The linguistic impact of parenthetical expressions: A study of the suns of independence of Ahmadou Kourouma

Abstract

This paper examines the use and linguistic impact of parenthetical expressions in The Suns of Independence of Ahmadou Kourouma, a renowned francophone African writer from the Ivory Coast. One of the remarkable features in the writings of Kourouma is the rate at which he uses some forms of syntactic structures which are embedded in main clauses but do not contribute to their immediate meaning. These are the types of syntactic structures we refer to as parenthetical expressions. The study identifies and analyses the various forms of parenthetical expressions in use in the novel. The objective of this identification and analysis is to establish the linguistic impact of their use and relevance to social discourse. It also helps to determine their contribution to meaning in a bilingual or multilingual, polyphonic discourse situations such as what we find in this novel of Kourouma The study is conducted on the basis of data collected on the phenomenon from the novel and examined through the theoretical frameworks of critical discourse analysis and literary reflections. It establishes that much as parenthetical expressions do not partake in the truth-conditions of the sentences in which they appear, they contribute substantially to the global understanding and interpretation of their meanings. The paper consequently concludes that parenthetical expressions as used in The Suns of Independence are peculiarities of oral speech which have found their ways into written text. They help to create an atmosphere of linguistic reality as they reaffirm the conversational and humorous tone of the text. They also enhance the understanding of implied sociolinguistic and cultural meanings of the series of events that make the stories in the novel. As such, they contribute to the stylistic exploit of Kourouma as a renowned novelist in African literature