Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God
This study explores the linguistic selection focusing on the use of N-word choice by African-American fiction writers. This study explains the basic concepts of language and language use, language as a text and discourse, and also the function it plays within the context. With Halliday and Hassan's semantic set of choices, this study argues that Zora Neale Hurston does not seem aware of consciously using N-words in her novel, but her use of Nword linguistic choice to communicate the theme of race is in line with her true reflection of the society and culture she is born and bred in. Hurston might have used N-word deliberately both to appropriate lexical choice with that of characters' roles as many of the Harlem Renaissance writers did and to establish a kind of community building and collective cultural solidarity, the major determinants of Hurston's use of the N-word in Their Eyes Were Watching God.
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Afro-American, Corpus, Harlem Renaissance, N-Word, Semantics
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(1) Rizwan Aftab
Lecturer, Department of English, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Asim Aqeel
Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities & Linguistics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Saba Zaidi
Assistant Professor, Department of English, SBK Women's University, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.
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Cite this article
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APA : Aftab, R., Aqeel, A., & Zaidi, S. (2021). Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Global Social Sciences Review, VI(I), 65-72. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).08
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CHICAGO : Aftab, Rizwan, Asim Aqeel, and Saba Zaidi. 2021. "Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Global Social Sciences Review, VI (I): 65-72 doi: 10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).08
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HARVARD : AFTAB, R., AQEEL, A. & ZAIDI, S. 2021. Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Global Social Sciences Review, VI, 65-72.
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MHRA : Aftab, Rizwan, Asim Aqeel, and Saba Zaidi. 2021. "Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Global Social Sciences Review, VI: 65-72
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MLA : Aftab, Rizwan, Asim Aqeel, and Saba Zaidi. "Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Global Social Sciences Review, VI.I (2021): 65-72 Print.
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OXFORD : Aftab, Rizwan, Aqeel, Asim, and Zaidi, Saba (2021), "Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God", Global Social Sciences Review, VI (I), 65-72
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TURABIAN : Aftab, Rizwan, Asim Aqeel, and Saba Zaidi. "Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Global Social Sciences Review VI, no. I (2021): 65-72. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).08