Linguistic Innovations in Zambian Literary Text: The Example of Malama Katulwende’s Bitterness

Abstract

It has been observed that, in a multilingual environment where two or more languages and cultures are in contact, there is bound to be cultural-linguistic interferences. Such is the case with African literature of English expression where writers, as a result of colonialism, are at times compelled to relate their word views in colonial language (i.e. English) which does not easily express the African socio-cultural reality. To cope with this artistic dilemma, African writers employ various writing techniques to express their beliefs, values, and experiences. Based exclusively on the examples from Malama Katulwende's Bitterness (2005), this paper attempts to examine how this contemporary Zambian writer has appropriated and reconstructed the English language in his text in order to convey what Sridhar (1982: 295) calls the mode of feelings and thinking peculiar to the writer's cultural milieu. The paper starts out by outlining some of the debates around literatures in African languages, and then moves to a close reading of the novel. The argument made here is that, in his novel, Katulwende uses some linguistic processes which include direct lexical transfer, semantic shifts, loanwords, code-mixing, transliteration, proverbs and imagery. My study observes that, although Katulwende has sometimes deviated linguistically from Standard English, he has not falsified the English language. Rather, he has been able to bridge the gap between the various local discourses and the appropriate English language diction suitable to the characters and themes he depicts. The paper also contends that linguistic innovations in Katulwende's story offers an outlet for language creativity and put a new life in the imported language. Finally, the paper concludes by suggesting that in this age of globalization, African writers cannot afford to deny their works a wider readership; therefore, they should consider the appropriation and reconstitution of English as a medium of African literature.