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A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF NAIRA HAS NO GENDER BY OLUOBAFEMI

CHAPTER ONE

1.1       INTRODUCTION

Discourse to the discourse analysts means actual instances of communicative action in the medium of language. According to Blommert (2005) as cited in Johnstone (2008) discourse is the meaningful symbolic behavior in any mode. Discourse is not totally focused on language as an abstract system. Instead discourse is interested in what happens when people apply the knowledge they have got from language that is based on their memories of things they have seen or heard. Discourse is also a conversation that is formal in nature. It can be in a written form or a spoken form of expression. Discourse analysis deals with spoken language, which occurs naturally and this can be found in interviews, conversations, speeches and commentaries. It also deals with the structure of written language which can be found in essays, chapters, road sings and notices.

Discourse is also seen as a linguistic communication and a transaction between a speaker and a hearer involved in an interpersonal activity in which its form is determined by its social purpose. However, discourse analysis as a relation to a more traditional form of linguistics which is focused on the constituent units and structure of the sentence and which does not concern  itself with an analysis of language use. Discourse analysis in contrast to formal linguistics, is concerned with translating the notion of structure, from the level of the sentences i e grammatical relations such as subject –verb – object, to the level of longer text. Conversation generally involves an exchange between two or more people in which each participant may produce more than one utterance and each contribution builds upon previous contributionseither directly or in directly.

Discourse analysis focuses on the analytical process in a relatively explicit way. What differentiates discourse analysis from other sorts of study that bear on human language and communication is not found in the way they try to answer them. That is, they analyse discourse by examining aspects of the structure and functions of language in use. Longer stretches of discourse can be divided into parts using various criteria and then particular characteristics of each part can be looked in to by the discourse analyst. Division in discourse analysis can be made according to who is talking, for example where the paragraph boundaries are, when a new topic arise, or where the subject ends and the predicate begins. Olu Obafemi’s Naira has no Gender being a dramatic piece of work will be subjected to adequate discourse analysis which is the focus of this research work.

1.2       AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The main purpose of this research is to give a clear picture of how discourse analysis can be used in the interpretation of text and how speeches are formed in a conversation in conformity to the context of the interaction.

1.3       JUSTIFICATION

The study of discourse analysis cannot be over emphasized as different scholars have gone a long way to bring out the importance of this study. Cutting in her book Pragmatics and Discourse (2002) has used structural, cultural, interpersonal background contexts and intertextuality to analyse a conversation among university students from different backgrounds.

Johnstone in her book. Discourse Analysis (2008) has worked on how discourse is shaped by various kinds of structural conventions and how structural conventions are influenced by what speakers use discourse for. She also worked on how grammar and discourse intersect. In this research Naira has no Gender will be subjected to adequate discourse analysis. The conversations of the characters will be analysed using the features of discourse analysis.

1.4       SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF STUDY

This research is centered on analyzing the discourse in Olu Obafemi’s Naira has no Gender. Other materials relevant to the study will be used but the issues to be discussed will be based on the play by Olu Obafemi.

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