Linguistic Appeals in Political Discourse: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of 2023 Presidential Election Billboards and Posters in Nigeria

Peter Oyewole Makinde, Barnabas Fiyinfoluwa Adejumo

Abstract


In the wake of the campaign for the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria, several political parties were shown to rely on linguistic appeals as a tool for political discourse in their campaign. This has sparked a paradigm shift in the role of linguistics in political discourse. This study examines the linguistic strategies used in political discourse to appeal to voters through a multimodal discourse analysis of campaign posters and billboards. The study utilises a qualitative research design. Data for the study were collected from Vanguard Newspapers and Punch Newspapers. Using Kress and Van Leeuwen's multimodal framework, the study explores how political candidates' use of language, visuals, slogans, colours and other meaning-making resources enhance political discourse, as evident in their posters and billboards. Findings from the study provide valuable insights into the power of linguistics in political campaigns and the potential for language to shape public perception and influence election outcomes. Thus, the findings underscore the significance of verbal and visual multimodal modes, illustrating their effectiveness in conveying nuanced meanings associated with diverse political parties and candidates. The posters and billboards showcase party affiliations and employ diverse elements to strategically communicate messages to the public, showcasing the intricate interplay between linguistic and visual components in political discourse.


Keywords


Billboards, Linguistics appeal, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, posters, and 2023 Nigeria Elections

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ademilokun, M., & Olateju, M. (2016). A multimodal discourse analysis of some visual images in the political rally discourse of 2011 electioneering campaigns in Southwestern Nigeria. International Journal of Society, Culture and Language. 4(1). 1-19. (Special Issue on African Cultures and Languages).

Akpati, C.F. (2019). A multimodal discourse study of some online campaign cartoons of Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential election. IAFOR Journal of Arts and Humanities. 6(2).

Aluya, I., & Iangba, T. (2024). A multimodal discourse study of visual images in select online news discourse on the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Canadian Journal of Language and Literature Studies. 4(1), 6-26.

Bezemer, J., & Jewitt, C. (2010). Multimodal analysis: Key issues. In The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis (pp. 13-30). Routledge.

Bezemer, J., & Kress, G. (2008). Writing in multimodal texts: a social semiotic account of designs for learning. Written Communication, 25(2), 166-195.

Chilton, P., & Schäffner, C. (Eds.). (2002). Politics as text and talk: analytic approaches to political discourse. John Benjamins Publishing.

Danladi, A.M. (2024). The influence of billboard ads on voting pattern in the 2023 presidential election in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. MA Thesis. Arcada University of Applied Sciences: Media Management.

Halliday, M.A.K. (1978). Language as social semiotics: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold.

Jewitt, C., & Oyama, R. (2001). Visual meaning: A social semiotic approach. In T. Van Leeuwen & C. Jewitt (Eds.), Handbook of Visual Analysis (pp. 134-156). Sage.

Jones, R. H. (2021). Multimodal discourse analysis. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.

Kress, G., and van Leeuwen, T. (2020). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. Routledge.

Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). Vietnam National University of Journal of Foreign Studies.

Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to do critical discourse analysis: A multimodal introduction. SAGE Publications.

Machin, D., & van Leeuwen, T. J. (2016). Multimodality, politics and ideology. Journal of Language and Politics, 15(3), 243-258.

Makinde, P. O. (2024). A multimodal metaphorical representation of selected political cartoons in Nigeria. Sch Int J Linguistics Lit. 7(10). 300-315

Makinde, P. O. (2023). Visual representation of ASUU strikes in Nigeria: A semiotic analysis of cartoons in selected Nigerian newspapers. Language and Semiotic Studies 9(2). 242–262.

Makinde, P. O., & Mgbodi, L. U. (2022). A social semiotic discourse analysis of gender expressions in selected Nigerian newspapers. Language in India 22(5). 175-189.

Omole, D.M. (2024). A multimodal study of campaign posters of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JLLLS). 4(2). 61-69.

Sharndama, E. C., and Mohammed, I. (2013). Stylistic analysis of selected political campaign posters and slogans in Yola metropolis of Adamawa State of Nigeria. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS). 1(3). 60-68.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v9i3.1406

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.






JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics); Web: www.jeltl.org; Email: journal.eltl@gmail.com


Creative Commons License
JELTL by http://www.jeltl.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License


Indexed and Abstracted BY: