This study deciphers the lexical insurgency of African Commonwealth literature, revealing how writers like p’Bitek (1966), Nortje (1973), Ngũgĩ (1982), Lenrie Peters (1967), Maimane (1968), Rotimi (1977), and Nkengasong (2004) weaponize English through code-switching, grafting, transliteration, and semantic recalibration (e.g., Peters’ “laparotomy of the state”, p’Bitek’s “Jok Odude”). Deploying a triangulated framework—Structural Linguistics (Saussure), Semiology (Barthes), and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough)—we expose how these strategies:i.Dismantle colonial epistemes (e.g., Nkengasong’s “troh-ndii” archives precolonial governance),.ii.Hijack Eurocentric lexemes (e.g., Maimane’s “Minister of Foreign Affairs” satirizes bureaucratic dehumanization), and iii.Forge a “third code” (Bhabha 1994) that subverts linguistic purity myths.Beyond challenging “adulturation” narratives, we argue these texts constitute decolonial linguistic praxis—one where single lexemes (Nortje’s “white rain”, Rotimi’s “akara democracy”) become micro-sites of ideological warfare. The study culminates in a call for lexical restitution, urging global academia to recognize Africanized English as a legitimate epistemic tradition.
Keywords: African commonwealth literature, decolonial semiotics, epistemic resistance, lexical insurgency, postcolonial linguistics
