A CRITICAL DISCOURSE STUDY OF INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BABY BOOMERS AND GENERATION X WITHIN THE JUKUN TAKUM CONTEXT

Abstract

Language functions not as a mere communicative tool but also as a medium through which ideologies, social structures, and cultural values are produced and reproduced within societies. This paper examines the intergenerational communication between Baby Boomers and Generation X within the Jukun Takum context. This is important because of the contemporary sociocultural changes that threaten indigenous discourses across the globe, and this study seeks to establish this assertion within the Jukun Takum context. In order to achieve this, excerpts were extracted from the recordings of conversations between Jukun Baby Boomers and Gen. X, and were subjected to Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model of Critical Discourse Study. The paper also draws on recent scholarship on African indigenous discourse, sociolinguistics, and Jukun communication patterns. Findings suggest that intergenerational communication among the Jukun Takum people is undergoing significant transformation as a result of modernization and socio-cultural change, leading to tensions, adaptations, and ideological redefinitions between Baby Boomers and Generation X. The study concludes that strengthening indigenous language use is essential for sustaining intergenerational communication and cultural continuity.