Code-Mixing in Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Trafficked and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Code-mixing, a unique sociolinguistic/language phenomenon constitutes the focus of this work. This concept is thoroughly explored in Akachi Ezeigbo’s Trafficked and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, in line with the fact that literature is a window to the world. The thesis of the work is that in everyday exploration/use of language and language resources for communication, code-mixing essentially becomes an inevitable tool for bilingual and multilingual interactions. A qualitative analysis of both Ezeigbo’s Trafficked and Adichei’s Purple Hibiscus was carried out in order to determine the motivation behind code-mixing, its functions and relevance in both novels. Altogether, eighteen (18) conversations involving code-mixing in the two novels were analyzed based on Howard Giles’ communication accommodation theory (CAT), which emphasizes the need for adjustment - verbal and non-verbal - in one’s speech behaviour in order to reduce social differences, as well as accommodate other interactants with whom one communicates. The analysis revealed that given the complex language situation in Nigeria - the contact between Nigerian indigenous languages and English - codemixing therefore becomes the most effective strategy employed by Nigerians in a multilingual and bicultural society such as Nigeria, to fully capture the people’s peculiar cultural and linguistic nuances and experiences. This is what Ezeigbo’s and Adichie’s characters reveal. Code-mixing as used by the novelists in their works, also relate to characters’ specific moods and emotions, as well as their group identity. Thus, this paper also examines the modality by which code-mixing makes it easy for the authors to convey their messages to their audience, who readily appreciate the message, given the common linguistic background.

Keywords: Code-Mixing Sociolinguistic Bilingual Multilingual Bicultural

Author

• David Peter Nsungo
  Department of English,
  University of Uyo, Nigeria