Abstract:

Modern African writers employ language artistically to create lucid texts. Through the functional use of language, these writers are able to convey their thoughts vividly to capture the African culture and experience. This paper, therefore, examined the creative use of language in the play The Black Hermit. It explored Ngugi’s language choice in the drama and the peculiar techniques he used in luring his readers to real African world. Through the Systematic Functional Linguistics, the researchers analysed the language based on the six process types of English transitivity. It was discovered that the writer innovatively used figurative language, adjusted expressions, transliteration and indigenous language to create an authentic African drama which portrayed the cultural heritage of his people. Also, the linguistic study portrayed the ideational meta-functional processes found in the text. It was discovered from the transitivity analysis that the material process was the most prevalent. The other processes discovered were in the forms of relational, mental and verbal processes. The paper concluded that Ngugi’s use of language showed a lot of linguistic craftsmanship. His language portrayed the socio-cultural ideas and ideals in Marua tribe and also gave a lot of vigour and clarity to his work.