LEXICO-SEMANTIC STUDY OF THE 2016 UNIVERSITY OF UYO SUG CAMPAIGN SLOGANS
ABSTRACT
Language is the key to the heart of the people; political candidates use language to get the heart of their electorates. In politics, language is a strong device for communication as it carries many or different shades of meaning. It is the tool of political discourse. In semantics, meaning cannot be fully understood by looking at a word in isolation but by looking at semantically related words; how words co-occur in a sentence to make meaning. Semantics deals basically with the mind to give appropriate meaning to a word or an expression. This research looks at the role of language and meaning in campaign slogans of the Uniuyo SUG candidates. Considering the lack of study in this area, this study therefore undertakes a lexico-semantic analysis of the 2016 University of Uyo SUG campaign slogans. Ten political campaign slogans were purposively selected from 2016 University of Uyo election campaign posters because they carry the linguistic features that are in line with the topic of discourse. The selection was based on accessibility and availability of the campaign posters and slogans. Relevant data from other sources will be incorporated where necessary. This study was carried out to investigate the language of campaign slogans employed by candidates during the 2016 University of Uyo SUG election campaign. To achieve the objectives of the study, ten campaign slogans were selected for analysis. This study was guided by the semantic notions of denotation and connotation encapsulated in Leech’s (1981) Semantic Theory; and secondly, by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION / THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1.1 Background to the Study
Language plays a vital role in politics and the choice of language for campaign slogans should be given much attention. Persuading people to vote is a vital part of the political process; candidates employ different persuasive strategies to elicit support from voters. The importance of the language medium for communicating political messages cannot be underrated. Language is considered a powerful tool for everyday communication (McDougall, 1975). By implication, language is the vibrant part in all spheres of life’s endeavours. It is essential to building relationships, expressing thoughts, ideas or a need and responses provided as feedback, which may also be positive or negative. Language is the key to the heart of the people; political candidates use language to get the heart of their electorates. In politics, language is a strong device for communication as it carries many or different shades of meaning. It is the tool of political discourse.
One of the mechanisms employed by political candidates is the use of campaign slogans. A campaign slogan can be said to be a memorable motto or phrase used in political contexts as repetitive expressions of an idea. Campaign slogans are heavily charged with emotions so as to arouse strong feelings in the voters. They are simply rhetorical tools used as social expressions of unified purpose of a political candidate and to woo support from the audience. Campaign slogans generally express a goal or aim of the political candidate. Campaign slogans are effective because they often summarize the message and essence of candidate effectively and have an impact on the intending voters. Politicians use slogans during their campaigns to canvass for votes, to persuade the electorates to accept their political ideologies thereby winning their votes. These slogans also serve as a means to sell the candidate’s political mission or ideologies.
Barber (1999, p .27) argues that language enables us to influence one another’s behaviours and thereby makes human cooperation possible. In politics, language is a strong device for communication as it carries many or different shades of meaning. Language and more especially, lexical choices are powerful weapons that can be manipulated by certain individuals to show satisfaction or to advance certain leadership style with the intent of attracting massive support. The language of political campaign ought to reflect the felt need of the people at any given point in time. Once this goal is achieved, the possibility of informing and persuading electorates to vote in favour of certain individuals becomes easy.
Every electorate has expectations which maybe clearly expressed or otherwise but such expectations are usually measured against certain symbols particularly language expressions, which may present different meaning in the context of political campaigns. Campaign slogans are often characterized and shaped by emotive words, and are also persuasive because most politicians adopt these linguistic devices to cajole the electorates to vote for them by presenting themselves as the only capable individuals for the position (Omozuwa and Ezejideaku, 2007). The point is that the phenomenon of persuasion is an integral part of campaign slogans and a necessary component of the pursuit and exercise of power. Politicians use a variety of techniques to ensure they captivate voters’ attention and establish credibility and trust amongst the electorates.
Semantics is that branch of linguistics which deals with meaning. In semantics, meaning cannot be fully understood by looking at a word in isolation but by looking at semantically related words; how words co-occur in a sentence to make meaning. Semantics deals basically with the mind to give appropriate meaning to a word or an expression. According to McGregor (2009, p. 129), ‘‘the notion of meaning in linguistics concerns that which is expressed by sentence, utterance and their components by language. The message or thought in the mind of a speaker is encoded in a way that sends a signal to the hearer also in a way that the message can be got.
He further explains that the context which is being communicated in a language is meaning which makes the language effective. McGregor’s view about meaning points out that both the speaker and the hearer contribute in giving the appropriate meaning to a word or an expression in a language.
Udofot (1999, p. 6) suggests that ‘it is necessary for semantics to draw a distinction between the usual meaning of a word or an utterance and the meaning it has in a specific circumstance’, she goes on to say that ‘a semantic analysis or study must take into consideration shared knowledge and belief, the society where the utterance is made and the subject that is being discussed’.
At the lexical level of analysis, this research looks at the lexical items that are peculiar in the Students’ Union Government (SUG) campaign slogans which are mostly dominated by nouns, emotive words, figurative expression and persuasive expressions. At the lexico- semantic level of analysis, this research focuses mainly on the shades of meaning specifically denotative and connotative shades of meaning. Campaign slogans are sometimes ambiguous; they tend to have more meanings or interpretations than the surface meaning. Emphasis is on the lexico-semantic features that permeate the 2016 University of Uyo Students’ Union Government (SUG) campaign slogans and will examine the semantic implications of the use of slogans in political campaigns. Emphasis is also on how words are carefully arranged in phrases and short sentences to convey a candidate’s message and to spur the audience to action. It is shown in this study that words and utterances are subject to different interpretations. This research work is to sharpen our awareness of how language works in the 2016 University of Uyo SUG campaign slogans. To bring out words that are peculiar in the slogans of campaigns, and to show the effect of slogans on the electorates.
LEXICO-SEMANTIC STUDY OF THE 2016 UNIVERSITY OF UYO SUG CAMPAIGN SLOGANS
