourse shall be employed in analyzing the drama text.
Analysis
Discourse participant
The participants are those involved in a discourse. The utterances are constructed to fit into their roles. The roles of the participant are justified by gender, social status and age.
From the extract below styles and man’s role is displayed.
Man: Mr. Styles?
Styles: That’s me come in! You have come to take a card?
Man: Snap (p.17)
The discourse participants have been used by the author to show and create an effective interpretation of the author from the conversation above between styles and man, the author have been able to use the interlocutors that is, the first person, is the hearer who responds to the speaker. Other participants (character) in the play include Buntu, he is also discourse participant in the text.
Exchange structure
The exchange structure entails initiation, response, and feed back (I.R.F). The conversation was started by Buntu’s initiation, followed by the response of Sizwe Bansi while Buntu feeds him (Sizwe Bansi) back.
Buntu (initiator): A card?
Man (response): A card
Buntu (feed back): pink card. (p. 24)
The author makes use of IRF (invitation, response, and feedback) in the text which shows that there is an initiator that starts the conversation, also a response by the hearer and in return, the initiator gives feed back.
We also have the adjacency pair and is being illustrated below.
CHAPTER FOUR
SUMMARY, FINDING AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
This research has done a discourse analysis of Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
Summary
Chapter one, introduces the research with reference to the definition of language that is, background of the study purpose of the research work, the reason for choosing the topic, justification, and scope and delimitation of the study.
Chapter two, focus on the review of literature in discourse analysis and pragmatic techniques by scholars who have written on the features and definition.
Furthermore, chapter three concentrates on the analysis of the data based on the pragma-discourse elements that have been re appraised in chapter two, using these features to bring out the way by which the author has made use of the features in the text by various interlocutors.
Lastly, chapter four deals with the summary of the work, finding the hidden to knowledge of the author through the interlocutors by using the features.
Findings
After, carrying out a systematic analysis of the conversation in Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead, diverse findings spot to the fate the drama text as a genre of literature is an appropriate material that displays a large number of the discourse and pragmatic elements.
The authors have been able to depict to us in the text by using some of the interlocutors who are struggling in having their freedom that is, their new identity through the obtainment of “pass book”. The pass book represent “New Life” which makes Sizwe Bansi dead but not dead.
We have discovered that discourse analysis has to do mainly with conversation which is the principles means of communication between interlocutors which have been showed as an evidence that the participants were involved in one form or another discourse by taking turns.
Also, in every discourse there must be participants to point out that the discourse participant are interested in the topic or subject matter of the conversation which is very important.
Another vital findings of the research is topic negotiation and topic change which the author have used to show to us that discourse can be enhance and ideas can be slotted in by the participants.
Furthermore, we discovered that implicature is a preeminence between what is literally said and what is implied.
More so, we have discovered that other pragma discourse tools such as presupposition, context, inference, have been able to alleviate the interpreting of both the obvious and obscure meanings as used by the author.
Conclusion
The discourse analysis of this text has featured a form of discourse that makes the use of language in packaging and propagation information effective to the readers.
The tools of discourse and pragmatics used are the fundamental principles that hold the meaning channeled by Athol Fugard.
Lastly, discourse analysis of this text has effectively carried out a meaningful interpretation of the text. It is our hope that more research works would be carried out on the text especially in the aspect of lexico-semantic, semantic, stylistic, socio linguistic, as this will help in boosting the carrying of the message that is intended or expressed in the text.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary source
- Athol, F. (1973) Sizwe Bansi is Dead. Oxford university press. Secondary sources
- Akmajian, A., Demers, R., farmer, A., Harnish, R. (2001). Linguistics an introduction to language and communication. USA: MIT Press, Cambridge.
- Babatunde, S.T (2007) Introduction to semantic. An unpublished star way notes.
- Brown, J. & Yule, J. (1983) Discourse analysis. New York: Cambridge
- Coffin, C. (2006) Historical discourse. New York academic press.
- Cook, G. (1992) Discourse oxford. Oxford university press.
- Coulthard, M. (1993). An introduction to discourse analysis (New edition). London: Longman.
- Cutting, J. (2002). Pragmatic and discourse London: New fetter lane.
- Idiagbon, M.S. (2004). A discourse analysis of Olu Obafemi’s sucide syndrome. In T. Ajibade (ed.) Ilorin journal of language and literature. Ilorin: MEL, Unilorin (pp.66-75).