A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Selected Annangs' Proverbial Social Language

Abstract— Continuous creation, formation, maintenance and sustenance of proverbial social language in today’s multifaceted, heterogeneous and monolingual traditional Annang societies are very necessary. This study examines the multimodalities in Annang’s proverbial social language or proverbs. The linguistic and non-linguistic elements such as the facial expressions of the speakers and the listeners, the venues, time of delivery, colours of items and other semiotic modes; their influences and relevance are investigated in this study. The study also examines the multifunctional roles of Annang’s proverbs. The study adopts a qualitative-descriptive research design and employs George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s (1980) Cognitive Theory of Metaphor. Data were purposively collected from the interactions of the author with the Annang people in Akwa-Ibom State and in Lagos State through participatory observation and recorded conversations. One of the major findings is that nouns are the linguistic features that significantly constitute the language choices of Annang proverbs. The study also reveals that multimodal elements including contextual settings, speaker authority, and facial expressions significantly influence the interpretation and effectiveness of these proverbs. The study therefore recommends that Annang proverbial social language should be applied intentionally and appropriately by all Annang people to act as a catalyst in moving people to positive directions in order to minimise avoidable conflicts, destructions and death.