Entextualisation—accounting for language use in oral poetry

Abstract

In South Africa oral poetry has been studied as literary/aesthetic material, a viewpoint that saw the performance of oral poetry as a hindrance. Linguistic views unearthed the peculiar linguistic features of oral poetry. Features related to performance came to light with the orality, anthropological, and political views. Using aspects of these views, language use in Ndebele izibongo is discussed. By looking at the extent of the use of features it is possible to ascertain which features are privileged in this poetry. In the context of the performance of Ndebele izibongo one can conclude that linguistic features, especially metaphor, are a resource to assert or gain power.