Foregrounding and contemporary francophone literature: Appraisal of Lexical Creation in selected Novels of Alain Mabanckou
Abstract
Foregrounding, the act of drawing attention to certain aspects of texts, is a common feature in francophone literary texts, including Mabanckou’s African Psycho and Black Bazar. Previous studies on the selected texts have hinged on the thematic, cultural and linguistic features with little attention to their means of foregrounding. This study, therefore, investigates the major form of foregrounding, with a view of determining the writer’s prominent technique of placing emphasis on specific thematic thrust in the selected texts based on their stylistic affinities. Arnold’s theory of foregrounding is adopted as theoretical framework. The study design is interpretive. Data drawn from the selected were subjected to stylistic and textual analysis. The study identifies nominal creation as a veritable means of meaning projection in the selected text. It serves as a key technique of deviational foregrounding, enabling creative linguistic manipulation for stylistic and thematic effect. In African Psycho, long hyphenated and newly coined words highlight social realities, irony, and humour through the naming of streets and institutions. In Black Bazar, nominal creation foregrounds identity, ethnicity, and hybridity among African diasporic characters, using innovative compound names to express national and racial contrasts. Through this technique, Mabanckou fuses linguistic play with socio-cultural commentary, transforming language into a vehicle for exploring postcolonial realities. Overall, lexical inventions enrich the aesthetic texture of contemporary African francophone literature while reflecting the complexities of migration, identity, and cultural interaction.
