Ownership of Language: Diglossia in the Fiction of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This article considers the uses of multilingualism in Adichie's body of creative work. As against Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's stipulation that authentic African literature must be written in indigenous languages, Adichie adopts a primarily English narrative medium, while at the same time interpolating a wealth of Igbo content. In this respect her practice coincides with that of a number of other Nigerian writers ranging from Achebe to Nwaubani, but reaches beyond theirs in its variety and artistry of effect. Although this "mixing" might invite charges of market-targeted exoticism, it actually succeeds in transmitting to readers a familiarizing, rather than estranging, sense of character and conduct. Adichie's self-consciousness regarding language springs from, and rewardingly honors, the complexities of the Nigerian linguistic matrix that has fostered her talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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