Language And Culture: The Role Of Language In Nollywood

Language, both literally and figuratively, speaks volumes about a culture. In a very practical sense language is the very basis for communication within any group of people. When discussing culture, it is impossible to disregard the role of language because of the array of necessary functions that it serves in human interaction. Beyond the base role of physically communicating, language also helps delineate cultural boundaries such as ethnic groups or tribes. Upon analysis of the use of language within different ethnic groups and how that interplays with the culture of that group, language can be seen as a mechanism that not only communicates words but also ideas and values. The use of all aspects of a language including the formal, slang,

Therefore, language can be used as an indicator of cultural changes over time. Clearly, changes in a culture are going to influence what people in said culture talk about, and it will also change how they communicate. In an increasingly modern world, many languages are rapidly adapting to become more globalized which reflects the greater global involvement of cultural groups. This phenomenon can be seen in the use of pidgin English in Nollywood. Because Nollywood movies had to be produced such that it was understood throughout Nigeria and as time went on throughout the world, it needed to exploit a lingual practice that was more all-inclusive. This happened in Nollywood through a shift from movies initially being produced in culturally specific languages to movies being produced in a lingua franca such as pidgin English or simply English. This shift in movie making language reflected a cultural shift because Nollywood grew to be a globally competitive movie making industry. This use of creolized language is a common trend, especially where African people are trying to produce a distinct cultural product that could potentially be a cosmopolitan product. Examples of this are the use of creolized language in Senegalese rap or perhaps "Sheng" in mainstream Kenyan culture. In all these cases Language adapted as culture adapted to an increasingly

People in every culture carefully choose the words they use to convey their ideas. By doing this they not only communicate their ideas but also their feelings about these topics. In western societies this can be seen as over time society has changed the language they use to describe people, specifically people of colour and people of different sexualities. This change in the use of certain types of language and the lack of use of more frank language reflects the changing values of western societies. In this case, language reflects the more tolerant and inclusive ideals that have been instituted. A similar occurrence can be observed in Tanzanian culture. Specifically, the nature of the language used in conversations regarding "Popobawa". Prof. Thompson's lecture discussed the widespread folklore regarding this mystical spirit that engaged in sexually taboo acts. The existence of this type of folklore demonstrates an interest in spirituality and its interaction with the human world that is present in Tanzanian culture. The way Popobawa is discussed, specifically among gay men, also demonstrates the values of Tanzanian culture. Because gay men feel the need to communicate amongst each other by masking their desires with the story of Popobawa shows the demonization of homosexuality as a whole in