
Ayo OsisanwoUniversity of Ibadan · Department of English
Ayo Osisanwo
Doctor of Philosophy
About
54
Publications
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
Education
July 1998 - July 2001
Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife Nigeria
Field of study
Publications
Publications (54)
Studies on terrorism with bias towards Boko Haram (BH) have mainly been carried out from non-linguistic fields. The few linguistics-related studies that have examined the media reportage of the BH activities, with emphasis on the discourse and linguistic strategies deployed in the representations, have not been sufficient. This study, therefore, id...
Boko Haram, as reported by the media, has been terrorising Nigeria, especially since 2009. Linguistic studies on terrorism and Boko Haram in Nigeria have considered, among others, the representations of the group by the media and policy makers. However, insufficient discourse
attention has been devoted to the framing tactics deployed by social acto...
Campaign messages during electioneering campaigns are often characterized by discursive strategies and ideological structures aimed at convincing electorate to vote for selected aspirants. Existing studies on political campaign messages in Nigeria have dwelt on strategies and structures used among politicians in mainstream politics to the neglect o...
Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria has lingered on for almost a decade. The terrorism has had some effects on Nigeria, and the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the act, and declared a total war against the group. Linguistic studies on terrorism with bias for Boko Haram have largely dwelt on other areas but the examination...
This paper examines the representation of child trafficking discourse in online interactions. Data for the study were part of a larger project corpus of 83,815 posts with 1,044,209 tokens collected between July 2023 and May 2024 using the Apify Twitter Scraper. The study adopted a mixed method of corpus-based methodologies and qualitative discourse...
The conformist and dissenting religious voices with various social
classificatory paradigms on LGBTQ+ issues have further complicated the association between the West and others in sub-
Saharan Africa. Religious leaders from the West and those of
African extraction seem to already hold divergent opinions on the
issue. This paper investigates Pentec...
Human trafficking in Nigeria as a topical issue has enjoyed more sociological interrogation with very scant attention in linguistics and discourse. This paper applies a corpus-assisted critical discourse study to examine representative posts on human trafficking in Nigeria (2019 to 2022) retrieved from the Nairaland digital community. Using the Ske...
This paper explores the deployment of metaphors in the BBC Yoruba-medium football results of the English Premier League, examining how cultural metaphorical choices shape meaning in online sport discourse. Through a discourse analysis of Yoruba-medium football results, the study reveals how metaphors drawn from Yoruba cultural milieu and everyday l...
The increase in the online presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) persons is astounding, despite the threat to their security, especially in the Nigerian context. Extending debates on linguistic and non-linguistic research on queer-sexuality, this paper examines the discursive patterns in the jokes of Nigerian standup com...
Newspaper political cartoons, known for their satirical nature, employ semiotic and linguistic techniques to comment on or criticise political leaders and events humorously. While previous studies on Nigerian newspaper political cartoons have focused on ideological issues and discourse frames, little attention has been given to the linguistic inves...
Humour plays a crucial role in family discourse as it fosters emotional connection, diffuses tension, and promotes open communication by providing a light-hearted and relatable atmosphere. Extant studies on family discourse have focused on (im)politeness strategies and pragmatic markers. However, scant attention has been paid to the communicative f...
Abduction has recently become a security threat bedevilling Nigeria. This corpus-assisted critical discourse study examines news reports published by selected English-medium Nigerian newspapers from 2020 to 2022 on abduction, to understand how abduction is constructed within the Nigerian socio-political context. Taking a corpus-based approach to cr...
The use of directives in communicating the nature of the pandemic and reference to social experiences were promoted using images on social media platforms. The images or memes are used to create awareness and reinforce the criteria for safety during the pandemic. Previous studies on internet memes have concentrated on humor generation, speaker-hear...
The spate of security threats in Nigeria has recently become quite alarming, dominating newspaper headlines
and editorials. This article examines the discourse strategies deployed in the representation of ‘self’ and
‘other’ by editorials in two Nigerian newspapers on the security challenges in Nigeria. Drawing insights
from Van Dijk’s socio-cogniti...
This paper investigates the discursive strategies deployed by Boko Haram terrorists (BHTs) to manipulate targets to accept their ideologies. Drawing insights from the discursive strategies by Reisigl and Wodak in critical discourse analysis, 10 BH statements released between 2009 and 2021 were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. This paper e...
