Linguistic Analysis of Hausa Style of Advertisements in Radio Kano: A Pragmatic Approach

Citation: Babangida Magaji Isa (2017). Linguistic Analysis of Hausa Style of Advertisements in Radio Kano: A Pragmatic Approach. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 5. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660

LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF HAUSA STYLE OF ADVERTISEMENTS IN RADIO KANO: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

Babangida Magaji Isa

ABSTRACT

It is a well known fact that through advertisements goods and services are been advertised to consumers, people are therefore exposed to numerous advertising messages. Advertisers compete among themselves. Therefore, they use different devices to catch the attention of audience. They arouse their desire towards certain goods and services. In their attempt to persuade people to buy their products, advertisers use language quite distinctively. They use various linguistic styles to catch attention of their audience. This study focuses on analyzing some linguistic features of Hausa advertisements in Bello Xandago radio Kano (AM/FM) and brings out the pragmatic effects on the audience. In order to generalize such linguistic features of Hausa advertisements in this radio station, Just two samples have been selected, described and analyzed in the light of pragmatic approach. It was conclude that, as for the sample advertisement provided, the advertisers uses a persuasive style to begins with either asking questions, as in: Kinàa sôo / Kanàa sôo? (do you want?) or Àlbìshrinkù (for your information), an attempt to call the attention of the audience. Furthermore, the advertisers make use of short sentences to facilitate the audience’s quick processing of the message conveyed. It was also concludes that the advertisers uses a style of code-switching.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

For many years, Hausa has been one of the languages in use in the mass media in Nigeria and other countries and also for advertisement. Through advertisement, consumers are been persuaded to obtain certain goods and services. Goddard (2002:23) opined that:

The main element of advertising is the conscious intention behind the text which has as its goal to benefit the advertiser either materially or through some other less tangible gain such as enhancement of status or image.

Dyer (1982:33) notes that the central function of advertising is to “create desires that previously did not exist”. The task of the advertiser, Dyer concludes, is not to inform, but also to persuade.

Advertisers use language quite distinctively. They use controversial statements in unusual ways, manipulating or distorting their everyday meanings. They break the rules of language for effect, use words out of context and even make up new ones as well as communicating with people using simple and straightforward language (Bolinger, 1980:82). In addition, advertizing agencies sometimes produce statements that are difficult to understand even to the native speakers. In their effort to sell, or to attract attention, advertisers are not usually contented with simply conveying facts about the product. They virtually exaggerate the facts that appeal to people’s emotions, Zegarac, (2003:68). 

This paper intend to make a linguistic analysis of such kind of language use in advertisements, in radio stations in Kano State and to bring out the pragmatic effects

1.2  AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper is to establish the pragmatic effects of Hausa advertisements in Bello Dandago radio Kano, as such relate to ‘Relevance Theory’. The study has the following objectives:

a. To identify the various forms of Hausa advertisement in radio stations in Kano State.

b. To identify the pragmatic features associated with each sampled advertisement and their impact on the audience through Relevance Theory

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study concerns the linguistic analysis of Hausa advertisement in radio station. Though there are many radio and television stations in Kano that uses Hausa as advertising language, the study restrict itself to Radio Kano (AM/FM). The study also restrict itself to Pragmatic approach as in the Relevance Theory

1.4 THE DEFINITION OF ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisements have been defined by linguists differently. Vasiloaia, (2003:4) defined advertisement in its simplest sense, “the word advertisement means drawing attention to something or notifying or informing somebody or something”

Advertising generally speaking, ‘is the promoting of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually performed by an identified sponsor’’ Linghong (2006:71).

The definition provided, have in common, describing advertisement as a means of promoting the product, idea, or organization and the market, with the aim to give information to and persuade people of the advantage of the product and induce them to buy it.

1.5 FORMS OF ADVERTISEMENT

According to Leech (1996) advertisement can be classified in to four. These are:

Commercial consumer advertisement. This is directed to a mass audience, aims at promoting the sales of a commercial product or services.

