Grief across cultures: An analysis of paralinguistic features in two selected songs from Mozambique and Zimbabwe

Abstract

Language is central in defining individuals across nationalities and cultures. However, due to the global nature of today’s world, where language contact and acculturation have diluted numerous languages and cultures, one is left to wonder if at all there are any facets of language that have stood the test of time. One area that has received limited attention is analysis of paralanguage in song as one of the ways cultures can be interpreted. Singers and song writers have traditionally drawn their material from everyday communication. However, studies have largely dwelt on the lyrics or verbal aspects of songs or the music accompanying them but not paralanguage. Yet paralanguage is part and parcel of the oral traditions of any given culture that requires interpretation. This paper seeks to examine this dearth and particularly zeroes in on songs of grief. It was prompted by one such dirge whose non-lyrical nature has made it fit into a number of African cultures. The song, “Tormented soul” by Xavier Matias from Mozambique was composed and sung in mourning the former president of Mozambique, Samora Machel in 1986. It was later recorded and released in 1988. The other selected song is Thomas Mapfumo’s “Zimbabwe Mozambique” which was also released in 1988; a song dedicated to the sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who died in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle. This paper thus does a content analysis of these songs through the paralinguistic features in the respective songs. The questions that we attempt to answer in this paper are the following: Does expression of grief in paralanguage mutate over time? Can paralinguistic features of grief be considered as markers of any given culture? If so, can they be part of our linguistic heritage? This analysis is also informed by Ubuntu philosophy as well as Afrocentricity.