Magical words & iceberg territory : an exploration of the multifunctionality of language in dramatic dialogue, with specific reference to selected Fugard plays

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Most critics and academics have concentrated on the referential function of Fugard'sdramatic dialogue. In this thesis I' argue that to notice just one way in which thelanguage functions tends to limit the text. My aim, therefore, is to look at the otherways in which language functions in selected Fugard plays.I explore the way in which Fugard uses dialect and sociolect to establish a stage worldthat looks and sounds recognisably South African to South Africans. I investigate how.certain assumptions (on the part of the audience) accompany the acceptance of thestage world as 'real' and how Fugard uses subtextual inferences to force the audienceto critically re-evaluate these assumptions. I argue that the way to consciouslyunderstand and evaluate the sub text is through a detailed investigation of the differentways in which language functions in dramatic dialogue. Therefore, by applyingPfister's theories on the multi functionality of dramatic dialogue to selected Fugardplays, I look at how characters reveal themselves to the audience through the choiceof specific words, subject matter and language variant. I also investigate, by applyingQuigley's observations regarding Pinter's plays to Fugard's characters, the way inwhich language reveals characters striving to negotiate their status withinrelationships. My argument is that as far as characterisation and relationships areconcerned the actual referential function of the words reveals only the tip of theiceberg - the rest lies beneath this and is to be uncovered by looking at the other waysin which the language functions.Finally I look at the way in which language as the medium of communication per se isforegrounded in Fugard's plays and how this accentuates the role that language playsin communication, as well as the failure of communication, in the South Africancontext. Related to this metalingual function of dramatic dialogue I investigate theidea, put forward by Ibitokun, that language can be used as a 'mask' behind which aperson can hide his true identity. I agree with Ibitokun that this is not only a strategyfor survival but that, when consciously adopted, it is also a means for challenging thestatus quo.The Fugard plays I have selected are Master Harold ... and the boys, Boesman andLena, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and The Island.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University