A Stylistic Analysis Of The Language Of Political Campaigns In Nigeria: Evidence From The 2007 General Elections

Abstract

Politicians all over the world embellish their language in a unique way to give extra effect and force to their message in order to achieve their objective of winning more votes. This can be embodied in rhetoric or propaganda, involving repetition, promise, colloquialism, word coinages, pidginized and figurative expressions. The denotative and connotative meanings of the figurative expressions are analysed. It is argued that propaganda as an aspect of this register is characterized by exaggeration, rhetorical questions, and abusive utterances.