Pragmatic Act and Force Inherent in the Use of Invectives in Fela Anikulakpo Selected Songs

Abstract

A recipient is being criticised in a critical, unreserved, non-euphemistic, and non-attenuating way when someone uses invective. Even though invective is typically regarded as a crude and unattractive form of expression, its potential as the most direct form of satire has also been acknowledged in some situations, such as the music genre. In Fela's songs, the use of profanity as a satirical criticism instrument is axiomatic. This paper explores the potential of invective as an aesthetic form as well as the pragmatic interpretation of Fela's proclivity for using insults to satirically ridicule the regime. To analyse purposefully chosen Fela songs, Alagbon Close and International Thief Thief, some pragmatic tools incorporated into a modified theoretical framework of Mey's (2001) "Pragmatic Act Theory," Brown and Levinson's (1987) "Politeness Principles," and the canonical classifications of context are used. The analysis' conclusions show that Fela overtly attacks the government with some highly disparaging invectives in response to that body's poor policies. According to the analysis's findings, the types of instantiated pragmatic acts used in the chosen songs are assertive, expressive, and directive. The topics of the songs are reflected in these performances. The data also revealed two distinct sorts of face acts: face threatening without restitution and face threatening conduct utilising offrecord politeness techniques. These demonstrate that Fela does not soften the propositional message included in his songs.