Volume 11, Issue 1

This study examines discourse structures and strategies employed by selected Nigerian socio-political actors to reconstruct a single dramatic event that involved Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari at the Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State on 12th March, 2020. The data comprise excerpts from various statements of Messrs Nnamdi Kanu, Femi Adesina, Femi Fani-Kayode, Lai Mohammed and Jamilu Gunddare, which were drawn from newspaper reports of Daily Post , Premium Times and The Cable between 12th and 13th March, 2020. Using the socio-cognitive model of critical discourse analysis as a guide, the qualitative analysis revealed that different discourse structures and strategies in the texts formed three broad themes: verbal attacks, crisis management and exposé. While Kanu deployed metaphor, dysphemism and number game to portray the event as an attempted arrest of Buhari’s impostor, Fani-Kayode employed exaggeration, dysphemism and positive other-representation to reconstruct it as an attempted attack. However, through euphemism, dysphemism, vagueness and disclaimers, Adesina and Mohammed describe the event as an embrace, while Gunddare used positive self-representation, legitimisation, euphemism and disclaimer to explain his supposed positive intent. The study, therefore, concludes that Nigerian socio-political actors, like their global counterparts, do not present realities in public discourse but reproduce their personal/group ideologies.

30 June Revolution and the military support that followed on 3rd of July are seen as controversial events that have led to redefining the key actors in the Egyptian authorities at that time: Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Military. As new photos play an important role in promoting certain political aspects, the current study examines the Al Jazeera’s feature stories photos on this event. In doing so, the study synthesizes Appraisal theory with intertextuality and visual social actor representation. It takes from the issue of an intertextual view of evaluative stance as its point of departure. The concept of intertextuality is then related to the visual and hypertextual properties of online feature stories. The study finds that the photos depicting the military and security forces resort to certain visual techniques that emphasize the condemnation and criticism of such institutions. On the other hand, the Al Jazeera online visually evaluates the Brotherhood Group and the supporters of Morsi positively.

This study undertakes a multimodal framing analysis of the Obidient movement in Nigeria, with a view to exposing how Internet memes are deployed to advertise Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria’s 2023 election. Forty memes were purposively sampled from Nigerian WhatsApp platforms and data were analysed qualitatively using aspects of Kress and van Leeuwen (2006. Reading images: The grammar of visual design , 2nd edn. London: Routledge) grammar of visual design and Kuypers (2002. Press bias and politics: How the media frame controversial issues . Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009. Framing analysis. In Kuypers Jim (ed.), Rhetorical criticism: Perspectives in action , 181–204. London: Lexington Books) rhetorical framing analysis. The findings reveal that the meme producers employed contextual variables such as labels, metaphors, visuals, salience and keywords to frame Peter Obi, the Obidient movement and the LP as a valid alternative in the presidential election. The study also shows the deployment of semiotic concepts such as salience, social distance, attitude and framing to positively represent the Obidient movement and Obi. The study concludes that the text producers deploy memes to portray the Obidients and the Labour Party presidential candidate as victims of an incredible electoral process, and that the memes are created to reveal broader socio-cultural realities, especially the predominance of religious and ethnic politics in the Nigerian context.

UNESCO’s definition of intangible cultural heritage has provided a widely recognized framework for the identification and preservation of intangible cultural heritage. It has legitimized the cultural practices of diverse communities, ensuring they are valued and protected. Despite its influence, UNESCO’s definition of intangible cultural heritage has faced academic criticism for several reasons, including being too broad, vague and even unscientific. The authors of this article believe that UNESCO’s definition still merits positive academic attention. Hence, the article proposes some conceptual underpinnings for UNESCO’s definition. Central to the proposal is a look at intangible cultural heritage which tries to enrich the definition by emphasizing the dynamic, interpretative, and purpose-driven nature of intangible cultural heritage. It highlights the continuous interaction between intangible and tangible elements, the inherent semiotic/communicative potential of intangible cultural heritage, and the diversity within intangible cultural heritage communities/groups. The proposal is based on concepts stemming from Peirce’s metaphysics and semiotics.

