MULTILINGUALISM IN NIGERIAN LITERATURE: A STUDY OF CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

This paper seeks to discover the features of multilingualism as portrayed in Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun; to determine the extent to which the writer has accommodated aspects of her native culture and language into the English language. The paper is based on the descriptive survey design. The bulk of the data is obtained through content-analysis of the novel. Adichie in her novel exposes the Igbo world-view and language to the larger world at the same time as she uses the English language. There are numerous instances of code-switching/ mixing, translations, and transliterations in the novel. The novel also exposes the complex interplay of the natural and supernatural in the actions of an average Igbo person. The novel is a typical example of the growing consciousness of contemporary Nigerian writers for a cultural adaptation of the English language in Nigeria. This paper stresses the importance of multilingualism for Nigerian writers and Nigerians. Proficiency in both the English Language and their own native language is needed to showcase their identity in the global literary world. The paper acts as a prompt to Nigerian writers of literature, to creatively employ the English Language and infuse the language into Nigerian usages and culture as Adichie has done