The Use of Orality in the Short Stories of A. C. Jordan, Mtutuzeli Matshoba, Njabulo Ndebele and Bessie Head

Bibliographic Data

ID7861702
AuthorsCraig Mackenzie (0000-0001-8723-7550, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume28
Issue2
Pages347-358
Publication date2002-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070220140748
OpenAlexW2071364253
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited3

The deployment of oral forms in the written work of African writers is a more complex process than would perhaps appear at first sight. Frequently theorised about but seldom achieved, the effective transposition of the oral into the written involves successfully negotiating the ontological gap between oral and written modes. This entails a shift from the spoken to the written word, from live audience to absent reader, from reciprocity and interaction to a process of private interpretation removed (sometimes distantly) in time and place. This article examines attempts by four South African writers to deploy elements of orality in their written stories. It argues that the stories of Jordan and Matshoba are the most conspicuously oral-derived, and yet are the least satisfactory as (written) literary works. Ndebele thematises orality in his stories without, however, allowing this to become an integral part of the narrative style of his work, while Head is the most successful 'oral stylist' of the four in bridging the gap between oral and literary modes

Art · Literature · Narrative · Oral history · Oral literature · Oral tradition · Orality · Sociology · Storytelling · Anthropology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · History · Media, Communication, and Education · Multilingual Education and Policy

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