This study examined the voices and practs in Nigerian newspapers’ reportage on suicide using three major Nigerian newspapers: _Nation_, _Punch_ and _Vanguard_. Data were subjected to a qualitative analysis using the theoretical tools of pragmatic acts theory and polyphony. In selected reportage, two categories of voices were discovered anonymous or...
Fraudulent activities on the Internet have become a challenge to unsuspecting internet users. Informed by the observation that the representation of internet fraudsters and their activities in the media still remains a blind spot for researchers especially within the ambit of linguistics and allied areas, this work critically examines the discourse...
Internet memes are commonly associated with the communication of interests and opinions on social networking sites, and are used to share experiences and negotiate common ground through various contexts. Previous studies on identity construction and the use of Internet memes have not paid sufficient attention to identity construction in education-c...
This study examined the Yoruba nation secessionist agitation from the viewpoint of stance and ideology in its discursive engagement on three popular Nigerian virtual communities: Nairaland, Gistmania, and Naijaloaded. Data were subjected to the theoretical and analytical paradigms of appraisal framework and critical discourse analysis. Two voices w...
The recently resurged Yoruba Nation (YN, henceforth) agitation joins some socio-political movements, social protests, and resistance group discourse in Nigeria that continue to gain traction in (critical) discourse studies. Guided by the theoretical paradigms of van Leeuwen’s representational strategies and Martin and White’s appraisal framework, 2...
Existing studies on viruses with bias for COVID-19 have mainly been carried out from non-linguistic fields. Linguistics-related studies have not examined the media representation of COVID-19 since it is a recent development. This study, therefore, identifies the representational strategies, discourse structures and discourse strategies deployed by...
Humour in Nigerian stand-up comedy is used as a weapon against the strong and the weak in society. Existing studies have examined the use of humour using the theories of pragmatics but have not specifically examined how gender, ethnic and class are reflected in stand-up comedies. Therefore, this study examines the humour strategies in selected Nige...
Existing scholarly works on politeness and media discourses have concentrated on tabloid, radio and television interviews with bias for talk shows. Meanwhile, the language of TV game shows has not been sufficiently explored. This study, therefore, examines impoliteness in MTN’s “who deserves to be a millionaire Nigeria”. Culpeper’s model of Impolit...
This two\-volume work speaks to the entire scope of Professor Odebunmis research concerns in general pragmatics, medical and clinical pragmatics, literary discourse, critical discourse analysis, applied linguistics and language sociology. Its 52 chapters across both volumes (24 chapters in this volume and 28 chapters in Volume 2) written by establi...
This two\-volume work speaks to the entire scope of Professor Odebunmis research concerns in general pragmatics, medical and clinical pragmatics, literary discourse, critical discourse analysis, applied linguistics and language sociology. Its 52 chapters across both volumes (24 chapters in this volume and 28 chapters in Volume 2) written by establi...
Olusegun Obasanjo’s My Watch explicates a representation of Nigerian socio-political history and is laden with political arguments. This paper investigates the pragma-rhetorical devices and the strategic patterns utilized by Olusegun Obasanjo in My Watch - a three-volume text. However, only Volume Two: Political and Public Affairs (PPA) was conside...
This study examines the discourse issues in the reportage of the 2015 and 2016 pro-Biafra protests in selected Nigerian newspapers. Previous studies on the reportage of protest have examined the representational and discursive strategies as well as the ideological inclinations in news reports, leaving the discourse issues in the protest understudie...
The Boko Haram terrorists have consistently attacked Nigerians in different parts, especially the northern part, of the country. The actions and inactions of this group have been covered, visually and verbally, by different media outlets. Extant studies on Boko Haram (BH) terrorism in Nigeria have gained attention from scholars from other non-lingu...
Discursive strategies are often deployed to create awareness, capture and persuade electorate in political campaign songs. Existing scholarly works on political and electoral issues have examined different aspects of political discourses but have not sufficiently examined the import of political campaign songs in electoral and political discourses....
This paper identifies the discourse strategies and constructions in the representation of the postponement of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. The INEC Chairman's speech of the postponement shows how the electoral umpire 'responsibilise' involvements in the postponement of the Nigerian electoral project. Guided by aspects of Caffi's derespons...
