Multiculturalism, Conflict, and Conflict Management: A Critical Discourse Analysis of <i>Symphonic Shades</i> by Kelvin Ngong Toh

Abstract

This research aims at analysing conflict discourses and processes of conflict management in a multicultural Njanga Land as in Ngong's one act play Symphonic Shades. The premise of this study is that language has an inherent power to resolve conflict, and human communication in this case relies on linguistic features that describe the conflict as well as the fears and aspirations of the parties involved. The problem this study strives to solve is to examine how conflict is managed, taking into account the cultural sensitivity of disputing parties. To carry out the study, three research questions were formulated: 1) How is conflict framed in Symphonic Shades? 2) What are components of the multicultural discourse that can be potentially important in managing conflict in Njanga land? 3) What ideological assumptions are made about multiculturalism and conflict management? This research hinges on Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a theory and method of analysis. It follows that the study identified conflicting discourses, namely the discourse of arrogance, the discourse of dominance, and hate speeches using discursive strategies (identification, legitimation, suppression, exclusion and presupposition). More so, the findings reveal that the use of language in conflict management in the play relies on transcultural education and specific discourse strategies comprising thematic repetition, usual collocations, direct calls to action, compromise. Overall, the implication of these discourses is that language use in situations of conflict is a function of power relations which should be considered when analysing language.