UNKNOWN GROUP MEMBERS

The linguistic structural approach is an approach to practical criticism based on the understanding that language is a raw material and a medium of expression. The major assumption of this approach is that a literally text is made of words and uses words to communicate its meaning. According to John M, Moyer and Alene, 2014, Social dynamics can refer to the behavior of groups that results from the interactions of individual group members. It is concerned with changes over time and emphasizes the role of feedback. It focuses on individual level behavior and recognizes the importance of heterogeneity across individuals; that is behavior changes over time. Language is dynamic and therefore it changes in terms of the meaning of words in that some words no longer mean what they used to mean. The language historian Anne Curzan takes a closer look at these phenomenon and shares some words that used to mean something totally different from what they mean now. Such words include, “fantastic” which used to mean something that exists in one’s imagination but now it means something that it is very incredible, “unique” which used to mean something silly and foolish now means something very unusual, “spinster” which used to mean women who spun now means an unmarried woman and “gay” which used to mean happy now means a homosexual. However according to the question, handling social dynamics is much more related to the author’s use of language to create meaning. Author play with words and change their meaning to give a clear understanding of the text to the reader. Social dynamics is also related to pragmatics and semantics which deal with the contextual meaning of words and the meaning of words in a language respectively. As per the question, we chose to use Chinua Achebe’s “Arrow of God” page 100 because the author chooses to play with words depending on the context to bring the meaning of the text near to the reader. For instance the author uses the word “cooking” through Akuebue who says, “You forget that a woman who began cooking before another must have broken utensils” By “cooking” in the above sentence Chinua Achebe does not mean the real act of preparing food but rather having had sexual encounters. This implies that language is open ended because the word “cooking” is not only limited to preparing food but can be socially used in deferent ways depending on the context. Still in the above sentence, the words “broken utensils” do not mean the written materials. It rather means widened private parts because of experience in sexual affairs. This also indicates that language changes in time and therefore not static. The author also uses the words “palm wine” through the same character Akuebue who says, “…, those who give good advice and those who only speak the words of palm wine.” In this case, “palm wine” is used to mean atrocity or irritation. This language change through change of meaning of words shows that language is dynamic. Last but not least Chinua Achebe through Akuebue in the last paragraph of chapter nine says, “That’s why we say that whatever tune you play in the compound of a great man, there is always someone to dance to it.” By “tune” Akuebue means any activity taking place in a compound of a great man but not the series of musical tone that are sung or played. And by “dance” he means doing or taking part in the activities that take place in a great man’s compound. REFERENCES; John .M. Moyer and Alene (2014), Trends in Applied Linguistics: Social Dynamics in Second Language Accent, Columbia University Press, page 10. Chinua Achebe (1964), Arrow of God, Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria) limited. The Text, page 100. Anne Curzan (2012) How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. Pearson Longman 3rd Edition, University of Michigan