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Item Politeness Techniques in Gikuyu: the Case of Chiefs' Courts in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang'a County(Kenyatta University, 2022-11) Kamau, Chege PeterPoliteness refers to the behaviour that is mindful of other individuals' face wants. It is used by people to reduce conflicts in their interactions. It also allows them to interact in a manner that does not threaten their faces and those of fellow interlocutors. The present study is in the universal field of pragmatics. This study sought to find out the politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts in Gatanga Sub-County, to establish how gender and social distance influenced the choice of politeness techniques in chiefs’ courts and how the various politeness techniques helped in conflict resolution in those courts. The motivation for the study was the centrality of polite language use in conflict resolution in chiefs’ courts. It was against this context that the present study was timely. The study used descriptive research design, which was ideal because it would help to establish the politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts during conflict resolution. The location of the study was Gatanga sub-county, Murang’a County. The choice was ideal because most of the inhabitants are Gikuyu speakers, who value and use politeness. The target population comprised of adult male and female Gikuyu speakers involved in conflict resolution in chiefs’ courts. Purposive sampling was used to obtain the sample. Purposive testing is a non-likelihood test that is chosen in view of qualities of a populace and the objective of the study. Data containing utterances with various politeness techniques was collected using video recording and observation. The study was guided by Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. The study established that four politeness techniques namely positive politeness techniques, negative politeness techniques, off-record and bald-on record techniques were used by chiefs and disputants in resolving conflicts. It was also established that gender and social distance influenced the choice of politeness techniques employed and that the four politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts contributed to conflict resolution in the selected courts. The study recommended that disputants embrace the use of politeness in resolving their conflicts and that males make more effort in using polite language in conflict resolution. It was therefore anticipated that the results of the proposed study may help to encourage the use of chiefs’ courts by the public in resolving their disputes.Item Language, Gender and Power Relations in the Debate on the Selected Bill in the 11th Parliament of Kenya(Kenyatta University, 2022-10) Odangah, Ceciliane NabwireAbstractItem Frame Analysis of Selected Kenyan Newspaper Headlines on Kenyan Cases at the International Criminal Court (2011-2016)(Kenyatta University, 2021-09) Chepkwony, Philip KipkoechAbstractItem Evaluating Chronotopes of Postcolonial Identity and belonging in Dinaw Mengestu’s Children of the Revolution and All Our Names(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Mogire, AlliceAbstractItem Absurdity of Love in Romantic Relationships in The Name of Our Fathers and a Sunday at the Pool in Kigali(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Onchwati, Stephenthe absurdity of love in thc.mm'anlic relationships in /n the Name of our Fathers and A Sunday at the pool in Kigali and the expression of deimmjc by the characters involved. It endeavours to analyse two major ideas, absurdity and romance in these primary texts. There is a convergence between !ove and romance semantically, thus this study employs the two words interchangeably — to convey the same meaning. Absurdity, as a phenomenon, is discussed in two sections as a progressive theory: absurdity in the novel as a genre and absurdity of love in these two primary texts. On romance, the study discusses the characteristics of romance novels in relation to absurdity and the two texts studied in order to distinguish areas of conformity or non-conformity thereof. Another integral aspect in this study is the comparison of the storyline of romance novels to those of the two works studied in reference to absurdity and conformity. The study examines in the two novels: the conformity of the two novels to the conventions of the characteristics and steps of the storyline of romance novels, the marriage stage as the major indicator of the absurdity of romantic relationships in the two novels under study and the aspects of absurdity in the two novels. The study uses the theory of the absurd to analyse the parallel romantic relationships in the two primary texts. The study employs a qualitative research methodology with textual analysis as the major method of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Primary data is drawn through close reading of the two primary texts. The data collected from the two primary texts was classified in relation to the study’s anticipated chapters. Secondary data was collected from related books, projects, theses, critics, scholarly journals from both print and the Internet. In the that include: that the marriage summative chapter, the study made several findings stage is the major indicator of absurdity in the romantic relationships, that the characteristics in the romantic relationships largely conformed to the characteristics of romance novels, that the romantic relationships in the two novels did not follow the formula of romantic novels and other aspects of absurdity in the romantic relationships. Areas of fun.her study, emanating from the findings, are suggested. It is expected that thls_ research develops new perspectives in the area of romance and hence contribute to the already vast knowledge in the field of the absurdity romantic love.Item Absurdity of Love in Romantic Relationships in the Name of Our Fathers and a Sunday at the Pool in Kigali(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Onchwati, Stephen71\]!