Prestige advertisement. Here, the name of the company is mention or advertised rather than the products or services.

Industrial/ trade advertisement. This is a situation where company advertises its products to another firms. ‘Industrial advertisement lays emphasis on the factual information than the prestige and consumer advertisement and less emphasis on the persuasive element’’.

Another classification of advertisement is according to medium of communication, like Television, radio, magazines, newspapers etc

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Advertising is a special type of communication from a producer or company to the public. It is a communication to potential purchasers who pay attention to the information provided, who are persuaded to purchase or to experience things (Dyer, 1982:42). Today advertisement is worldwide, and human beings are exposed to its influence everyday. In this section, a review of relevant literature was undertaken on approaches to advertisements; language of advertisements; linguistic features of advertisement and some literature on Hausa advertisements. 

2.2 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertisement in general has been approached from different perspectives. There is a Structuralist approach such as Laymore (1975) and Millun (1975); semioticist approach such as Williamson (1978) and Barthes (1984c); Sociolinguist or Pragmatic approach such as Garfinkel (1978) and Linguist approach such as Pateman (1983). This paper uses pragmatic approach to analyze linguistic features of Hausa advertisements in radio Kano

2.3 LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ADVERTISEMENT

There are many researchers conducted on the linguistic features of advertisements. Most of these researches are on English advertisements. The findings of Leech (1996), Myers (1994), Tanaka (1992, 1994) and Vasiloaia, (1996) who elaborate on the linguistic features of the advertisements are drawn upon.

From the predominant persuasive function of advertising language, a set of typical linguistic features such as, simple syntactic structure can be derived, which Vasiloaia, (1996:4) considered them ‘characteristics of the language of advertisements” According to Leech (1996:37), advertising language frequently uses figures of speech and other stylistic devices. Myers (1994) and Tanaka (1994) pointed out that, advertising language contains simple syntactic structure and high rate of repetition. They added that, deliberate errors in spelling or grammar, metaphor or paradox are also accompanied.

Some of the linguistic features of advertising language this paper aims to analyze are the use of high level redundancy due to high degree of repetition or reduplication, semantic undertone, and morphosyntactic structures. Linguistic features typical of the advertising language also include variations on the established standards of grammar: usage of sounds (alliteration, assonance, rhyme, tunes and intonation), deviations in spelling and switching of languages. Leech, (1996:63) and Myers, (1994:46)

2.4 HAUSA RADIO ADVERTISEMENT

For many years, Hausa has been one of the languages of mass media communication in many radio and television stations in Nigeria and other countries. Through these mass media, goods and services are being advertised. There are some researches conducted on Hausa Radio advertisements such as: Funtua, (1997); Kano, (1999); Abdulmumini, (2010); among others.

Funtua, (1997), studies Hausa advertisements, in which particular attention was paid to the work of an individual artist, Bashir Isma'ila Ahmed. His research focuses on Hausa oral literary and popular culture forms in the collection of the text of Bashir Isma’ila’s advertisements.

Abdulmumin (2010) In his study, tries to study the misuse of Hausa in advertising, whereby he claims that Hausa advertisements failed below standard in their use of Hausa orthography. He argues that this is due to the advertisers little knowledge of Hausa language. He therefore, tries to examines and provide possible solutions to such misuse of language.

By implication, this paper is in contrast to Funtua’s (1997), and Abdulmumin, (2010). The present study aims at: analyzing various forms of Hausa advertisement in radio Kano with a view to examine the phonological, morphosyntactic, semantic and pragmatic features. And critically examines the impact of the said linguistic features on the audiences, about the products/services being advertised in the light of ‘Relevance Theory’.

3.0 METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

The method of data collection for this study will be library research, for reviewing related literature, collecting different advertisements from AM/FM radio Kano and at the same time transcribing them. Oral interviews to advertisers on the mentioned media will also fallow. Samples of these adverts collected will be analyze based on stated objectives.

