A stylistic comparison of Swahili prose and poetry: the case of lexical cohesion

This study is a lexically – based stylistic comparison of prose and poetry, using the cohesion framework as developed by Halliday and Hasan (1979). The study endeavours to firstly investigate stylistic differences at the lexical cohesion level and secondly to compare and contrast prose and poetry from the point of view of the aims and genre of the individual texts. In chapter one there is a general introduction to the study which outlines the theoretical framework which was relied upon and the texts which were analysed. Essentially the texts analysed were Rose Mistika by Kezilahabi (1971) and Kuli by Shafi (1979) in the case of prose, for the case of poetry the poems are “Mkesha”,. “Hadithi ya Mzee,” “Chai ya jioni” by kazilahabi (1974), (1988), “Sima na Mayai”,. “Hadithi ya Mzee,” “Chai ya jioni” and “Buyu la kaya limevunjika” by kahigi (1976). The texts were categorized in terms of analysis essentially states that lexical cohesion is closely linked to the overall devices.in this same chapter, the background to the controversial definition of style is briefly discussed. More specifically the controversy over whether style is “choice” or “difference” or whether it exists at all is clarified. The significance of the study is stated to be the contribution to which the study makes to Swahili stylistics and criticism on one hand, and Swahili discourse analysis and interpretation. This is an aspect that has never been systematically studied before. The research questions to be addressed are described in terms of the need to discern what kind of lexical cohesive devices are used with regard to intention and genre. Chapter two reviews the literature in terms of the works that have dealt with linguistically oriented studies of Swahili texts. Of these there are several but it is only Kahigi (1988) and Mohammed (1986) who deal specifically with the aspect of cohesion.Both these works show show that the analysis of cohesion can provide interesting and helpful insights to the composition and arrangements of texts.However it is shown in this chapter that a gap exits in the knowledge we have about Swahili lexical cohesion.Linguists such as Hoey (1994), Tadros (1994), Francis (1994) and hunston (1994) show that the use of Holiday and Hasa’s theory framework of lexical cohesion can help determine such matters as predictive categories in expository texts and the signaling of the organization and of evaluation in written discourse. This chapter also looks at the theory of lexical cohesion as it is describe essentially by Halliday and Hasan (1976) and the other linguists as mentioned above. The other theoretical framework used in that of viewing style as a matter of a “choice” in what cohesive devices to use or as a matter of “difference” in the cohesive devices one chooses to use. Chapter three presents the method of data collection and analysis and a synopsis of what each individual text is about. The data consists of poems and prose excerpts, selected by use of the criteria of description, narration and exposition. The analysis of lexical cohesion follows the principles articulated by Halliday and Hasan (1976) Kahigi (1988) halliday and Hasan(1976 do not make analyses of poetic text and therefore do not provide a method of analysis for this particular genre. The present study has had the task of formulating a methodology that is appropriate for the analysis of lexical cohesion using alternative models devised by Tadros (1994), Francis (1994) Hoey (1994) and Hunston (1994). Will only be done to the prose texts. Since poetry as a genre is different from prose. It is more of a compact and intense genre where for example one does not need to signal as much as in prose. The four chapter consists of data analysis, which locks at the cohesion analysis, with a tabular presentation of the findings and consideration on the inter and intra genre similarities and differences between the aims. Attention is also drawn to the alternative lexical cohesion analysis provided by other linguists such as Hoey (1994) Francis (1994), Hunston (1994) and Tadros (1994) and their findings. The analysis is followed by an interpretation of the findings which involves relating the linguistic findings to the literary function. The last chapter provides a chapter by chapter summary of the lexical cohesion analysis. The hypotheses put forward are tested and a general conclusion is drawn from the fact that there were similarities and differences among the texts, these were a result of the tends having different aims and belonging to different genres.