Research Papers/Topics in English Language

A Post-Colonial Ecocritical Analysis Of Selected African Texts: A Case Of Lessing’s The Grass Is Singing And Mungoshi’s Waiting For The Rain

Abstract This thesis analyses The Grass is Singing (1950) by Doris Lessing and Waiting for the Rain (1975) by Charles Mungoshi from a post-colonial ecocritical perspective. Ecocriticism unifies humanity and nature, whilst post-colonialism focuses on issues pertaining to power, religion and culture, with regards to humanity. The research aimed at elucidating on the remarkable relationship between human beings and nature as presented in literary texts. Applying post-colonialism to the analysis...

Investigating The Portrayal Of Social Issues In Namibian Post-Independence Poetry Written In English

ABSTRACT The main focus of this thesis was to examine how social issues are conceived and articulated in a representative selection of Namibian post-independence poetry written in English. Couched on and guided by socio-historicism and postcolonialism, this qualitative study elucidated the socio-political, socio-economic and socio-cultural factors that militate against Namibia’s total liberation as depicted in the selected poems. The study found that the Namibian post-independence experien...

The Eloquent Woman: A Contemporary Feminine Rhetorical Analysis Of Selected Speeches By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

 ABSTRACT Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is best known for her literary works and literary achievements. The Nigerian novelist is also a public rhetor whose orations are easily accessible on the internet, YouTube and other sites. Adichie’s public speaking gained much recognition after her TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk titled “The danger of a single story,” in which she openly discussed stereotypes and their power to dehumanise and malign people. She has since then delivered t...

An Analysis Of Linguistic Features Of Male Cosmetics Advertisements From Fhm (For Him) And Gq (Gentlemen’s Quarterly) Magazines

ABSTRACT The world of cosmetics has predominantly been a woman‟s sphere, but in recent years there seems to be an increase in the number of men who use cosmetic products. Cosmetic companies have responded to this by manufacturing and advertising various products. Advertisers design their advertisements incorporating various persuasive features, such as deviant language, images and colours, to mention just a few, to attract men and persuade them to buy the products being advertised. This qu...

Portrayal Of Poverty In Selected Namibian Plays By Hangula, Molapong, Thaniseb And Philander

Abstract This research study analysed poverty as portrayed in ‘King of the dump’ by Frederick Philander, ‘The show isn’t over until’ by Vickson Hangula, ‘To live a better life’ by Axaro Thaniseb and ‘The horizon is calling’ by Keamogetse Joseph Molapong. The four plays were selected because of the theme of poverty which is emphasised throughout the plays. The researcher employed the post-colonial and realism theories in this research study. This research study aimed at port...

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Mission Statements Of Selected State-Owned Entreprises In Namibia

ABSTRACT This thesis is a critical discourse analysis of the mission statements of state-owned enterprises. The purpose of the study was to investigate the English language employed in the mission statements of state-owned enterprises. The study also explored the various linguistic components of mission statements, as well as the way they employ the English language to relate to stakeholders and convey meaning. This research was qualitative in nature and was a desktop study which employed di...

A Literary Exploration Of Ethnocentric Segregation And Discrimination In Bessie Head’s Maru And Gasebalwe Seretse’s The Pursuit Of Xhai

ABSTRACT This literary thesis explored ethnocentric segregation and discrimination in Bessie Head’s Maru and Gasebalwe Seretse’s The Pursuit of Xhai. The purpose of the study was to investigate the causes and effects of ethnocentric segregation and discrimination amongst ethnic groups as presented in the selected novels. The study was primarily a qualitative desktop research whereby two novels were purposefully selected and analysed. This analysis was informed by the integrated or interg...

Discourse Functions Of Rhetorical Devices In Selected Roman Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letters In Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The pastoral letter, an open letter addressed by a bishop to members of his diocese for the purpose of promoting faith and good Christian living, constitutes a persuasive religious discourse characterised by numerous rhetorical devices. Previous studies on Christian religious languagehave concentrated mainly on sermons, liturgy, prayers, theology, scriptures, hymns, and songs to the exclusion of the persuasive power of pastoral letters. This study, therefore, examined themes and rhet...

Information Structure in Nigerian Pidgin English Print and Electronic Media Advertisements

ABSTRACT Information structure provides a deeper understanding of how language is organised in Nigerian Pidgin English advertising discourse. Existing studies in Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) advertisements have centred on describing its history, vocabulary items, standard orthography and aspects of grammar but there is a paucity of research on the information structure of pidgin texts. This study, therefore, investigated information structure in NPE advertisements in print and electronic med...

A Postcolonial Ecofeminist Comparative Analysis Of War Fiction: The Case Of Arundhati Roy’s The God Of Small Things And Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half Of A Yellow Sun

ABSTRACT The main focus of the study was to comparatively analyse The God of Small Things (1997) by Arundhati Roy and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from a postcolonial ecofeminist perspective. Postcolonialism focuses on issues pertaining to power, culture, and religion in relation to humanity, whilst ecofeminism explores the links between the environment and women, connecting women to the epistemological understanding of nature. The research aimed at exploring the p...

Exploring Linguistic “Creativity” On Social Media: A Case Of Selected Posts By Namibians On Facebook, Twitter And Whatsapp

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study was to explore linguistic innovation, a case of selected posts by Namibian as expressed on social media platforms: Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. In addition, the study sought to identify the strategies of linguistic innovation and to examine the motivation behind this innovation. By assessing the extent that the innovated language deviates from standard English, the study was able to evaluate the distinction of the innovated language from “incorrec...

The Portrayal Of Women In Power And Politics In Chinua Achebe’s A Man Of The People And Anthills Of The Savannah

ABSTRACT This thesis analysed A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) by Chinua Achebe from a Stiwanism perspective. The study sought to explore Achebe’s ‘feminist ideological turn’ by analysing how women in power and politics are depicted in the two selected novels. The study also pursued an analysis of how education is used as a tool to transform the role of women in society as portrayed in the two selected novels. In addition, the study sought to analyse the m...

A Tale Of Two Namibian Political Parties: A Stylistic And Rhetorical Analysis Of The 2014 Election Manifestos Of Swapo And DTA

Abstract During the election campaign period in Namibia, different political parties attempt to use all means possible to convince the electorate. Political discourse is one of the most crucial means of persuasion that political parties employ to woo voters. Political parties design their election manifestos through the use of stylistic features and rhetorical devices as means of persuasion. This qualitative study examines and explains how stylistic features and rhetorical devices were used ...

An Analysis Of Rhetoric And Humour In Dudley’s Political Cartoons Published In 2012

ABSTRACT This dissertation is a rhetorical and humorous study of Dudley’s political cartoons. This thesis explored the use of rhetoric and humour in 25 Dudley’s political cartoons that were printed in 2012. All political cartoons were extracted from The Namibian newspaper. This was a qualitative study. Qualitative research design was chosen because of the descriptive nature of this study. This method is also good in gaining in-depth understanding and a clear description of the characteri...

Transitivity And Characterisation In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

ABSTRACT This study attempted to help bridge the gap between language and literature by using Halliday's Transitivity model in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a framework to explore characterisation in Achebe's Things Fall Apart (TFA). Halliday (1994) believes that language is “functional and systemic” and it is used to make meaning (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2014:23). The study focused on the process, participants and circumstances as well as patterns that are linked to Okwonko,...


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