TY - JOUR

T1 - Metaphorical constructs and semiotic expressions in the BBC Yoruba Internet memes of English Premier League match results

AU - Osisanwo, Ayo

AU - Alugbin, Matthew

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 the author(s), published by De Gruyter on behalf of Soochow University.

PY - 2024/9/1

Y1 - 2024/9/1

N2 - This paper explores the deployment of metaphors in the BBC Yoruba-medium football results of the English Premier League, examining how cultural metaphorical choices shape meaning in online sport discourse. Through a discourse analysis of Yoruba-medium football results, the study reveals how metaphors drawn from Yoruba cultural milieu and everyday life are used to create vivid descriptions of game events, players, and teams. The study relies on Lakoff's conceptual metaphor theory, complemented by Kress and van Leeuwen's social semiotic approach to multimodality. Findings reveal that metaphors describe game events, teams, and players, thus, framing the contest in unique and evocative manners, drawing on cultural and shared knowledge to shape the understanding of the game in an adversarial sense. This study, therefore, argues that metaphors are deployed to convey deeper cultural meanings and values, and add creativity to match results. The findings point to the role of language and culture in shaping the experiences of football fandom in sports and media.

AB - This paper explores the deployment of metaphors in the BBC Yoruba-medium football results of the English Premier League, examining how cultural metaphorical choices shape meaning in online sport discourse. Through a discourse analysis of Yoruba-medium football results, the study reveals how metaphors drawn from Yoruba cultural milieu and everyday life are used to create vivid descriptions of game events, players, and teams. The study relies on Lakoff's conceptual metaphor theory, complemented by Kress and van Leeuwen's social semiotic approach to multimodality. Findings reveal that metaphors describe game events, teams, and players, thus, framing the contest in unique and evocative manners, drawing on cultural and shared knowledge to shape the understanding of the game in an adversarial sense. This study, therefore, argues that metaphors are deployed to convey deeper cultural meanings and values, and add creativity to match results. The findings point to the role of language and culture in shaping the experiences of football fandom in sports and media.

KW - BBC Yoruba

KW - culture

KW - English Premier League

KW - football result

KW - metaphor

KW - sport discourse

KW - Literature studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85204032487&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/7e61d4d3-f6bf-3315-8be1-205667ee91a8/

U2 - 10.1515/lass-2024-0032

DO - 10.1515/lass-2024-0032

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85204032487

VL - 10

SP - 415

EP - 436

JO - Language and Semiotic Studies

JF - Language and Semiotic Studies

SN - 2096-031X

IS - 3

ER -