Culture and Language in African Literature

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CULTURE AND LANGUAGE IN AFRICAN LITERATURE: A STUDY OF CHINUA ACHEBE’S ARROW OF GOD By Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (mahfouzade2@yahoo.com) Department of English, University of Ilorin, Ilorin Nigeria. Culture and Language in African Literature: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God Mahfouz A. Adedimeji Abstract There is a symbiotic relationship between language, culture and literature as each reinforces, projects and distills the other. The need for the projection of African culture had informed the development of modern African literature which serves to enlighten, educate and showcase African worldview, practices and problems. Against the Conradian misinformed notion of Africans as a people without culture, this paper discusses aspects of African cultural values highlighted in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. The artistic dexterity of Achebe as a leading African literary icon is examined as he weaves African culture into English language in a novel that has re-constructed and corrected in a compelling story the subjective portrayal of Africa, the cradle of civilization, as a heart of darkness. The paper discusses the thematic, cultural and linguistic patterns of Arrow of God as a powerful literature from Africa by an African conscious of his immediate and remote environments. Keywords: Ibo culture, African literature, Achebe’s language, themes. 1.0. Introduction Culture is a dynamic phenomenon encompassing the totality of attitudes, behaviors, beliefs and world-views. It is an integral part of every human society and all social groups are characterized by it. In other words, it is that “complex pattern of behavior and material achievement which are produced, learned and shared by members of a community” (Ameh, 2002: 165). Basic to the meaning of culture is a sense of refinement as the denotation of being “cultured” suggests. Every human community has its

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