In the Light of Nationhood: Language, Context and Ethnicity in Debates on Nigeria’s 2014 National Conference (original) (raw)

2020, Oye: Journal of Language, Literature and Popular Culture

Ethnic-nationalism in Nigeria usually revolves around politics of identity, power and resource control. The study examines how texts, context and ethnicity are interwoven in online debates on the 2014 National Conference in Nigeria. Combining insights from pragma-sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis, selected opinions on Nigeria’s 2014 national conference in newspaper reports are analysed. Data for the study were retrieved from Premium Times and Vanguard newspapers. The study identifies that semantic and pragmatic constituents of the narratives are a manifestation of subjective knowledge that is integrated and mapped into the conceptual framing of the discourse, and that they are reflective of ethno-political struggles, power dynamics and resistance. The study concludes that discourse on the 2014 national conference in Nigeria embodies the linguistically-projected idealized world and politics of ethnicity in Nigeria. Keywords: language, context, ethnic-nationalism, identity, politics

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