MST-Department of English & Linguistics

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Browsing MST-Department of English & Linguistics by Author "Gachara, M. Mwangi"

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    A pragmatic analysis of the language use to campaign against HIV/AIDS: a case study of Gikuyu speakers in Nairobi and Nyeri
    (2011-12-20) Gachara, M. Mwangi
    This study set to analyze the effectiveness of language used to campaign against HIV/AIDS by studying Gikuyu speakers drawn from Nairobi and Nyeri. The study investigated the originators' (of message items used to campaign against HIV/AIDS) intended meaning. Using Chi Square Test, the variation in message interpretation using the variables of residential area, sex, age and educational level were also analysed. We also evaluated the difference in impact between spoken and written discourse. The researcher presented various message items to respondents, both in written and spoken form. Spoken involved two songs, two radio announcements and two television commercials while the written included two billboards and two posters. Various groups and individuals engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS designed these items. These originators too were interviewed to establish the message(s) they intended to communicate. We also had control message items. Austin's Speech Act Theory (SAT) and Grice's Theory of Implicature were used. The two theories were considered appropriate since SAT helped indentify the utterance's meaning, the utterers' intentions and the hearers' interpretations. Grice's Theory of Implicature on the other hand guided us in identifying which maxims were flouted or obeyed leading to the arising interpretations. The secondary data was collected randomly from the many message items used in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire for the sampled respondents. Respondents were sampled using the friend of a friend approach due to the particular qualities (social variability) we were investigating. Originators of sampled secondary data were interviewed by administering an interview schedule. The study found that the originators of message items had an intended meaning. Further, the study found that the social variables of age and educational level had an effect on the interpretation of message items. Moreover, the research realised that written discourse was more impactful than spoken discourse by a 12.62% margin. The radio was found to be very a effective method of communication with a 100% accuracy value. The TV and Posters worked well with the urban population while songs were found to be good communication tools to the middle-aged. It is further recommended that observing taboos and moral nicities should not be done at the expense of communicating clearly. This calls for the removal of socio-cultural barriers that necessitate the heavy coding of messages used in the campaign against the disease. This research study is divided into five chapter one carries the introduction, chapter two the literature review and theoretical framework. Chapter three has the research methodology, while chapter four has data analysis and presentation. Chapter five contains findings, recommendations and conclusion.