RELIGION AND LANGUAGE: A CURSORY SURVEY OF THE NATURE AND STATUS OF LANGUAGE USE IN CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Edward, Chijioke and AGBO, Isaiah I. and Kadiri, Goodluck C. (2017) RELIGION AND LANGUAGE: A CURSORY SURVEY OF THE NATURE AND STATUS OF LANGUAGE USE IN CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN NIGERIAN SOCIETY. In: School of General Studies International Conference, May 7–10, 2017, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

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Abstract

Language is the expression and communication of emotions, ideas, or thoughts between human beings by means of speech and hearing. The concept of language, as well as the varied uses to which man puts it, is multifaceted. Studies of religious language often work with a static, simplistic view of language as possessing one criterion of meaningfulness and one basic form. A linguistic approach, however, suggests that language is much more complex, with ongoing questions about how meaning works, how language is comprehended or learned, and how it functions in interaction. The grammatical resources of mood and transitivity employed by preachers enable us to access and appraise individual and group experiences, as well as intergroup relations in social interactions. In Nigeria, as elsewhere, sermons are regarded as an art form that integrates scientific analysis, literature, and imaginative composition (Vaessen, 1998). This “imaginative composition,” which is universally acknowledged in sermonic discourse, raises the question of how it applies in Nigeria, a nation that uses English as a second language. This study therefore analyses the nature and status of religious language in Christian Nigerian society. The Theory of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) provides the theoretical anchor for the paper

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
Divisions: Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Humanities
Depositing User: Uchenna Eneogwe
Date Deposited: 05 Sep 2025 14:36
Last Modified: 05 Sep 2025 14:36
URI: http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/5483

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