3.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study was conducted through ‘Relevance theory’ to weigh the pragmatic, semantic undertone, the morphosyntactic and syntactic structures of the wordings in Hausa advertisements in electronic media.

‘Relevance theory’ is a framework for the study of cognition, proposed primarily in order to provide a psychological or impact account of communication. The theory was proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986b; 1987, & 2012) as a model of communication based on pragmatics. Key assumptions of the theory include:

Each utterance or advertisement call the listeners’ attention and therefore, expect relevance. The audiences need to know the message that the advertisers try to convey and attempt to interpret the message.

Every act of ostensive communication, communicates the presumption of its own optional relevance. The ostensive of the advertisement is to inform the audience the advantage and or quality, etc, of the products.

3  The theory presumes that humans process information in terms of its   relevance.    Thus, the relevance of information for an individual can be measured against the effort expanded on the processing of the same information.

4 The public understand the message according to the ongoing situation.  Advertisement is a communication of ostensive- inference in which the audience need to construct a dynamic context including the whole set of assumptions forming the cognitive environment of the communicators.

During the interpretation of the advertisement, new assumption and contextual effort are awarded with more contextual effort. At the same time, the process of sending relevance retains the audience attention for longer time and leaves their deeper impression on the advertise product.

4.0  DATA ANALYSIS

This paper is set to make linguistic analysis of Hausa advertisement in media. The data was collected by different method, especially listening to the radio station, and obtain advertisements and at the same time transcribed the data for analysis in line with the objectives of this paper. Furthermore, oral questions were made to the advertisers, for further clarification on some advert as the case may be.

(1) Hypo (a kind of washing/cleaning agent).

Kinàa sôo bayìnkì yà hàskaka?

(Do you want your toilet to look clean?)

Wànkè bayìnkì dà hypo.

(wash your toilet with hypo)

Don tsaftàcêewaa,

(For cleanliness,)

Wànkè bayìnkì dà hypo.

(wash your toilet with hypo)

Hypo yanàa kashè cututtukàa nan tàake.

(Hypo kills germs instantly,)

Don bayìnkì yà zama tsaf-tsaf,

(For your toile to be clean,)

Bâa xigòn dàtti,

(No single stain,)

Wànkè bayìnkì dà hypo.

(wash your toilet with hypo)

 

Don tsaftàcêwaa,

(For cleanliness,)

Kì nèmi hypo à kan kuxi Nairàa hàmsin kacal.

(Obtain hypo at the coast of fifty Naira only)

This is an advertisement for hypo (a kind of washing/cleaning agent). The advertiser starts with asking a rhetorical question, but for effect purposes. This is one of the typical advertisement assumptions, i.e. each utterance or advertisement calls the listeners’ attention, and therefore expects relevance. It could be depicted in:

Kinàa sôo bayìnkì yà hàskaka

(Do you want your toilet to look clean?)

Syntactically, the advertiser makes use of short sentences; this facilitates the audience’s quick processing of the message conveyed through the advertisement. If however there are complex sentences, the audience would have to pay closer attention to the content of the advert in order to be able to process the message transmitted.  

In this advert, there is the frequent reiteration of a phrase, Wànkè bayìnkì dà hypo. (wash your toilet with hypo) that appears three times. This does not mean the advertiser believes that the listeners do not understand the initial message. The reiteration functions as a strategy that contributes to the audience’s unconscious memorization of this repeated phrase.

This pitch of voice on the phrase nan tàake (instantly) is an appeal to the audience’s worldview about the fast acting capacity of the product.

The advertiser makes use of reduplication tsaf-tsaf (very clean) to emphasize that the toilet will be very clean. On the surface, this is a case of morphological reduplication. However, the underlying effect is pragmatic, for emphasis on the nature of the cleaning effect expected of Hypo.