Interrogation is a vital tool through which police officers obtain substantial evidence from suspect(s).Previous studies
examined the verbal means of language without paying attention to emotions, gestures and voice pitch; and only the
language use on the part of the Investigating Police Officers (IPOs) was considered without examining the suspects...
Defeat comes to politicians with shock and the default response of disappointment; nevertheless, its management has implications for peaceful transition, national stability, and aspirants’ democratic and public image. Extant works on election speeches have focused on different aspects of meaning in defeat concession, but have overlooked the ideatio...
The recent pro-Biafra protest across Nigeria has become an important topic in the news media where it has been constructed in different ways. Existing studies on media construction of protest have examined framing, speech acts and rhetorical strategies. However, adequate attention has not been given to the discursive representation of the 2015 and...
Concession speeches often mark the end of the tussle and jostle that characterise the political campaigns which precede elections. Existing studies on rhetoric in politics have looked at the pragmatic functions, stylistic features and politeness strategies in (American) presidential concession speeches. The examination of the generic structure pote...
Vocabulary development, use of dictionary, meaning relations and spelling are areas of significant importance for learners of English, as discussed in this unit. A good knowledge of these areas shows the level of competence of the learner in English usage. Learners need to learn new words to become familiar with different vocabulary in English in o...
Speaking is a productive skill, which shows an individual’s ability to speak with a string of noises, perceived as a continuous flow of meaningful sound to anyone who understands a particular language. Language is the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another. It is a system of communication in speech and writing that is...
A number of studies have been carried out on divorce from sociological,
psychological and religious standpoints. Studies on divorce from linguistic
perspective in Nigeria are hard to come by. Therefore, this paper conceives
divorce as a conflict site and examines representations of participants in
selected Nigerian newspaper reports on divorce case...
Studies have been carried out on different reality shows, but the Big Brother Reality Show has not really been subjected to critical examination. Such studies have mainly been carried out in fields outside linguistics, and those within linguistics have been on other reality shows. The arrival of the social media has created a unique avenue for the...
An inaugural speech, which expresses the agenda of an elected candidate’s reaffirmation of the electioneering campaign promises and the goals, is made on the occasion of official inauguration or swearing-in of the candidate. Speeches of presidents and heads of states have always been subjected to linguistic and non-linguistic analyses. However, Pre...
The government of Nigeria has continued to wage (a) war on Boko Haram
(BH) terrorists in Nigeria. Previous linguistic studies on (war on) Boko
Haram terrorism in Nigeria have examined the media reportage of the BH
activities, while such studies have not paid sufficient attention to
metaphorisations in the representations of the news reports. This s...
Since the 1999 electoral process in Nigeria, the media in Nigeria have participated in the reportage of different issues surrounding elections in the country. Such issues have mainly surrounded the process and the social actors involved in it. Therefore, the media reports have taken different postures in representing social and political actors, an...
Extant literature on media reports in Nigeria have considered different national issues including electoral matters. Few of such studies that considered electoral matters did not emphasize the distribution of roles in the reports. Guided by aspects of Theo van Leeuwenʼs inventory on the representation of social actors (with emphasis on the account...
Discourse analysis (DA) is a broad field of study that draws some of its theories and methods of analysis from disciplines such as linguistics, sociology, philosophy and psychology. More importantly, discourse analysis has provided models and methods of engaging issues that emanate from disciplines such as education, cultural studies, communication...
The study conceives that the analysis of drama transcends the analysis of performance. Therefore, a critical attempt must be made to gain an insight into the individuality of the writer's style. To have a gainful analysis, therefore, our study is premised on the theoretical framework of Politeness Principle. The politeness analysis enabled us to ap...
Existing studies on media discourse have studied from different angles the use of reported language in newspaper reports. The use of reported language relates to discourse representation, and has proved to be a reliable tool in determining the faithfulness or the level of objectivity and subjectivity of news items. Meanwhile, between 2005 and 2006,...
As the world gradually progresses towards the promotion of creativity, the invention of lexical items and expressions is paving way for the indigenization and appropriation of such expressions to meet the intended communicative purposes. Hence, we begin to experience the birth of new trends in the communication of ideas. The paper examines selected...