Investigating multilingual contexts in the Nigerian advertising space: A domain of intellectual stimulation

Taofeek O. Dalamu

Anchor University, Lagos, Nigeria

Taofeek O. Dalamu earned a PhD from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, under a methodical supervision of Prof. Adeyemi Daramola, with specialization in Systemic Functional Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, and Digital Humanities in relation, mostly, to advertising communications. Currently, Dr. Dalamu is a member of International Systemic Functional Linguistics Association, and teaches English courses at Anchor University,
Lagos, Nigeria. This scholar has a variety of 32 publications in reputable international journals across the globe. See: www.hq.ssrn.com/taofeekdalamu/papers, www.researchgate. net.cdn/taofeekdalamu, www.academia.com/taofeekdalamuuniversityoflagos.




Abstract

This study examined advertising, exhibiting multilingual structures to reach the Nigerian audience. Halliday’s mood system and morphological processes served as the theoretical configurations for analyzing textual elements of advertisements. These contextual terminologies permitted quantitative and qualitative approaches to thrive in order to culminate the investigation. Thus, the analysis showed political motifs, religious spheres, royal domains, musical settings, and friendship environment, as the fascinating panaceas to motivate readers. English, Yorùbá, and Hausa languages were functional facilities to mesmerize consumers. However, the advertisements displayed textual interruptions: FEBUHARI, FELABRATION, OBIdiently, and ATIKUlating, being strong prerequisites in persuasive designs. Creativity indicates the logically-minded behavior of publicists in blending grammatical structures of different languages together, yielding a unified whole, generating novel semantic values for regurgitation. It seems indisputable that such textual constructs have the capability to influence lexicographers, increase word-stock(s) of languages, and projecting the advertising industry as possessing cerebral proficiencies in linguistics’ advancement.

Keywords:

advertising, intellectualism, msystem, morphology, multilingual context

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Published
2020-06-30


Dalamu, T. O. (2020) “Investigating multilingual contexts in the Nigerian advertising space: A domain of intellectual stimulation”, Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, (29), pp. 4–26. doi: 10.15290/cr.2020.29.2.01.

Taofeek O. Dalamu 
Anchor University, Lagos, Nigeria

Taofeek O. Dalamu earned a PhD from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, under a methodical supervision of Prof. Adeyemi Daramola, with specialization in Systemic Functional Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, and Digital Humanities in relation, mostly, to advertising communications. Currently, Dr. Dalamu is a member of International Systemic Functional Linguistics Association, and teaches English courses at Anchor University,
Lagos, Nigeria. This scholar has a variety of 32 publications in reputable international journals across the globe. See: www.hq.ssrn.com/taofeekdalamu/papers, www.researchgate. net.cdn/taofeekdalamu, www.academia.com/taofeekdalamuuniversityoflagos.