Discursive representation of Boko Haram terrorism in selected Nigerian newspapers

Abstract

Studies on terrorism with bias towards Boko Haram (BH) have mainly been carried out from non-linguistic fields. The few linguistics-related studies that have examined the media reportage of the BH activities, with emphasis on the discourse and linguistic strategies deployed in the representations, have not been sufficient. This study, therefore, identifies the linguistic and discourse strategies deployed by selected newspapers in representing the BH and other social actors. For data, headline and overline stories are purposively sampled from four newspapers, published from 2011 to 2014, from the northern (Daily Trust and Leadership Nigeria) and southern (The Punch and The Nation) parts of Nigeria. The analysis is guided by a combination of critical discourse analysis and systemic functional linguistics. In all the reports subjected to analysis, 13 representational strategies were identified, while at least 15 tools from Van Leeuwen’s categorisations were used in representing social actors. The newspapers also deployed discourse strategies to manage the voices of social actors, identify and specify the social actors and action, label, condemn BH activities, among others. The mediated reports on BH insurgency orientate Nigerians.