Euphemism and contextual beliefs in gender-related issues in Helon Habila’s Measuring Time

Abstract

This study examined how euphemism and contextual beliefs are deplored in discourse to characterise gender issues in Helon Habila’s Measuring Time in order to determine the contextual beliefs associated with such euphemistic expressions. Euphemism and contextual beliefs are essential in understanding the ways by which literary writers depict social issues through lexical and stylistic choices. The study adopts aspects of politeness theory, and the contextual beliefs (CBs) model. Excerpts from the novel that are related to widowhood/widowerhood experiences are subjected to lexical and discourse analyses. Two CBs are categorised as widowhood/widowerhood issues in the novel: Shared Knowledge of Patriarchal Laxity (SKPL) and Shared Knowledge of Loneliness/Companionship Search (SKL/CS). These CBs projected the euphemistic expressions with different underlying structures for widowhood and widowerhood practices respectively. The study found that euphemism and contexts are correlated because context could influence the interpretation of euphemism or restrict its application. Evidently, euphemism and contextual beliefs transform into a significant whole which novelists use in the gendered construction of widowhood/widowerhood.