A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Linguistic Representation of Power and Resistance in a Movie Kwana Casa’in

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide an account, as a subject of critical reflection, of the function and appointment of the use of language to enshrine the politics in Kwana Casa’in, an African television drama broadcast in Hausa. Kwana Casa’in relies on the drama of an impending governorship election in a fictitious small town and language, while presenting visual scenes of contestations of power, resistance, and critique against culture and tradition. Therefore, the paper aims to expand on how language constitutes power in relation to the dramaturgy of corrupt politicians themselves, the media, and journalists. It follows that a theoretical review, by applying a mix of CDA and sociolinguistic approaches, shall have demonstrated to what extent language reflects, unfolds, resists, or questions social hierarchies and political ideologies as thus summarised herein. To that end, this paper employs qualitative narration of the selected episodes with reference to the general framework of Discourse Features underpinning the concept of speech acts, politeness, and Power Relations. To illustrate the way in which language is used in uncovering corruption scandals, resisting political control, and influencing the community’s attitude, findings are provided. And it ends by proposing that promoting critical media consumption, political transparency, and responsible political discourse can constitute to a greater clarity of this relation between language, politics and mass media relating to the self-image construction and the behavioural norms in societies.