Private publications in Nigerian newspapers: linguistic and cultural characteristics

Aim. To describe and analyse the linguistic and cultural characteristics of private publications in Nigerian newspapers. Methodology. To solve the tasks at hand, a variety of scientific methods have been used, both general and special. The methods of systematic and cluster sampling were used for the purposes of language data accumulation. The need for description and analysis of lexical and grammatical peculiarities resulted in the use of formal grammatical method, the analysis of dictionary definitions, component analysis and comparative analysis. Methods of generalisation of language evidence and of statistical records were also used. The research deals with a body of printed, non-journalist publication texts in the printed newspapers of Nigeria, such as the Vanguard, Leadership, This Day. Results. The article uncovers the linguistic and cultural particularities of private publications in Nigerian newspapers. It gives a description of linguistic, social and cultural characteristics of three types of the most widespread private publications in the region. Social and cultural dominants reflected in the publications are highlighted. The article provides an analysis of lexical and grammatical defining characteristics in private publications. It draws the conclusion of a prominent influence of oral speech on the publications in CLASSIFIEDS section. The author clarifies the phenomena of structural deviations in the Nigerian variation of English. Research implications . The conducted research seems useful and interesting for philologists, sociolinguists and specialists working with territorial varieties of the English language in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa.