Language As A Power Positioning Tool: National Open University Of Nigeria(Noun) English Course Materials As Genderised Examples

Iyabode Omolara Akewo Daniel*
* School of Arts and Social Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Periodicity:July - September'2013
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.3.2415

Abstract

Language is a means of identity formation, definition and construction. This study investigates the language of NOUN course materials for gender neutrality. The English course materials randomly selected across subject areas in the English programme are used as data source. The theoretical base of corpus linguistics within the frame work of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used to investigate the phenomenon of gender based choices of NOUN course writers to the end of determining their unconscious political stance in the gender politics. Frequency count of the occurrences of the gender pronouns ‘he, she and they’ are analysed in twenty-three course materials. Line graph and pie charts are constructed based on the collected data. It was found that the gender pronoun ‘she’ is subsumed to the gender pronoun ‘he’ in terms of frequency of usage. Even where it appears that attempts have been made to employ gender sensitivity through a wide usage of the gender neutral ‘they’, it is found that many of the writers that seem to do this are also those that used the male pronoun the most, thus leaving a state of identity indeterminateness in terms of power positioning. It is recommended that NOUN needs to enforce the actualisation of its policy statement on the issue in order to undermine the hegemonic tendencies through determined inclusiveness.

Keywords

NOUN Course Materials, Gender Politics, Corpus Linguistics, Power Positioning.

How to Cite this Article?

Daniel, I. O. A. (2013). Language As A Power Positioning Tool: National Open University Of Nigeria (Noun) English Course Materials As Genderised Examples. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(3), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.3.2415

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