Cross Culturalism in some Selected Literary Texts of the Coastal Nations of West Africa

Abstract

Cross culturalism remains a current research topic in this contemporary era. It has become the focal point of linguists, psychologists, anthropologists, and literary writers among others. They all continue to make discoveries on the effects and factors militating against language, literature and culture and how they can contribute to mutual existence of people from different backgrounds and climes. This paper is an attempt to complement the existing findings and to specifically x-ray the challenges stretch by cross culturalism to literary researchers and its prospects in the West African coastal nations. These nations are neighbours naturally and partially of the same cultures, but colonialism changed their perceptions and they hardly share anything in common. Among several factors discovered as impediment to researches in these nations are multilingual and multicultural issues, varied economic fortunes and the difference in the socio-infrastructural developments. The paper proffers suggestions on how these challenges can be surmounted in order for them to achieve their desired goals. The paper concludes that multilingualism is one of several agents that can facilitate smooth research, as ability to use any language effectively could aid the understanding of the culture of the user of the language. This will equally guarantee mutual and coherent working relations at all times.