Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements

This study examines the linguistic resources employed in the discursive reproduction and normalisation of national unity, as constructed by the private sponsors of newspaper congratulatory announcements (NCAs) in Nigeria during the period between 2011 and 2016. The analysis is focused on how the pro...

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Main Authors: Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu, Mohamad Ali, Afida, Mohd Kasim, Zalina, Chan, Mei Yuit
Format: Article
Published: Routledge 2021
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94031/
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author Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu
Mohamad Ali, Afida
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Chan, Mei Yuit
author_facet Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu
Mohamad Ali, Afida
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Chan, Mei Yuit
author_sort Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study examines the linguistic resources employed in the discursive reproduction and normalisation of national unity, as constructed by the private sponsors of newspaper congratulatory announcements (NCAs) in Nigeria during the period between 2011 and 2016. The analysis is focused on how the processes of lexicalisation and metaphorisation were utilised in realising such discursive purposes. The study is theoretically informed bysystemic functional grammar (SFG) and theory of conceptual metaphors. The analysis includes linguistic analysis and qualitative content analysis (QCA) in identifying the lexical items as well as the figures of speech used in the NCAs. Findings from the analysis revealed that positively charged lexical items have been employed by the non-state sponsors of the NCAs in an attempt to recontextualise and normalise the unity discourse in the Nigerian context, which goes against the status quo and the lived experiences of the masses. Moreover, the problem of unity is also metaphorised, naturalised and reproduced in the NCAs in another attempt to transform and manipulate people’s thoughts and practices through such a metaphorical construction of unity.
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spelling upm-940312024-04-22T03:53:53Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94031/ Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu Mohamad Ali, Afida Mohd Kasim, Zalina Chan, Mei Yuit This study examines the linguistic resources employed in the discursive reproduction and normalisation of national unity, as constructed by the private sponsors of newspaper congratulatory announcements (NCAs) in Nigeria during the period between 2011 and 2016. The analysis is focused on how the processes of lexicalisation and metaphorisation were utilised in realising such discursive purposes. The study is theoretically informed bysystemic functional grammar (SFG) and theory of conceptual metaphors. The analysis includes linguistic analysis and qualitative content analysis (QCA) in identifying the lexical items as well as the figures of speech used in the NCAs. Findings from the analysis revealed that positively charged lexical items have been employed by the non-state sponsors of the NCAs in an attempt to recontextualise and normalise the unity discourse in the Nigerian context, which goes against the status quo and the lived experiences of the masses. Moreover, the problem of unity is also metaphorised, naturalised and reproduced in the NCAs in another attempt to transform and manipulate people’s thoughts and practices through such a metaphorical construction of unity. Routledge 2021 Article PeerReviewed Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu and Mohamad Ali, Afida and Mohd Kasim, Zalina and Chan, Mei Yuit (2021) Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements. African Identities, 22 (2). pp. 277-292. ISSN 1472-5843; ESSN: 1472-5851 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14725843.2021.2016370 10.1080/14725843.2021.2016370
spellingShingle Jibril, Ahmed Tanimu
Mohamad Ali, Afida
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Chan, Mei Yuit
Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title_full Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title_fullStr Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title_full_unstemmed Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title_short Lexicalisation and metaphorisation of Nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
title_sort lexicalisation and metaphorisation of nigeria's unity in selected national newspapers' congratulatory announcements
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94031/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94031/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94031/