A multimodal discourse analysis of selected churches’ logos and mottos in Southwest Nigeria
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Date
2016
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
The study identified and classified the modes of communication in the logos. It also analysed the linguistic features of the mottos. It further discussed the functional relations of the visual and linguistic modes to their contextual issues. This was done to appreciate the communicative potency of church logos and mottos in conveying messages in the competitive world of church establishment in Nigeria.
The study employed both primary and secondary data. The primary data comprised forty selected Pentecostal church logos and their respective mottos in Southwest Nigeria. This region was selected because most of the churches have their headquarters there. Also, the Pentecostal churches were selected because they are at the centre-stage of Christian movement and ideology in contemporary times. The church logos and mottos were randomly selected and their multimodal features such as colour, shape, image(s), font and text were subjected to descriptive analysis in relation to the underlying ideological issues. The secondary data comprised books, journal articles and the Internet. The analysis was done using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Multimodal Discourse Analytical Framework, with insights from Halliday’s model of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG).
The results of this study showed that Pentecostal churches used visual and linguistic items in the logos and mottos in promoting Christian values. In line with objective one, the visual devices such as pictures, colours, symbols and postures are used in arresting the attention of the audience. Linguistic features such as nominal groups, non-finite clause, mood, graphological elements and ellipsis are used in convincing and enticing the audience in line with the underlain objectivesof the Christian body. Furthermore, there is functional relationship between the visual and verbal modes of communication in the selected data in expressing the ideology of the church.
The study concluded that the discursive implications of visual resources and linguistic features in communicating the ideology of Pentecostal churches served as instruments for advertising Christian values and shaping the minds of people.
Description
x,110p
Keywords
Nigeria, pentecostal, ideology, Multimodal discourse, Logo, Motto, Church logo, Church motto, Discourse analysis
Citation
Yagba, O.E. (2016). A multimodal discourse analysis of selected churches’ logos and mottos in Southwest Nigeria.