LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 16:8 August 2016
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Practing in HIV/AIDS Campaign Messages in the Benin Metropolis, Nigeria:
A Statistical Communicative Analysis

Patience Obiageri Solomon-Etefia

Abstract

This paper statistically scrutinizes the pragmatic functions that HIV/AIDS campaign messages play on the populace in the Benin metropolis, Nigeria. It picks its motivation from the little attention paid in the statistical cum linguistic analysis, to both HIV/AIDS campaign messages and the pragmatic role of these messages on the populace in Benin metropolis. For data, a questionnaire was administered to 1,660 randomly selected respondents aged between 15 and 65 years from five local government areas (LGAs) in Benin Metropolis comprising Or?do, Ikpoba-Okha, Ovia North-East, Ovia South-West and Egor, which were purposively selected for the study. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were also held in the selected LGAs. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance at p<0.05, while the interviews were qualitatively analysed. Mey’s pragmatic acts theory was adopted in this survey design to aid the structuring of the questionnaire. The paper reveals that HIV/AIDS campaign messages in Benin metropolis were information-motivated discourse characterised by the practs of counselling (50.6%), cautioning (40.1%), threatening (3.6%) and persuading (5.7%). This is achieved through the interaction of contextual features of shared-situational knowledge (ssk), shared-cultural knowledge (sck), reference (ref), and inference (inf); with a resultive behavioural impact on the populace as: avoidance of the use of unsterilized objects (56.6%), decrease/stop of risky sexual behaviours (46.5%), abstinence from sexual activity (43.1%) and so on. However, the paper claims that practing being a pragmatic approach of the pragmeme is used in advocating for a behavioural change in the society.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS campaigns messages, practing, pragmatic acts, behavioural impact, communication, Benin metropolis.

1.0 Introduction

HIV/AIDS is among one of the greatest threat facing the entire world today, of which sub Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence rate; and Nigeria, Edo state precisely is not left out. HIV/AIDS is one of the various sexually transmitted infection in the world and it ranks 10th among the world’s killer disease (Wagbatsoma and Okojie, 2006). According to Piot et al. (1999), HIV has become endemic in parts of Africa, thus it has become a major public health problem of the same magnitude as malaria, diarrhoea and malnutrition. Thus, Parker (2000) opines that there is the need to yearly review the awareness level of HIV/AIDS disease all over the world. UNAIDS (2008) avers that HIV/AIDS is among the greatest challenges to sustainable economic, social and civil society development today; thus, a global crisis that undermines all aspects and all sectors of the entire society. And no region of the world has been spared; the epidemic remains an extremely dynamic, growing and changing character as the virus take advantages of new opportunities for transmission. Consequently, an effective response demands committed, urgent and sustained action by alliances of individuals, non-governmental and governmental organizations. Despite the intensive efforts by the media, government, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to disseminate information on HIV/AIDS, there is still an increase in HIV infection and AIDS cases in the entire world, including Benin metropolis. The fact that a cure or vaccine for HIV infection had not been detected, communication campaign is at its pick aimed at prevention of infection through behavioural change in the society, which is the only hope. Thus, UNAIDS (1999) asserts that the major breakthroughs both in types and costs of treatment are transforming the response to HIV/AIDS and giving new hope to HIV positive people through communicative information.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Patience Obiageri Solomon-Etefia
Department of Linguistics Studies
University of Benin
Benin City
Nigeria
patience.solomon-etefia@uniben.edu
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