A Linguistic-Stylistic Representation of Women Oppression in Selected Calixthe Beyala’s Novels

Abstract

Calixthe Beyala is a notable French writer whose works have attracted readership across the globe. Previous studies have examined Calixthe Beyala’s novels from feminist, psychological, and systemic function linguistic points of view with insufficient attention paid to the linguistic stylistic features in Calixthe Beyala’s novels. This study, therefore, examines linguistic-stylistic representation of women oppression in Calixth Beyala’s novels. Four novels of Calixthe Beyala are purposively selected and form the data for this study. The study reveals that linguistic-stylistic features-culture words, contraction of words, neologism, pidgin French, direct transfer of African expressions characterize Beyalian novels. These linguistic-stylistic features depict women oppressions in a male-dominated African society, negritude experience outside the shores of Africa and are a representation of the socio-cultural, political, and economic realities and experiences in Cameroon in particular and Africa in general.

Keywords: women oppression, Calixthe Beyala, linguistic-stylistics, and women representation

DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/75-07

Publication date: January 31^st 2021