A PRAGMA-STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF COMMAND TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS USED FOR THE NIGERIAN ARMY ARMS, SILENT AND SENTRY DRILL

Eugenia Chinyere Ekwesi

Abstract


The command terms and expressions in the Nigerian Army reflect discursive practices that indicate language used professionally for operational efficiency. This study investigates the command terms and expressions used by the Nigerian Army for Arms, Silent and Sentry Drill, as a distinct use of language by the Nigerian Army, with identifiable communicative patterns and stylistic essence. The study examines these terms and expressions with a specific interest in the peculiar linguistic and functional attributes which set them apart from other forms of drills or parades in the Nigerian Army. It explains how the command terms and expressions used for this parade are a part of the Nigerian Army’s formal use of language, for drills or parades, that reveal the use of power in military functions and activities. It also explains how the Army achieves orderliness and attains meaning using the command terms and expressions for the Nigerian Army Arms, Silent and Sentry Drill. The spoken data are elicited through the fieldwork and are analysed qualitatively with the Speech Acts theory by J.L. Austin and Conversational Implicatures by H.P. Grice. This study interrogates the discourse on command terms and expressions for Arms, Silent and Sentry Drill linguistically focusing on the communicative essence, pragmatic peculiarities, and stylistic features. It clarifies how the terms and expressions constitute formal communicative resources with specific meaning implications. The study reveals that the command terms and expressions in this context reflect performatives used to exercise power over the troops to achieve immediate actions, a perfect drill and other military objectives. The study also reveals that the style of these command terms and expressions reflects the use of sound symbolism, and they rely on their sequential nature to achieve meaning and orderliness. The study concludes that the terms and expressions are contextual and meaningful, though they are implied. The implication is that the use of sequential command terms and expressions in commanding the Nigerian Army Arms, Silent and Sentry Drill buttresses meaning, aids orderliness and reveals the regimental nature of the military.

 

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command terms and expressions, drill, implicatures, Nigerian army, pragma-stylistic, speech acts

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejlll.v9i3.641

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