Abstract
In the Yoruba Nollywood film industry, there is a crop of non-native actors who are fluent in their native language and also conversant in the Yoruba language. These actors fail to articulate the level of believability in indigenised Yoruba cultural films, due to the linguistic impediment of their native language in the required diction of cultural films. This paper refers to them as polyglots and discusses their inability to acculturate linguistically in culture-based films through characterisation, diction, gesticulations and socio-cultural nuances. This paper, therefore, explores the inadequacy of language delivery due to linguistic impediment of the native language of select polyglot actors in Yoruba Nollywood films as a hindrance to adequate interpretation of Yoruba language. Three non- native actors in native Yoruba films were studied, and their linguistic performances were content analysed in line with the impediment of their mother tongue. The paper adopts the Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura, which identifies the impact of language on the audience, and sees the actor as a part of models to either elevate or denigrate ethical values of language in society. The research is premised on Qualitative method of research in analysing the visual film materials to identify linguistic strength and deficiency of the Yoruba language in performance. Findings show that actors who underplay nativity through language undervalue linguistic appreciation of the audience, and also reduce the cultural values the films are meant to propagate.
Highlights
Nollywood is the Nigerian film industry, following the American film culture, Hollywood, as well as Bollywood in India
Because of its accessibility to a broader audience, the dramatic genre of films is an aesthetic and valuable tool of communication, primarily because of its audio-visual nature, for this reason, this study examines the linguistic ability of polyglot actors in selected cultural movies and how linguistic impediment affects the general output of performance and its impact on the audience
The Social Learning Theory is about impact as it affects the viewing audience; polyglot actors selected in the study to explore the impact of nativity within the framework of culture and language, and in characterization of indigenous films
Summary
Nollywood is the Nigerian film industry, following the American film culture, Hollywood, as well as Bollywood in India. The mother tongue referred to as the 'first language' of contact has an overbearing influence on the indigenous dialect and the implication of this influence has led to linguistic impediment for any other language spoken by the native speaker Such influence, which includes elements of speech, such as, intonation, rhyme, speech and sounds, affect the target language, which in most cases is the second or third language. The Social Learning Theory is about impact as it affects the viewing audience; polyglot actors selected in the study to explore the impact of nativity within the framework of culture and language, and in characterization of indigenous films. Idowu Phillips (Mama Rainbow) and Lanre Adesina Hassan (Iya Awero) are passively competent polyglots, they speak English and Yoruba, conversationally
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