LANGUAGE AS TROPE IN CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE’SAMERICANAH: A STYLISTIC (DE)-CODING

Abstract

The paper examines language as trope in Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah.A trope is “the use of figurative language via word, phrase, or even an image for artistic effect.†Language communicates and conveys ideas and meanings to readers, and narrative techniques aid the delivery of these ideas through the use of metaphor, symbolism, imagery, proverbs, and coinages that function as tropes in texts. Since language is the basic tool in creative writing, the study investigates the different levels of language employed by Adichie to convey coded messages in Americanah. Employing M.A.K Halliday’s systemic functional grammar and Short and Leech stylistic theory as theoretical guides, the paper surmises that through the manipulation of language, Adichie reveals the thematic thrusts of her novel alongside other ‘kinds’ of meanings subtly encoded in the text. The study concludes that these language resources like symbols, code-mixing and code-switching, neologism vis-à-vis other subtle techniques like proverbs, point of view manipulated by Adichie in Americanah function as tropes employed for heightened artistic effects and to communicate other meanings relevant in appreciating Adichie’s narrative oeuvre in Americanah.