TY - JOUR

T1 - Ideological Construction of Deviance in Street Children’s Discourse in Southwestern Nigeria

AU - Olajimbiti, Ezekiel Opeyemi

PY - 2023/1

Y1 - 2023/1

N2 - This paper explores how Nigerian street children construct deviance in their discourse, which has been overlooked in previous research. Through participant observation and interviews with 104 street children and Critical linguistic qualitative analysis using the CDA approach, findings show that deviance was constructed as alignment with street abnormality and a struggle for survival. Employing strategies such as evocations of sympathy, commonality, trivialization, and overgeneralization, their constructions reflect street ideology and beliefs which highlight social inequality and class differences between streets and mainstream society. These beliefs shape street childrens cognitive models, value systems and influence their worldview.

AB - This paper explores how Nigerian street children construct deviance in their discourse, which has been overlooked in previous research. Through participant observation and interviews with 104 street children and Critical linguistic qualitative analysis using the CDA approach, findings show that deviance was constructed as alignment with street abnormality and a struggle for survival. Employing strategies such as evocations of sympathy, commonality, trivialization, and overgeneralization, their constructions reflect street ideology and beliefs which highlight social inequality and class differences between streets and mainstream society. These beliefs shape street childrens cognitive models, value systems and influence their worldview.

KW - Literature studies

KW - Devianz

KW - Deviance

KW - Beliefs

KW - Critical linguistics

KW - Nigerian Street Children

U2 - 10.3262/ZFD2301010

DO - 10.3262/ZFD2301010

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 11

SP - 10

EP - 30

JO - Zeitschrift für Diskursforschung

JF - Zeitschrift für Diskursforschung

SN - 2195-867X

IS - 1

ER -