CONSPIRACY: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF LANGUAGE OF POWER AND AGGRESSION IN JOHN KARGBO’S “LET ME DIE ALONE”

Ngozi Jovita N. Umelo (PhD)

Abstract


The inordinate quest for power over the throne of Mande kingdom generated conspiracy against chief Gbanya. This study explored the language of power and aggression that caused the death of chief Gbanya, Queen Yoko and Jeneba in Kargbo’s “Let Me Die Alone”. The social structure as well as the social attributes of the characters were highlighted. De Hands and Maxwell’s (1996) social exclusion theory formed the theoretical framework. A qualitative approach was adopted to analyze thirty-five (35) excerpts from the study text that constituted the data. It was discovered that the social attribute of sex was major reason Lamboi and Musa through language of aggression conspired and poisoned chief Gbanya to death in order to take over the throne of Mande chiefdom. It was also revealed that Lamboi and Musa murdered Jeneba and accused Queen Yoko of the crime so as to be in charge of the chiefdom. The study therefore, recommended that power should not be lopsided in order to avert envy, conspiracy and death of particular persons in the society.


Keywords


Language, Sociolinguistic, Conspiracy, Power and Aggression.

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