The Analysis of Pragmatic Presupposition in English News Headlines

Dong, Tian; Shao, Pingping

doi:10.2991/isss-16.2016.76

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Evidence from literature shows that scholars have conducted some empirical studies on semantic and pragmatic analyses of news headlines at different levels in Nigeria and beyond. For instance, Molek-Kozakowska [2014] explored the use of coercive metaphors in news headlines of a UK newspaper, using a cognitive-pragmatic technique while Dong and Shao [2016] did a pragmatic presupposition in English news headlines in China. Similarly, Al-Hindawi and Ali [2018] analysed headlines cast by CNN and BBC on civil unrest in Syria.…”

Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Coronavirus and COVID-19: Influence of Nigerian Newspapers’ Headline Construction on Audience Information-Seeking Behaviour

Ojebuyi¹,

Lasisi²,

Ajetunmobi³

2021

CTC 2021 Proceedings Book

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Since the onset of the new coronavirus, the mass media, across the globe, have continued to draw special attention to the disease by adopting different pragmatic and rhetoric strategies. In Nigeria for instance, the news media have continued to draw people’s attention to the virus by using COVID-19 and coronavirus as synonymous lexical entities in the headlines of their news stories. These lexical choices are believed to have some influence on how the audience understand and seek information about the virus. However, existing studies in media and health communication have not copiously explored the relationship between the lexical choices by media to report the COVID-19 pandemic and people’s information-seeking behaviour about the virus. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate how Nigerian journalists used coronavirus and COVID-19 as the key terms to report the virus and how the pragma-semantic implicatures of the lexical choices influenced audience information-seeking behaviours. Pragmatic Acts and Information-Seeking theories were employed as the theoretical framework while online survey and content analysis were adopted as methods. Findings show that although Nigerian journalists used coronavirus (SD=2.090) more often than COVID-19 (SD=1.924) in the headlines, the audience employed COVID-19 (M=2.23, SD=.810) more than coronavirus (M=1.88, SD=.783) while searching information about the virus. Besides, journalists’ use of COVID-19 in the headlines to educate (Chi-square =37.615, df=11, P<.000), warn (Chi-square =26.153, df=11, P<.006), assess (Chi-square= 24.350, df=11, P<.011) and sensitise (Chi-square =24.262, df=11, P<.012) facilitated audience interest in seeking information about the virus than when coronavirus is used as a keyword in the headlines. The lexical choices made by journalists to report a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic have implications for citizens’ knowledge about the crisis.

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Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%