ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF NEGATION IN COMMUNICATION

Abstract

The research is aimed at carrying out an analysis of effects of negation in communication using Alex Maiyanga’s “Breast of A Virgin”. Language is invariably the only medium of communication whereby people use to communicate ideas, pass information and express feelings. However, this language may be used in spoken, written or even gestures form to communicate. Words perform different functions when used by speakers. Negation as maintained by the Merriam Webster’s dictionary refers to ‘’the action or logical operation of negating or making negative’’. The linguistic expression of negation, the interaction with concord, the mapping between negative forms, the negative meaning all present complex and important problems for syntax, semantics, and speech act analysis. Thus, negation defines the polar opposition of affirmatives, denies the existence or refutes the truth value of a statement. In English language, there are various types of negation. However, there are two major types of negation on the function they perform in a sentence. The distinction between the two types (clause negation and constituent negation) is considered as crucial because it specifies whether the whole utterance or just a portion of it is negated. The speech act theory by John Langshaw Austin in (1962) and John Rogers Searle in (1969) were used as a tool for the analysis and evaluation of the effects of negations in Alex Maiyanga’s play. Data were collected through random sampling. The text is divided into twenty-two movements hence, the research collected utterances from all them, at least two negative utterances in each of it. The analysis of the Data revealed that clause negation is mostly used by the characters in the play.