2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers
| Format: | General Document |
|---|
| _version_ | 1860798103814144000 |
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| building | INTELEK Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| collectionurl | https://intelek.unisza.edu.my/intelek/pages/search.php?search=!collection3 |
| copyright | Copyright©PWB2025 |
| country | Malaysia |
| date | 2018-08-13 |
| format | General Document |
| id | 15933 |
| institution | UniSZA |
| originalfilename | THE SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF SPATIAL PREPOSITIONS IN THE HEADLINES OF MAJOR NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS (MASTER_2018).pdf |
| person | Bashir Ibrahim |
| recordtype | oai_dc |
| resourceurl | https://intelek.unisza.edu.my/intelek/pages/view.php?ref=15933 |
| sourcemedia | Server storage Scanned document |
| spelling | 15933 https://intelek.unisza.edu.my/intelek/pages/view.php?ref=15933 https://intelek.unisza.edu.my/intelek/pages/search.php?search=!collection3 General Document Malaysia Library Staff (Top Management) Library Staff (Management) Library Staff (Support) Terengganu Faculty of Languages & Communication English application/pdf 1.5 Server storage Scanned document Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin UniSZA Private Access UNIVERSITI SULTAN ZAINAL ABIDIN SAMBox 2.3.4; modified using iTextSharp™ 5.5.10 ©2000-2016 iText Group NV (AGPL-version) 170 2018-08-13 Copyright©PWB2025 THE SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF SPATIAL PREPOSITIONS IN THE HEADLINES OF MAJOR NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS (MASTER_2018).pdf 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers Bashir Ibrahim Semantics—Newspaper headlines Spatial prepositions in media discourse Semantic analysis of newspaper headlines Pragmatic functions of prepositions in journalism English language in Nigeria has the status as an official language that is used in local and international correspondences. One aspect of English grammar that is very hard for second language users including Nigerians to master is prepositions. Not only are English prepositions difficult, but they are also the most frequently used items in newspapers that play an important role to signal the political and cultural discourses. Nigerians have difficulty understanding the meaning and uses of prepositions, resulting in frequent misunderstanding and wrong interpretations of newspaper headlines. It was also observed that journalists have their own styles to convey and hide information in newspapers. Manipulating the use of prepositions is one of the means of doing it. Similar to other countries, newspapers has become one of the most important sources of information in Nigeria. The effectiveness of written documents including newspaper headlines often depends on accurate arrangements of grammatical structures as well as the semantic and pragmatic functions that the grammatical words aim to convey. This study aims to investigate the use of spatial prepositions on, in, and at in the four major Nigerian newspaper headlines. These spatial prepositions are considered the most misleading items since they bring different meanings in different contexts. The present study adopted qualitative method and purposively collected data through the analyses of 200 headlines of the four leading Nigerian newspapers that cover various areas of news in Nigeria. In this way, the frequent uses of spatial prepositions on, in, and at were calculated, and the positions of them were examined. Findings revealed that Vanguard, a major Nigerian newspaper, had the highest percentage of the use of spatial prepositions 26.9%, followed forth by the Punch 24.92%, then the Sun 24.27%, and the lowest figure, the Nation 23.95%. Moreover, it was revealed from the study that newspaper editors preferred to use preposition ‘at' (indicating specific location) but replaced it with preposition ‘in' (indicating broader location). Moreover, despite the frequent usage of preposition ‘in' in replacement of preposition ‘at', they also preferred the forward position that expresses uncertainty compared to mid-ward and backward positions. This study concludes that people can be united ideologically especially on issues that foster nationalism through the use of newspaper headlines since newspaper headline is a new form of discourse that may initiate, sustain, and shape the political and other national agenda. Dissertations, Academic Thesis |
| spellingShingle | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| state | Terengganu |
| subject | Semantics—Newspaper headlines Dissertations, Academic |
| summary | English language in Nigeria has the status as an official language that is used in local and international correspondences. One aspect of English grammar that is very hard for second language users including Nigerians to master is prepositions. Not only are English prepositions difficult, but they are also the most frequently used items in newspapers that play an important role to signal the political and cultural discourses. Nigerians have difficulty understanding the meaning and uses of prepositions, resulting in frequent misunderstanding and wrong interpretations of newspaper headlines. It was also observed that journalists have their own styles to convey and hide information in newspapers. Manipulating the use of prepositions is one of the means of doing it. Similar to other countries, newspapers has become one of the most important sources of information in Nigeria. The effectiveness of written documents including newspaper headlines often depends on accurate arrangements of grammatical structures as well as the semantic and pragmatic functions that the grammatical words aim to convey. This study aims to investigate the use of spatial prepositions on, in, and at in the four major Nigerian newspaper headlines. These spatial prepositions are considered the most misleading items since they bring different meanings in different contexts. The present study adopted qualitative method and purposively collected data through the analyses of 200 headlines of the four leading Nigerian newspapers that cover various areas of news in Nigeria. In this way, the frequent uses of spatial prepositions on, in, and at were calculated, and the positions of them were examined. Findings revealed that Vanguard, a major Nigerian newspaper, had the highest percentage of the use of spatial prepositions 26.9%, followed forth by the Punch 24.92%, then the Sun 24.27%, and the lowest figure, the Nation 23.95%. Moreover, it was revealed from the study that newspaper editors preferred to use preposition ‘at' (indicating specific location) but replaced it with preposition ‘in' (indicating broader location). Moreover, despite the frequent usage of preposition ‘in' in replacement of preposition ‘at', they also preferred the forward position that expresses uncertainty compared to mid-ward and backward positions. This study concludes that people can be united ideologically especially on issues that foster nationalism through the use of newspaper headlines since newspaper headline is a new form of discourse that may initiate, sustain, and shape the political and other national agenda. |
| title | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| title_full | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| title_fullStr | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| title_full_unstemmed | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| title_short | 2018_The Semantic and Pragmatic Functions of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian Newspapers |
| title_sort | 2018_the semantic and pragmatic functions of spatial prepositions in the headlines of major nigerian newspapers |