LEXICAL PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF PATRIOTISM AND SELFLESSNESS IN PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN’S SPEECHES

Abstract

The study analyses the lexical pragmatic processes of meaning modulation in the linguistic choices of President Goodluck Jonathan’s speeches. Using relevance theory and politeness theory, the study highlights observed usages that range from narrowing, broadening or loose usages and metaphorical extension to convey patriotism and selflessness in the speeches. The study adopted the qualitative method to outline, classify and analyze the lexemes of President Goodluck Jonathan’s speeches in order to account for the instances of patriotism and selflessness in the speeches, how the speeches appealed to the face wants of the addressee and how lexical pragmatic process are applied in the interpretation of the inherent implicature in the speeches. It was found that implicature is inherent in all choices and that communicative and cognitive principles of relevance are required to interpret the narrowed and broadened uses of words to understand the ad-hoc concepts that portray numerous instances of patriotism and selflessness in the speeches. The study also found out the inclination of the speeches towards mitigating face wants, and how the patriotic and selfless nature of the president played crucial roles in addressing the challenges that bedeviled the nation. It concluded that different situated meanings can be conveyed by the same word in different contexts, and that speakers and readers should exploit these lexical pragmatic mechanisms of meaning modulation for meaning interpretation.