Language and Ideology in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Abstract

Exclusive and unique set of words, in language, are imperative and indispensable on occasions when serious and "deep meaning" discussions are made. Ideology, on the other hand, cannot be separated from language for the two are intertwined. The major focus in this work is to examine how special and unique language use has assisted Adichie in her Purple Hibiscus to exhibit and address the aspect of the ideological configurations of gender and power. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's magnum opus, Purple Hibiscus, ranks among the recent literary texts that is permeated with preponderance of exclusive ideological expressions and a lot of other literary and linguistic apparatus. In this study, we shall examine the special language use and their underlying ideologies in the novel. The study uses the critical discourse analysis (C D A) which is a remarkable development of discourse analysis (DA) in an attempt to put the language use in proper view. In other words, the study shall make an exploration into the synergy and interconnectedness that are operative between the language use and ideology in Adichie's debut; an area which has not been rigorously pursued or had been understudied by linguistic scholars.