Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

IDENTIFICATION OF EXTENDED MEANING
Unlike the obligatory meaning, the extended meaning is dispersed
over the narrative text. This does not mean that it is illusive,
untraceable, or unidentifiable. Extended meaning structures fill the
gaps that exist between successive OMCCs.
One may conclude that the entire text of the narrative is the
embodiment of the meaning implied in the beginning sentence: "Were you
to come to our village as a tourist, it is likely, my son, that you
would not stay long". The sentence introduces the participants of the
discourse, the topic of discourse, and the manner in which the
discourse is conducted. The reader will soon realize that two
participants are involved in the discourse, that strangers are not
welcome in the village, and that the source's message unfolds by way of
narration. This meaning is extended throughout the narrative.
Repeated allusions to the swarms of sand-flies in winter and horse-
flies in summer and the havoc they play with people's faces and necks
are not without function. This functional redundancy is stylistically
acceptable. It reinforces the textual meaning and adds vigour and
gracefulness to the style of the discourse. The whole village is
wrapped up in a thick, dark, protective and impenetrable cloud of flies
all the year round. Any stranger who violated the sacred territorial
integrity of the village would be chased out by the savage armies of
those pests. The village is an unwelcome place for outsiders. "I
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