AGBA, OREVAOGHENE and Covenant University, Theses (2018) PRAGMATIC FEATURES OF SELECTED CONSUMER PRODUCTS’ ADVERTISEMENTS IN NIGERIAN PRINT MEDIA. Masters thesis, COVENANT UNIVERSITY.
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Abstract
Advertising has become a norm in the society today as it surrounds us daily. Its importance cannot be over emphasised as it can make or mar a product in the market. In crafting advert messages, language is largely relied on. For best results, copywriters add some form of creativity in their use of language and some features of pragmatics are largely exploited. However, aspects of pragmatics like deixis and the role of context in advertisements, have not received adequate attention in Nigerian print food & beverages advertisements. Thus the aim of the study was to investigate some of these basic pragmatic features and how they are used by copywriters in crafting consumer products’ advertisements in Nigerian Print Media. A total number of eighty food & beverages advertisements selected from four Nigerian daily newspapers namely The Punch, Vanguard, The Nation and Daily Trust, published between 2013 to September 2017 were qualitatively analysed focusing on specific pragmatic features such as speech acts, cooperative principles and implicature, presupposition, deixis, and context. The results showed that copywriters made adequate use of presupposition, deixis, and speech acts as persuasive strategies to coax the target audience to purchase the advertised products thereby fulfilling the goals of advertising. The cooperative maxims however were largely disobeyed because they did not give advertisers room to express themselves to their satisfaction. Copywriters also made use of context-specific lexemes to appeal to target customers mentally and emotionally. Focusing analysis only on the written part of the advertisements was a limitation as pictures may also be used to communicate meaning. It was suggested that advertisements published during festive periods and other types of consumer products’ advertisements should be studied focusing on the same pragmatic features. Amongst others, it was recommended that Advertisers should continue to structure their advertisements based on the socio-cultural context of Nigeria, and they should do so more often as it is also a way of promoting the Nigerian English that reflects our cultural and social values.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) P Language and Literature > PR English literature |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Mrs Hannah Akinwumi |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Jul 2020 12:04 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Jul 2020 12:04 |
| URI: | http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/13444 |
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