Intertextuality in Sheng Spoken Word Poetry

Abstract

This article examines techniques of intertextuality in Sheng spoken word poetry in Kenya. Intertextuality is the connectedness of existing texts in a new text. Sheng is a non-standard language spoken in Kenya. Kristeva’s ideas of intertextuality are instrumental in this study. Bazerman & Prior’s model of intertextuality is used as an analytical tool in this study. The model has six intertextual techniques which include direct quotation, indirect quotation, mentioning a person, document, or statement, comment or evaluation on a statement, text, or otherwise invoked voice, using recognisable phrasing, and terminology associated with specific people or groups of people or particular documents and using language and forms that seem to echo certain ways of communicating, discussions among other people, and types of documents. The data of the study were sourced from Sheng spoken word poems. Ten Sheng spoken word poems were sampled from five poets. The sampling was done purposely based on the richness of the poem’s intertextuality. Through the content analysis schedule, words and phrases exhibiting intertextuality were identified and categorised into suitable intertextual techniques for description. The findings revealed that Sheng spoken word artists incorporate existing texts from discourses of religion, politics, relationships, and entertainment to voice real societal issues..