Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Theses and Dissertations

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    A Morphosyntactic Study of English Language Usage in Selected Official Documents and Correspondences of The Lagos State Government
    (Department of English, Faculty of Art, Obafemi Awolowo University, 2023) ADENIYI, Sijuwade Toyin
    This study identified the peculiar lexical features in the selected government documents and correspondences. It analysed the structural patterns of the selected documents and correspondences. It also examined the functional contexts of the identified lexical and grammatical features in the selected documents and correspondences, and further discussed the implications of the language usage in governmental documents and correspondences on the characterisation of Nigerian English as a recognised regional variety of English in the world. This was with a view to showing the peculiar uses of language in the domain of State Government administration. This study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised 80 purposively selected correspondences and documents from the Public Service Office of Lagos State Government, Alausa as well as their websites. These correspondences comprised 25 letters, 25 memos, 20 circulars and 10 press releases recently archived between 2015 and 2021. The press releases were fewer than the other documents because they were lengthier than them. The secondary source included books, journal articles, and the Internet. The data collected were analysed using Hengeveld‘s Functional Discourse Grammar (2000) and Halliday‘s Systemic Functional Grammar (1985). The results showed that lexical items such as repetition, synonyms, antonyms and identification are foregrounded lexical features in the selected documents and correspondences. The study found that the documents and correspondences were most characterized by complex sentence structure, embedding, passivation and nominalization. It further revealed that the identified lexical items featured most prominently in circulars and press releases. Finally, the study discovered that the uses of language within the Civil Service of State Government of Lagos have implications on power structure among the officials. The study concluded that the deployment of language in government is formal, standard, polite, courteous, clear and devoid of ambiguity and misinformation.
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    An Experiential Metafuctional Analysis of News Report of Kidnappings in Selected Newspapers in Nigeria
    (Deparment of English, Faculty of Arts ,Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile Ife,Nigeria., 2024) OWOEYE,Damilola olawumi
    The study identified and analysed the processes, participants and circumstantial roles in selected news reports of kidnapping in The Punch, The Tide and Leadership newspapers in Nigeria. It also discussed the grammatical resources deployed to express experiential meanings in the news reports and related the experiential meaning to the socio-cultural context of Nigeria. These were done with a view to understanding how grammatical resources were deployed in news reports of kidnapping to represent the world of the language users. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised 20 purposively selected kidnapping news reports each from The Punch, The Tide and Leadership from 2018 to 2023, making a total of 60 reportage for the entire study. These newspapers were selected based on their wide coverage of kidnapping cases in different parts of the country. The news reports were closely read and analysed into clauses in order to bring out the grammatical resources used for expressing experiential meanings in them. The secondary source included books, journal articles and the Internet. The analysis of the data was guided by Michael Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar. The results showed that the experiential meanings in the clauses were reflected through the processes, participants and circumstantial roles across the three newspapers. The study revealed that the participants represented those carrying out actions of kidnapping and, the processes indicated different actions such as reporting, sensing or affirming the existence of kidnapping of people or students while the circumstantial roles gave detailed information about the location and time of the kidnappings in the selected newspaper reports. The study also found that grammatical resources for expressing experiential meanings were construed through the participants as expressed through the nominal groups, process types expressed through verbal groups and the circumstantial roles were expressed through the adverbial or prepositional groups. It discovered that across the three newspapers, there was preponderant manifestations of material and verbal processes while mental, relational and existential processes are not as dominant as the material and verbal processes with no instance of behavioural process in the three newspapers. The study further revealed that the preponderance of material and verbal processes indicated that kidnapping news reports centred on revealing the actions perpetrated by kidnappers to the kidnapees as well as reporting, exposing and decrying the criminal act perpetrated by the kidnappers to the victims.The study concluded that the grammatical resources were deployed to disseminate information on stakeholders as well as the circumstantial issue surrounding the acts of kidnapping.
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    Open Access
    A critical discourse analysis of fake news and hate speech among Nigerians in selected social media sites.
    (Department Of English, Faculty Of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University., 2023) Adewuya, Abiola Omotayo
    The study identified the patterns of language use in fake news and hate speech among Nigerians on the selected social media sites. It analysed the discursive strategies projecting identities and ideologies in the selected texts. It further described the use of language militating against peace and or promoting discord in the selected texts and discussed the implications of the use of language in the Nigerian context. All these were done with a view to uncovering the underlying issues of identity and ideology in the Nigerian wider contexts. The study used both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised 50 purposively selected fake news and 50 purposively selected hate speeches making 100 altogether. Among the 10 commonly used social media platforms in Nigeria, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp were selected based on perceived popularity and acceptance among Nigerians. The secondary source included books, journal articles and the Internet. The study adopted van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of CDA with bias for his ideological square drawing insights from Gumperz’s Interactional Sociolinguistics to analyse the data. The results showed that discourse producers on social media used patterns of language including lengthy titles, capital letters, lexicalisation, punctuation marks and slangy words/expressions in the fake news and hate speeches to emphasise issues and present people. The study also revealed that social media users discursively used language to showcase Self and Other identities in ethnic, religious, social and political forms with the use of figures of speech e.g. consonantal alliteration, metaphor, irony and synechdoche while ideologies of marginalisation, ethnic and religious biases etc. were expressed with discursive strategies such as actor description, categorisation, example/illustration, evidentiality, generalisation, national self(de)glorification, number game among others. It further revealed that fake news and hate speeches’ discursive features reflect negative presentations of different ethnicities and political office holders which mitigate against peace and/or promote discord in Nigeria. Finally, the study found that the implication of language use in fake news and hate speech on social media reflects resistance to domination and power abuse of the political class in the Nigerian context. The study concluded that fake news and hate speech on the social media reflect individual and collective ideologies reflective of the socio-political nature of Nigeria through which different identities are marked.
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    Itupale koko-oro ati imo Isowolo-ede Oriki awon iku Oke-ogun ( A critical analysis of thematic contents and stylistic features in oriki of towns in Oke-ogun).
    (Department of Linguistics and African languages, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, 2022) ADEMUYIWA, Adewale Lukman
    The study identified the issues of identity and cultural affinity of Òke Ògùn people of Oyo North Senatorial District in the oríkì of their towns. It also examined the concept of the oral formulaic and intertextuality in the oríkì of towns in Òkè-Ògùn. It further analysed the thematic contents and assessed the stylistic features in oríkì of Òkè-Ògùn towns. These were with a view to bringing to the fore, oral literary and stylistic qualities in theoríkì of Oke-ogun.
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    An Examination of Pauline Concept of Spiritual Gifts I 1Cor. 12:4-12 in The Context of Deliverance Practices in Selected Pentecostal Churches in South-Western Nigeria
    (Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife., 2010) Adegbite, Deborah Doyinsola
    This study examined the biblical and historical roots of the spiritual gifts and knowledge according to Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor 12:4-12 and how they manifested in selected Pentecostal churches in Southwestern Nigeria. It investigated the origin , growth and phenomenon of demonology and evaluated their impact on contemporary Christianity. This was with a view to determining the role and contributions of the deliverance ministers in the Nigerian Pentecostal Churches.