ENG 209: Lang., Lit., & ICT, Univ.. of Ibadan

By Obododimma Oha *** We had hinted earlier that ICT has changed the face of literature. One aspect of this is the emergence of new genres like video poetry  cellular poetry  etc. In this lecture, we discuss some of these and their features and hope that students can also create and use them. *** The Electronic Orientation : Before discussing these genres, let us briefly look into their general electronic orientation. This would help us to understand them better. The emergent genres are not designed to appear on paper or slate but on screen with electrical powering. Obviously, this creates some problems, such as : (1) The creations can be lost. That is, they could be gone forever if not protected. (2) Some people who don't have electricity and access cannot receive them. They are excluded. (3) The creations could change. They could be edited. (4) There could be a great difference in the scholarship, some contexts being unfortunately backward or marginalized. Cellular Poetry: This g

By Obododimma Oha *** The first thing to note here is that indigenous expression may have serious communication problems online because (1) The Internet is mixed and from various cultures. (2) Some people will definitely complain and the discourse would become a different issue. (3) Even with an explanation, the expression becomes a distraction. This lecture focuses on some reasons and strategies for the use of some local African expressions in online interactions. Some assumptions for the use of local or indigenous expressions (1) It is one acceptable way to promote the indigenous expressions. (2) It is a way of undermining English and its dominance online. It makes communication globalization become a glocalization.  (3) The audience would understand and tolerate this. *** Indigenous African expression is used but it is not a local context that is being addressed. In that case, the mixed audience may view the use of these expressions as an infringement or a deliberate attempt to offe

By Obododimma Oh *** Language has always been deployed as a weapon to hold less-privileged groups down in life and so one is not surprised with the feeling that language is used in that way in online writing. It all means that writing is not only used in enacting power but this is intensified when there is an additional technology." This is surprising because there is an assumption that being online is to be free from oppression and many kinds of control. We still have human beings online and we have language. Writing as an Enactment of Power: The ability to write, backed by skills and whether on slate or on paper, is itself a form of technology w that humanity has been very proud of. With Mrw technology this technology has changed and there is  a greater need for skills. So, with writing, dominance or having an advantage over other, is intensified. Ways that linguistic dominance can be created online: (1) Language given to the technological device initially. (2) Use of technical

By Obododimma Oha When discussing ICT, we find ourselves in a different world. An Igbo proverb provides a guide : "Ọ bụrụ na egwu dagharịa, ọgbụgba ya agbanwe" (If the beat changes, the dancing also has to change). Categories like "context," "text," "audience", etc also change and call for serious rethinking. So, how do we have to view them in the context of ICT? Context: Context is simply the environment of the text or the world of the text. This means that a text does not live or go alone. It always goes with its context. This has been the dominant view in sociological explorations on human interaction. Now that ICT has come into the equation, altering the variable, we have to reexamine context in ICT interactions. The Internet in ICT is everywhere. It is not New York or Paris. It has no particular location. This means that when we are online, we are nowhere and everywhere. It's also a problem, even though it looks wonderful. Some ways that