Browsing by Author "Emvula, Kaarina"

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    A comparative study of selected Namibian autobiographies through a cognitive stylistics approach
    (Namibia University of Science and Technology, 2022-05) Emvula, Kaarina
    Through a cognitive stylistics lens and with a focus on the image schema theory, this qualitative desktop study aims to compare and contrast the linguistic expressions used to narrate exile experience of older women who went in exile to those of young women who were born and/or reared in exile. The linguistic expressions studied in the study were obtained using a narrative approach, in which a content analysis checklist was used to collect data from four selected autobiographies, namely Taming my Elephant by Tshiwa Troudie Amulungu, South West Africa to Namibia: My Personal Struggle by FousyShinana-Kambombo, Valentina: The Exile Child by Valentina Nghiwete, and Child No. 95: My German-African Odyssey by Lucia Engombe. The autobiographies were analysed by first comparing how basic image schema can be used as cognitive tools in conceptualising exile experiences; secondly, analysing how different image schemas, namely SOURCE-PATH-GOAL, BALANCE, CONTAINER, and LINK, can be used to understand abstract linguistic extensions and meaning; and finally, investigating the impact of exile experiences on second generation exiles in a post-independent Namibia through a cognitive lens. The majority of linguistic terms employed in autobiographical narrations were found to be based on the four image schema at either the concrete or abstract levels, according to the study.The study also found that all autobiographies used figurative languages that were based on the various image schemas used in the study. More in-depth research in applied linguistics is necessary in order to appreciate the complexities that the exile women faced while in exile and how these experiences influenced their lives in post-independence Namibia. The study concludes that the embodied image schema offers a fundamental conceptual structure of experiences and the basis of a person's story schema is his or her own embodied actions. It furthers concludes that image schemas can be utilised to grasp both physical structures and abstract extensions of linguistic utterances allowing for the comprehension of both literal and figurative languages. The study recommends that further studies on the role of image schematic structure in deducing and conceptualising the meaning of abstract and figurative reasoning in literal language in Namibian context needs to be done.
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    Comparing the exile and return memories of Namibian women in the Namibian autobiographies
    (Namibia Educational Reform Forum Journal, 2023-08) Emvula, Kaarina; Woldemariam, Haileleul Zeleke
    This article compares the expressions used to recount the memories of women who lived in exile with those born and raised in exile from a predominantly cognitive stylistics image schema theory. The linguistic expressions compared were obtained from the four Namibian autobiographies namely Tshiwa Troudie Amulungu’s in Taming my elephant, Fousy Shinana-Kambombo’s Southwest Africa to Namibia, in My personal struggle, Valentina Nghiwete’s Valentina: The exile child and Lucia Engombe’s Child No. 95: My German African Odyssey. The autobiographies were examined by comparing how basic image schema such as SOURCE-PATH-GOAL, BALANCE, CONTAINER, and LINK can be used as a cognitive tool in dissecting the exile experience, understanding abstract linguistic expressions and meaning as well as explaining the impact of exile experiences on second generation refugees in a post-independent Namibia. The article concludes that the majority of linguistic phrases used in autobiographical narrations were found to be based on the four-image schema either at the concrete or at the abstract levels. Further, the article concludes that all the autobiographies examined have used figurative languages based on the various image schemas theory.