(\71;' :fillld..\’ in‘\'c.sliguujs the absurdity of love in thc.mm'anlic relationships in /n the Name of our Fathers and A Sunday at the pool in Kigali and the expression of deimmjc by the characters involved. It endeavours to analyse two major ideas, absurdity and romance in these primary texts. There is a convergence between !ove and romance semantically, thus this study employs the two words interchangeably — to convey the same meaning. Absurdity, as a phenomenon, is discussed in two sections as a progressive theory: absurdity in the novel as a genre and absurdity of love in these two primary texts. On romance, the study discusses the characteristics of romance novels in relation to absurdity and the two texts studied in order to distinguish areas of conformity or non-conformity thereof. Another integral aspect in this study is the comparison of the storyline of romance novels to those of the two works studied in reference to absurdity and conformity. The study examines in the two novels: the conformity of the two novels to the conventions of the characteristics and steps of the storyline of romance novels, the marriage stage as the major indicator of the absurdity of romantic relationships in the two novels under study and the aspects of absurdity in the two novels. The study uses the theory of the absurd to analyse the parallel romantic relationships in the two primary texts. The study employs a qualitative research methodology with textual analysis as the major method of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Primary data is drawn through close reading of the two primary texts. The data collected from the two primary texts was classified in relation to the study’s anticipated chapters. Secondary data was collected from related books, projects, theses, critics, scholarly journals from both print and the Internet. In the that include: that the marriage summative chapter, the study made several findings stage is the major indicator of absurdity in the romantic relationships, that the characteristics in the romantic relationships largely conformed to the characteristics of romance novels, that the romantic relationships in the two novels did not follow the formula of romantic novels and other aspects of absurdity in the romantic relationships. Areas of fun.her study, emanating from the findings, are suggested. It is expected that thls_ research develops new perspectives in the area of romance and hence contribute to the already vast knowledge in the field of the absurdity romantic love.Item Absurdity of Love in Romantic Relationships in the Name of Our Fathers and a Sunday at the Pool in Kigali(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Onchwati, Stephen71\]!(\71;' :fillld..\’ in‘\'c.sliguujs the absurdity of love in thc.mm'anlic relationships in /n the Name of our Fathers and A Sunday at the pool in Kigali and the expression of deimmjc by the characters involved. It endeavours to analyse two major ideas, absurdity and romance in these primary texts. There is a convergence between !ove and romance semantically, thus this study employs the two words interchangeably — to convey the same meaning. Absurdity, as a phenomenon, is discussed in two sections as a progressive theory: absurdity in the novel as a genre and absurdity of love in these two primary texts. On romance, the study discusses the characteristics of romance novels in relation to absurdity and the two texts studied in order to distinguish areas of conformity or non-conformity thereof. Another integral aspect in this study is the comparison of the storyline of romance novels to those of the two works studied in reference to absurdity and conformity. The study examines in the two novels: the conformity of the two novels to the conventions of the characteristics and steps of the storyline of romance novels, the marriage stage as the major indicator of the absurdity of romantic relationships in the two novels under study and the aspects of absurdity in the two novels. The study uses the theory of the absurd to analyse the parallel romantic relationships in the two primary texts. The study employs a qualitative research methodology with textual analysis as the major method of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Primary data is drawn through close reading of the two primary texts. The data collected from the two primary texts was classified in relation to the study’s anticipated chapters. Secondary data was collected from related books, projects, theses, critics, scholarly journals from both print and the Internet. In the that include: that the marriage summative chapter, the study made several findings stage is the major indicator of absurdity in the romantic relationships, that the characteristics in the romantic relationships largely conformed to the characteristics of romance novels, that the romantic relationships in the two novels did not follow the formula of romantic novels and other aspects of absurdity in the romantic relationships. Areas of fun.her study, emanating from the findings, are