Language and perception in Tagwira's (2020) novel Trapped: exploring the psychological, behavioural, and social dimensions of language bias and identity
This paper aims to uncover the psychological, behavioural, and social dimensions of language bias and identity in Tagwira's novel, Trapped. The novel was at one time prescribed as a classroom text. Set against the post-colonial Zimbabwean landscape, the study argues that language functions as a primary mechanism of both oppression and identity formation. The paper is anchored on two complementary psychological theories, social identity theory and schema theory, which illuminate the collective and individual cognitive dimensions of gendered language, respectively. Psychologically, female characters exhibit internalised inferiority and cognitive dissonance produced by structurally enforced linguistic hierarchies. Behaviourally, this manifests as a constant performance of 'gendering', whereby individuals modify their speech to mask fear or negotiate cultural identity. Socially, language serves as a tool for gender stratification, with masculinity functioning as symbolic cultural capital that systematically marginalises femininity. The study makes a dual contribution: it advances psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic analysis of postcolonial Zimbabwean fiction by demonstrating how gendered language simultaneously operates as a tool of oppression and a catalyst for identity negotiation, and it provides educators and gender stakeholders with an evidence-based framework for critically interrogating prescribed literary texts. This framework is directly relevant to advancing gender-equitable curricula in contexts where SDG 5 remains aspirational, as structural linguistic inequalities embedded in classroom texts can either hinder or help the achievement of gender equality targets.