Internet-mediated Language and style in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

Abstract

The astounding development in Information Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed all fields of human endeavours and provided various media that writers employ in their literary texts. As rich as internet-mediated language and style are in the study of Adichie’s Americanah, there are paucity of scholarly studies that discussd their linguistic features and relevance. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the aspects of internet-mediated language and style used in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. This study adopted Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) and this theory is dichotomised into synchronous and asynchronous modes. Synchronous modes comprise telephone conversations and instant messaging whereas asynchronous modes include e-mails, blogs and text messages. Methodologically, this study selected Adichie’s Americanah as a primary source using judgemental sampling. The documentary sources were obtained via journal articles, textbooks, dictionaries, dissertations and theses that boosted this study’s review. As for data presentation and analysis, the author read Americanah; selected Internet-mediated (IM) features; classified them into blogs, e-mails, text messages and telephone conversations and analysed them. One of the findings is that IM style saves time and enhances quick narration than letters. Secondly, the domestication of IM jargons in Americanah also indicates that the language of ICT is relevant in literature. Lastly, IMC is a recent style that Adichie employs in Americanah. This study will have tremendous impacts on English, Linguistics, Mass Communication, ICT and Literature students, researchers, scholars and lecturers.