TEXT WORLDS: A COGNITIVE-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF AFTERLIVES

Abstract

The study explores how different linguistic tools such as modality, world builders and function advancing propositions, contribute to the construction, development and communication of complex perspective on the effects and aftermaths of colonization in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s novel Afterlives. Making use of different aspects of Text World Theory (TWT), such as discourse world, text world, sub-worlds, and modality, the study analyzes selected passages based on thematic relevance to demonstrate how interactional, locational, and probability modalities reveal the effects of colonialism on the characters’ perceptions and experiences. The study identifies world builders, function-advancing propositions, and semantic predicates by highlighting how frames and inferences are formed and the ways these elements convey the narrative’s deeper colonial context. Offering a critique of colonial legacy and practices, the findings show that there is a cognitive lack of harmony due to altered realities experienced by the colonized Africans. Building upon this lack of harmony, the characters manifest ambivalence toward colonization: they assimilated into the culture of colonizers for social acceptance and financial stability while still considering them as their enemies. The colonized Africans’ use of outdated ways of businesses and healing rituals are contrasted with those of colonizers’ rule-based business and modified medication provided at hospitals. The study contributes to the field of literary studies and cognitive linguistics through the application of TWT to colonial discourse and use of language in constructing narratives.