suggested. It is expected that thls_ research develops new perspectives in the area of romance and hence contribute to the already vast knowledge in the field of the absurdity romantic love.Item The Syntactic Structure of the Prepositional Phrase in Kiigembe: A Minimalist Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2022-11) Gitonga, JacklineThis study focuse: 7 Kifgembey diale cts 2?. tt}:es};\l}[?gml structure otj the Prgpositional Phrase (PP) in t!le Program. It had three objectives Fflnguage with guidance from the Minimalist in Kiigembe. Secondly, to ide. t'lm, to descnbe.: the syntactic structure of the PP sentences and finally u’) detern;l' ify the semantic Toles of the PP in Kiigembe ascotinted For us; b ctermine whether the Kiigembe PP can be adequately d for using the Minimalist Program. We che he PP for thi h because it has not been the focus of - We shose. the FR.for L3 [5520ey Kiigembe dial s of many studies. Further, the choice of the SIE lialect stemmed from the fact that it has largely been ignored because it is not the dialect used in documented Lo 1BRCY on only the PP. In addit sources. In terms of scope, this study focused 4 *. In addition, the focus was only on the semantic roles and not the syntactic functions of the PP. The Minimalist Program guided this study. Its choice was based on the assumption that it is a universal theory, and therefore, it can 30001}111 for the grammars of all languages. The study was carried out in Kangeta location of Igembe Central constituency, Meru County, where the target dialect is dominant. The purposive sampling method was used to select a sample of ten re.spondem.s who included five female and five male speakers of the Kilgembe dialect. This study employed a descriptive research design. The data needed for this study was Kiigembe sentences from which PPs were extracted and analysed according to their structures. For each distinct structure, a Minimalist tree diagram was drawn for analysis. The data was collected using the informal conversational _recorder aided in capturing the data. In terms of structure, we omposed of a preposition, the head, and a ts take the complement position of the PP. These include the NP and PP and AdvP. We also observed that the PP in Kiigembe plays various semantic roles; locative, temporal, agent, source, direction, accompaniment and instrument. Finally, we found out that the PP in Kiigembe can be accounted for using the Minimalist program. Besides contributing to the studies carried out in the Kimeru in general, this study may also offer insights to scholars of dialectal studies to carry out a comparative analysis of Kiigembe and another the research findings are expected to variety of the Kimeru language. Moreover, r te enhance scholarly understanding of the structure of the Kimeru Prepositional phrase, and therefore, be a resourceful reference point for other related linguistic studies in phrasal syntax.Item Language -Based Games Application in English Grammar Teaching in Upper Primary: A Case of Kilifi county, Kenya(Kenyatta University, 2024-11) Akinyi, JulietThis research aimed at determining the pedagogical value of language games as an activity in teaching English grammar to upper primary pupils in Kilifi County. The research sought to: firstly, establish the activities that teachers use to teach grammar; secondly, determine the effect of language games as an activity in teaching grammar on the learner’s performance; thirdly, explore the perceptions of teachers' and learners’ towards language games as an activity to enhance the learning of grammar. Simple random method and Purposive were used to select the four schools as well as instructors used in the study. The study adopted an experimental research design. An observation schedule with a checklist for examining English teachers’ guides and the language activitics therein, focus group discussions with pupils and a questionnaire administered to teachers provided data which was analyzed qualitatively. Data was also obtained through the pre- and post-tests administered to pupils. Tests on the simple past and simple present tense were administered to them. Data from tests was analysed quantitatively through the Python programme. The programme generated a t-value using the t-test formula. The study was informed by the Communicative Approach to Language Teaching and Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory. Both theories advocate interaction in the course of learning. The following were the main findings of the study: Teachers teaching English grammar used several activities. Discussions and question and answer were the most used activities in teaching grammar, role plays, stories and language games were rarely given attention-with language games coming last. This study also found out that teachers and learners regarded games highly. They found them effective in teaching as they increased Icarner participation in the lesson, facilitated recall, provided immediate feedback to both the teacher and learner, fostered teamwork and collaboration among learners and brought fun in the lesson. From the findings, there was a significant difference between groups that used games and the control group. The experimental group did better than the control group. The study made a few rccommendations in regard to the findings and conclusions: teachers need to employ several language activities key among them games in their teaching in order to enhance learners’ linguistic and communicative competence in grammar, The study also recommended