| Abstract: |
This paper critically analyses the ideological use of modals by the current Nigerian President, General Muhammadu Buhari in his New Year message to the citizens of Nigeria, which is ultimately designed to elicit favorable political support from them. The data was collected from the on-line version of the 1st January, 2021 broadcast. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), the study pinpoints the ideological underpinnings of the modals used by the president in his New Year message to the people of Nigeria. The study reveals that modals such as will, would, shall, can, must, could, etc., are used by the president for persuasion, obligation, promises, demonstration of political will/commitment, to manipulate the people and to solicit public support. Significantly, this paper provides critical insight to the peculiar use of modals in political context and avers that modals are not just linguistic elements, but most importantly, ideological tools. |
EBONYI JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE
