Negative positivism in sixteen selected Igbo novels

Abstract

Negative Positivism involves the use of a negative expression to express a strongly positive state, action or attribute. It is a class of idiom that is usually negative, but expresses a positive meaning. It is a phenomenon that has been established for the Igbo language by Romanus Egudu. The purpose of the study is to examine the realisation of this phenomenon in sixteen Igbo literary works using a descriptive approach. The extracts of negative positivism that were analysed reveal three additional categorizations that were not found in Egudu (1975) and Emenanjo (2015). The study also shows that the meaning of negative positivism is realized basically by means of figurative usages. On the basis of the examined data, therefore, the study confirms that this phenomenon seems to be a peculiar Pan-Igbo attribute which is used by the language speakers, and especially literary artists for aesthetic function.

Keywords: Negative positivism, stylistics, idiom, figurative usage