A LEXICO-SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN (ENGLISH AND LINGUISTIC PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
ABSTRACT
This study is a lexico-semantic analysis of Half of a Yellow Sun (ọkara nke a odo anyanwụ).The aim of this study is to identify the organization and breakdown of detected lexical items, the differences and similarities in lexical semantic structure cross-linguistically and the relationship of lexical meaning to sentence meaning and syntax in HOAYS. Achieving this may be a feat of insurmountable tete a tete analysis using some debuting or re-appearing tools in the entire cologne Adichie had confidently portrayed in this novel. Comprehensive but more scrupulous reviews related to this feat/study was also visualized and acquired for the less supplemented but well nourished desire to set this study’s aim ablaze. This study had chosen HOAYS since not much had really been done towards the Lexico-semantic analysis of Adichie’s award winning novel. Some candid chapters were randomly analyzed using contextual sentences or phrases to portray Adichie’s narrative. At the end, the predominant devices found out to be used by Chimamanda are Compound sentences followed by Compound-complex sentences, Parenthetical expression, Italics, Transliteration and Code-mixing. It is then recommended that other young writers should adopt Chimamanda’s style since it improves the vigour of one’s writing. However, the style of a writer albeit creative may pose a challenge to readers. This study attempts a linguistic stylistic analysis of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun with the aim of identifying some of the linguistic features the writer used and to understand the cultural and historical ideology behind the texts as well as appreciating her style.
INTRODUCTION
Language in its complex form has been a guiding tool or a convention structure used to interact or present suggestions and verbal expression of one’s mind. There are vehemently several ways one would and could express his/her ideals and ideas either using sounds, symbols as long as they are accepted as a Language form by those at the receiving end (other speakers and language users).
According to Lyons, Languages are: ‘The principal systems of communication used by particular groups of human beings within the particular society (Linguistic community) of which they are members’. Language, however, as a sole inheritance of humans have been used in so many ways in our society hence the delving of analysis of reputable and upcoming linguists into the analysis of the complexity of language(s) such as morphology, semantics, phonology, domestic discourse (dodi) and syntax as well as their employed uses (e.g Kakava, 2000; Odebunmi, 2003; Odebunmi, 2006; Odebunmi, 2007; Oni and Osunbade, 2009; Wallace, 2012).