Semiotics uncovers signs and objects in narrative accounts and vivid descriptions in the larger body of texts through the power of an interpretant. A sign is an idea that stands for something bigger while an object is a possible interpretation or meaning of that idea. An interpretant is best thought of as the understanding that we have of the sign-object relation. In this study, we attempted to answer two research questions: (1) What signs do descriptive accounts of loneliness signify, and what objects do these significations suggest? (2) How do these sign-object relations accomplish awareness and understanding of loneliness as a deep human emotion? By thematically analysing 30 opinion articles on loneliness published in the US and Singapore newspapers, we were able to decipher the signs that op-ed articles on loneliness suggest, and we seemed to have unravelled the meanings of these signs. We seemed to have found two signs in our interpretation and meaning making: (1) In the US, loneliness exists due to the rapid deterioration of deep and meaningful human connections, and (2) In Singapore, loneliness that is made overt is a sign of human weakness. What object does the first sign suggest? We surmise that our material body has enormous power to connect with other human beings in the physical world in which we live. Fundamentally realizing the power of our lived body and our lived mind can allow us to sustain meaningful human connections that matter to our mental health. For the second sign, we argue that Singaporeans in general tend to create a binary self of which they are ensnared into a double identity that somehow explains who they are. However, this rise of embodying a binary self or a double identity in the Asian context seems to conceal difficult, heavy, and pervasive emotions such as loneliness bringing a debilitating impact on mental health. Theoretical and cultural implications invite Singaporeans to embrace vulnerability and human frailty as a way of dealing with loneliness as a dangerous emotion. Practical implications also draw into the power of embracing vulnerability and human frailty so that individuals can manage and overcome difficult emotions such as loneliness that has bearing on the kind of life they want to live.

While the instructional significance of teacher discourse is widely recognized, its interpersonal functions remain underexplored. This study employs Rapport-Management Theory (RMT) to analyze how a Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher, characterized by an authoritative teaching style, strategically utilized discourse strategies across illocutionary, discourse, participation, stylistic, and nonverbal domains to cultivate and sustain teacher–student rapport. The findings reveal that the teacher’s purposeful selection and integration of these strategies significantly enhanced classroom dynamics, effectively balancing authoritative instruction with student participation. This study extends RMT by identifying two key discourse strategies in EFL contexts: code-switching and collective turn-taking, which are particularly effective in fostering a supportive and inclusive classroom environment. Additionally, it underscores the interdependence between social and instructional dimensions in teacher discourse. Theoretically, this study bridges semiotics and educational practice, offering insights into how the symbolic nature of language shapes social interactions. Practically, it provides valuable insights for teacher training and professional development, equipping educators with the knowledge and tools necessary to adopt adaptive discourse strategies.

In addition to being a treasure of Chinese literature, the Shijing is also an integral part of world literature. Its translation and dissemination in Germany have a history of nearly 300 years, reflecting Germany’s sustained attention to Chinese literary classics and highlighting the dialogue and interactions between the two cultures at different historical stages. The powerful textual interpretations and meaning-construction functions of the Shijing are key reasons for its enduring relevance in Germany. From Jakobson’s theory of translation semiotics, the interlingual translation of the Shijing into German can be divided into a direct symbolic conversion from Chinese to German and translation via a third language. Versions directly based on the original Chinese text undergo a process from intralingual translation to interlingual translation, ultimately achieving equivalence in difference between Chinese and German language and cultural information as distinct symbolic systems. German translators and scholars have approached the Shijing from the perspectives of cultural interpretation, literary criticism, and aesthetic analysis, conducting cross-cultural interpretations. Embedded within this are diverse value propositions based on local cultural and academic traditions, including promoting cultural understanding, embodying the Chinese imagination, shaping literary concepts, and fostering cultural exchange. Investigating the cultural interaction during the dissemination of the Shijing in Germany and the research value propositions of German academia contributes to examining the construction of Shijing Studies in Europe and promotes the study of the Chinese classics’ dissemination overseas.