that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development incorporates language games in the language curriculum.Item Ecofeminist Aesthetics in Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People(Kenyatta University, 2024-08) Kiplangat, EdwinThis study engaged in an ecofeminist reading of Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People. The study examined the link between women and nature as depicted in the selected plays. It investigated how the playwrights employed characterisation to illuminate acts of capitalist destruction of the environment. Finally, it examined how the playwrights have deliberately employed dramatic structure and dramatic action to demonstrate patriarchal exploitation of women and its implications on the environment. Grounded on the argument that women and nature are interrelated, the study analysed the perceived link from a literary perspective. Moreover, the study stems from the need to address issues of environmental destruction and the exploitation of women. The study adopted ecofeminist theory, specifically, theoretical tenets on the nature-women confluence and the relationship between capitalism, patriarchy and the exploitation of nature and women. Using these theoretical arguments, the study delved into a critical analysis and interpretation of the selected literary texts in a bid to arrive at an understanding of the depiction of aspects of ecofeminist aesthetics in the texts. The study engaged qualitative research methodology and the plays were purposively sampled in line with the stated objectives. Primary data was gathered from a close reading of the plays under study. Secondary data was obtained from a thorough selection, reading and critical analysis of relevant print and audio-visual scholarly materials. The study established that there is a correlation between women and nature in terms of their nurturing abilities, exploitation and liberation. Further, under various categories, characters articulate acts of environmental destruction. It also established that the plays’ structure and action reveal patriarchal exploitation which negatively impacts the environment. The study adds to the body of knowledge the scholarly representation of the interrelation between women and nature and the implication of patriarchal capitalism on the two in the drama genre, while also advocating for the emancipation of women and environmental conservationItem Threats to Masculinities and their Implications on Characters in Meja Mwangi’s Selected Urban Fiction(Kenyatta University, 2023-12) Lpariyan, LengerdedThe study has investigated threats to masculinities and has examined the impact of declining masculinities on characters in Meja Mwangi’s selected urban fiction, with specific reference to The Cockroach Dance (1979) and Rafiki Man Guitar (2013). These texts are set in postcolonial Kenyan cities and largely deal with the challenges that came with modernization. The study focuses on how these challenges affect characters in the selected texts and how they respond to them. The study further examines the setting of the two texts in order to understand the impact it has on characters and how it has contributed to the declining masculinities in the modern, Kenyan man. It has employed the theories of masculinity and postcolonial hybridity. The two theories have been used in the examination of the impact of city’s slum setting on characters in the text under study. The research is qualitative and has used textual analysis as its methodology in collecting and interpreting data on characters from the selected texts. Primary data was analysed and interpreted in line with the study’s objectives, taking into consideration the insightful information obtained from secondary data. The study concludes that, the postcolonial urban setting in Mwangi’s selected texts has compromised masculinity by creating weak men who cannot perform their roles efficiently and gives recommendations for further studies related to Mwangi’s fiction especially on the identity of urban children and postcolonial urban decadenceItem War Trauma and Character Mutation of Child Characters in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog(Kenyatta University, 2024-03) Korir, Millicent JemutaiThis study examines war trauma and character mutation of child characters in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog. By acknowledging the interrelation between literature and trauma, this study investigates how writers create child characters that offer a glimpse into the world of trauma and the psychological burden it imposes on children who participate in civil wars. This study has three objectives: assess how the child characters in the two texts portray civil war. Secondly, interrogate the use of intrusive recollections to depict war trauma as a thematic concern. Lastly, examine how character mutation leads to fragmented subjectivity in child characters in the selected texts. This study adopts a theoretical perspective of trauma and psychoanalytic literary theories. This research uses qualitative research methodology whereby purposive sampling was used to choose the primary texts and characters. The texts were examined in line with the research objectives. This study contributes to the existing literary corpus of knowledge on trauma by bringing to the fore the voices of child characters in the selected texts and how they represent children affected by civil wars, especially in the African continent. The study established that child characters in the texts chosen occupy a triple place of victim-witness-perpetrator. It also found