It's better to die before dishonour: Linguistic creativity and the negotiation of meaning in the Nigerian Army community of practice

Authors

  • Eyo Mensah

    Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), University of Ghana
  • Beatrice Oreoluwa

    University of Lagos
  • Offiong Ebong

    University of Calabar
  • Benjamin Nyong

    Arthur Jarvis University
  • God'sgift Uwen

    University of Calabar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59400/fls.v5i2.1610

Abstract

This article investigates emblematic language use and the negotiation of meaning with particular emphasis on generative mechanisms like jargon and slang in two Nigerian Army barracks in Calabar municipality, Cross River State, south-eastern Nigeria. The study is anchored in a linguistic ideology framework which is grounded in beliefs and values people have towards explicit and implicit language use in a particular communicative context. Drawing on qualitative ethnographic data sourced through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants who were purposively sampled, the authors argue that jargon and slang are indexical linguistic resources that enable military personnel to create diverse new meanings in the informal linguistic ecology of the army. We conclude that beyond helping to create a new linguistic convention in the barracks, jargon and slang also facilitate the construction of professional identity, enact inclusion/exclusion and sustain dominant values and professional ethos. The study focuses on ways of interpreting the specificity of the military world and the reality of dominance through the prism of these linguistic specimens. Jargon and slang, therefore, offer a firmer lens to appreciate the army's social universe and subjectivities, and more broadly to enhance an understanding of contextually embedded social practices in the military.

Keywords:

linguistic creativity, identity, slang, jargon, Nigerian Army, community of practice, linguistic ideology, military sociolect

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Vol. 5 , Iss. 2 (September 2023)

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Copyright © 2023 Eyo Mensah, Beatrice Oreoluwa, Offiong Ebong, Benjamin Nyong, God'sgift Uwen

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