"silence is the best answer for a bully": An exploration of humour techniques in selected Nigerian newspaper political cartoons
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In: Language and Semiotic Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3, 01.09.2024, p. 367-396.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - "silence is the best answer for a bully"
T2 - An exploration of humour techniques in selected Nigerian newspaper political cartoons
AU - Osisanwo, Ayo
AU - Atoloye, Lekan
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 - Newspaper political cartoons, known for their satirical nature, employ semiotic and linguistic techniques to comment on or criticise political leaders and events humorously. While previous studies on Nigerian newspaper political cartoons have focused on ideological issues and discourse frames, little attention has been given to the linguistic investigation of semiotic humour techniques in these cartoons. This study, therefore, investigates these humour techniques, utilising Salvatore Attardo and Victor Raskin's General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) as the framework within a descriptive design. Three newspapers - Punch, The Guardian, and Daily Trust - were purposively selected for their regular publication of cartoons, criticising Nigeria's politics. Eleven political cartoons were purposively selected for their semiotic and humorous depictions of Nigeria's politics, and subjected to linguistic analysis. Six semiotic humour techniques were identified in the cartoons: exaggeration, humorous metaphor, distortion of formulaic expressions, neologism, innovative collocation, and sarcasm. These techniques were employed to satirise three governance issues in Nigeria - misgovernance, corruption and insecurity.
AB - Newspaper political cartoons, known for their satirical nature, employ semiotic and linguistic techniques to comment on or criticise political leaders and events humorously. While previous studies on Nigerian newspaper political cartoons have focused on ideological issues and discourse frames, little attention has been given to the linguistic investigation of semiotic humour techniques in these cartoons. This study, therefore, investigates these humour techniques, utilising Salvatore Attardo and Victor Raskin's General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) as the framework within a descriptive design. Three newspapers - Punch, The Guardian, and Daily Trust - were purposively selected for their regular publication of cartoons, criticising Nigeria's politics. Eleven political cartoons were purposively selected for their semiotic and humorous depictions of Nigeria's politics, and subjected to linguistic analysis. Six semiotic humour techniques were identified in the cartoons: exaggeration, humorous metaphor, distortion of formulaic expressions, neologism, innovative collocation, and sarcasm. These techniques were employed to satirise three governance issues in Nigeria - misgovernance, corruption and insecurity.
KW - general theory of verbal humour
KW - humour techniques
KW - Nigerian newspapers
KW - political cartoons
KW - Literature studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85200490339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/98eed23a-0635-3d96-97a9-942de2b1eb32/
U2 - 10.1515/lass-2024-0009
DO - 10.1515/lass-2024-0009
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85200490339
VL - 10
SP - 367
EP - 396
JO - Language and Semiotic Studies
JF - Language and Semiotic Studies
SN - 2096-031X
IS - 3
ER -