that the child characters experience nightmares and flashbacks, which are responses to trauma that occur when they attempt to work through traumatic memories. This study also found that character mutation led to fragmented subjectivities. It concluded that civil war compels the child characters to behave barbarically, adapt to their new environment, and automatically understand their roles while coping with a warring situation.Item Absence-Presence Motif and Transgenerational Trauma in Selected West Indian Novels: A Panoramic Female Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2024-03) Odhiambo JobThis study advances the position that parental absences result in trauma. It sought to establish the impact that these experiences and memories have on the psyche of the child character. It contended that these traumas were transferred unconsciously across generations. These transferrals are aggravated by the history of the West Indies – with one of the most significant events being the translocation of human beings from other continents into the archipelagos, and within the Americas. In both cases, this study maintains that these translocations resulted in the disintegration of the family unit for the slaves and their descendants. The ramification of this break down was the rise of the mother figure, or the matriarch; an idea that this region’s Literature captures as one of its recurrent motifs. This is also a study that sought to examine the presentation of trauma by studying literary works written and set in different time periods. The novels under study are Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack, Monkey and Marcia Douglas’ The Marvellous Equation of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim. There was purposive sampling of these texts. Additionally, this study used Psychoanalytic Theory, Trauma Theory and aspects of Formalism to understand the psyche of the child character. This is a qualitative research based on close reading of the aforementioned novels. It is expected that this study will help in the understanding of the impact that the abdication of the parental duties had on the psyche of the child character as she is growing up. This study established that trauma affects how traumatised characters perceive the passage of time. It recommends that further research be done on trauma and the perception of the flow of time, especially in texts where there is the recurrent use of the ‘returnee motif.’Item Gikuyu Tone Shift: An Optimal Domains Theory(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Magondu, Sandra Nyambura; Gerry Ayieko; Kenneth NgureAbstractItem Femme Fatale Poetics in Elechi Amadi's the Concubine and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Sakwa, Mediatrix M.; Oluoch OburaAbstractItem Diasporic Identity and Portrayal of Home in Buchi Emecheta's the New Tribe and Kehinde(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Millicent Omwoa; Oscar Macharia; J.K.S MakokhaAbstractItem A Socio-Pragmatic Approach to Satirical Comedy: A Study of Dr King’ori’s NTV Show the Wicked Edition(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Mugo, Rose Kendi; Loise W. MwaiAbstractItem Kisukuma Clause within the Functional Grammar Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2023-09) Matondo, Simon Sitta Mabula; Gatitu KiguruAbstractItem Analysing the literacy representation of women in South Korean films :The case of jewel in the palace and the heirs(Kenyatta University, 2023-08) Ayuko, Amuti Mornicah; Oluoch Obura; John MugubiItem The Dilemma of Lesbian Characters in Settings of Heterosexual Hegemony in Selected African Literary Works(kenyatta university, 2023) Gitahi, Beth Wairimu; Murimi Gaita; Kariuki BandaThis study investigates the dilemma of lesbian characters in settings of heterosexual hegemony in selected African prose works. The study is grounded on the premise that literature by African writers is a mouthpiece to communicate the pain and struggles of homosexuals in trying to escape from the jaws of living in a closet in highly homophobic countries. The objectives guiding the research will examine how lesbian voices have been represented in selected African prose works, interrogate the socio-cultural rejoinders to lesbianism in African fiction and investigate possible social visions of lesbianism in the selected African prose works. The research employs queer theory to analyze the selected African prose works. Queer theory is as postulated by Judith Butler, Gloria Anzaldua, and Michel Foucault among others. The theoretical framework aims at redefining the concept of sexuality. This study employs textual analysis as the methodology for collecting, organizing, interpreting and analyzing data on the dilemma of lesbian characters in settings of heterosexual hegemony in selected African prose works. The research has brought to the fore repressed and empowered voices of the lesbians in the selected works aiming at voicing struggles of lesbians in a heteronormative society. However, the society in the selected African texts imposes marriage, religion and structural violence as a means of ‘curing’ and silencing lesbians. Nonetheless, a possible social vision is alluded to in the texts under study as stringent heteronormative adherents accept lesbian family members and their sexuality. The analysis has thus articulated how heterosexual hegemony hinders lesbianism from expression. It is recommended that there is need for further studies in assessing the nexus between the representation of lesbian voices in Western and African societies in prose works.