FOLKLORIC SEMIOTICS, SPIRITUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND PHRASEOLOGY OF CORRUPTION IN ANGLOPHONE AFRICAN FICTION

Abstract

This paper studies the semiotics and phraseology of corruption through the folklore genre in Anglophone African fiction. Drawing on context, it has identified about 141 bribe-related instances (proverbs, stories, songs, etc.), analyzed and interpreted them to highlight the symbols and phrasemes used to represent bribery and bribe participants. The findings show that pro-bribery discourse differs from plain anti-bribery one as it functions to present the negative as if it were positive. Indeed, while one group makes use of metaphors of grace, spiritual identities, manducation, body parts, containers, food items, lubricants, etc. to justify their practice, the other resorts to excremental metaphors and unclean animals to denounce the scourge. As proverbs are found to be the dominant mode of expression, they give both enthusiasts and critics a powerful resource to justify their stand, though a few actors have a chichidodo-mindset about bribery.