LANGUAGE AND MUSIC: A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED SONGS OF FELA ANIKULAPO-KUTI

Abstract

Music (or songs) is a fundamental manifestation of language use
because it has the quality of portraying and reflecting society, as well
as triggering discussions and reactions from listeners. In making up
their lyrics, musical artists exhibit their pragmatic intents explicitly
and implicitly. This aids listeners in decoding their message vis-à-vis
the context of the musical rendition. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in his
songs, exhibited his understanding of this phenomenon. Thus, he
employed the available linguistic repertoire to pass his messages
pragmatically, further highlighting how language in songs can
influence, resist, and act. However, there is a dearth of research on
the pragmatic features of his songs. Hence, the specific objectives of
this paper are to highlight the speech acts performed by Fela in the
selected songs, how his utterances in the songs convey meanings in
relation to context, and the forms of speech acts performed. To
achieve this, Searle’s (1969) speech act theory is adopted as the
theoretical framework to enable the researchers to analyse Fela’s
lyrics, not just as poetic or musical expressions, but as actions
entrenched in a social and political struggle. Similarly, the qualitative
content analysis is adopted as the research method to interpret the
meanings and intentions inherent in the Fela’s lyrics; the selection
of songs is based on relevance to key pragmatic functions, and for
the literature review, related materials were retrieved from the
Internet and the library. The analysis reveals that Fela’s songs
challenge authority, conscientize listeners, and call for mass
mobilisation for resistance. Through the lens of Searle’s Speech
Theory, this emphasises the utilitarian function of language as a
communicative tool for social change.