Abstract
This study examined the relationship between language,
power, and ideology in KenjoJumbam’sThe White Man of
God, with a view to uncovering how linguistic and stylistic
choices encode ideological meanings and power relations
in the text. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study drew
on insights from Leech and Short’s (2007) stylistic model
and principles of critical discourse analysis to investigate
how language functions as a medium of domination,
resistance, and identity construction. The analysis focused
on key linguistic features, including lexical selection,
syntactic patterns, figurative expressions, and discourse structures. This is to reveal how missionary discourse is
constructed as authoritative while indịgenous belief
systems are simultaneously challenged and negotiated.
Findịngs showed that language in the text operated as a
strategic resource for legitimizing certain worldviews and
marginalizing others, thereby reflecting underlying
ideological conflicts. The study further demonstrated that
Jumbam’s stylistic deployment of language foregrounds
cultural tension, power asymmetry, and the struggle for
ideological control. It concluded that literary language
serves not only aesthetic purposes but also functions as a
critical site for the negotiation of power and ideology in
postcolonial contexts.
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