The Language of Corruption

Abstract Drawing upon critical discourse analysis, this chapter analyses the popular semiology of corruption in Africa. It looks closely at the ways in which corruption is commonly scripted in corporeal metaphors of eating (literally and figuratively), confirming the banality and commensality of corruption in Africa. By paying particular attention to the language and idioms of bribery and corruption, we gain a deeper understanding of the corruption complex and popular reactions to it. Foregrounding corruption as a “food for thought,” this chapter reclaims the ambiguous and multivocal power of language in how we think and talk about corruption. In so doing, it sheds new light onto what counts as corruption in the value acceptances of local populations.