The advertiser also makes use of phrase bâ xigòn dàtti (not a single drop of stain): an attempt to re-emphasize the action of the advertised product. The advertiser may say bâ sauran dàtti, (no dirt will remain). But instead, used the word xigò (a drop), to describe the dirt. It is a well known fact that dirt has no drop. The idea of using drop here is to belittle the dirt to a very minute matter, and even that would not remain after using the product. Finally, in this advertisement, the advertiser uses a persuasive phrase, kì nèemi hypo (look for hypo) instead of sàyi (buy) hypo.

2) Text Book English for all

Àlbìshrinkù ‘yan makarantaa

(For your information students)

Maalàm Kàbirù Muusaa Jammajè

(Malam Kabiru Musa Jammaje)

 

Yaa saakè fitoo mukù dà wani littaafìi

(Has released another book for you)

Mài suunaa “English for all’’ na xaya

(Titled English for all book one)

‘English for all’

(English for all)

Yaa qùnshi muhìmman darussàn harshèn Tuurancii màasu yawàa

(It contains many important lessons on English language)

Wàxandà marùbucîn ya gabatar

(Which the author presented)

À shirìnsà na ‘creative writing’ dà kè nân Freedom Radio

(In his programme, creative writing at Freedom Radio)

Har’ìlaayâu, ‘English for all’

(In addition, English for all)

Yaa qùnshi shaawàrwarii har gùdaa hàmsin

(It contains up to fifty advices)

Gà màsu sôn làqantàr tsantsar harshèn Tuurancii.

(For those who want to learn English language)

 

Kuu dai kù hanzàrtaa kù nèemi ‘English for all’

(You just hurry and look for English for all

Wàllafàr Kàbirù Musa Jammaajè

(Authored by Kabiru Musa Jammaje)

À Kàsuwar Sabon gàri, kàsuwar Kurmìì,

(At Sabon Gari market, Kurmi market)

Sahàd Store dà BUK bookshop new site

(Sahad store and BUK bookshop new site)

Sai kun zoo.

(Till you come)

This is an advertisement for English text book. At the beginning of the advertisement, the designer does not point out the product or services directly, but gives a statement:

Àlbìshrinkù ‘yan makarantaa

(for your information, students).

Obviously, the designers make use of the typical advertisement assumption, i.e. each utterance or advertisement calls the listeners’ attention, and therefore expects relevance. This advertisement succeeds in this instance. Because, the moment a listener hears the above statement, àlbishìrinkù (for your information), definitely he keeps listening. So in this advertisement, the success lies in catching the attention of the public in general. That is to say, the advertisement fulfills the first aim - to attract as large audience and as many as potential audience possible. Some audiences may have a question like what information will be delivered to them in their minds. Pragmatically, the utterance of the phrase “àlbishìrinkù!” played an important role in calling and retaining the audiences’ attention, in consonance with the assumption of the theory under reference.

At this stage, the audiences’ attention is in suspense, waiting for the information from the advertiser, where he continues:

Maalàm Kàbirù Muusaa Jammajè

(Malam Kabiru Musa Jammaje)

Yaa saakè fitoo mukù dà wani littaafìi

(Has release another book for you)

Working on the next assumption, i.e. the ostensive of the advertisement is to inform the audience the advantage, basis, quality, etc of the products or services, the advertiser continues to arouse the curiosity of the audience, creating a new context and challenges in the audiences, as in the following:

Mài suunaa “English for all’’ na xaya

(Titled English for all book one)

Then the audience gains a new contextual effect, that is:

Yaa qùnshi muhìmman darussàn harshèn Tuurancii màasu yawàa

(It contains many important lessons on English language)

Wàxandà marùbucîn ya gabatar

(Which the author presented)

À shirìnsà na ‘creative writing’ dà kè nân Freedom Radio

(In his programme, creative writing at Freedom Radio)

Har’ìlaayâu, ‘English for all’

(In addition, English for all)

Yaa qùnshi shaawàrwarii har gùdaa hàmsin

(It contains up to fifty advices)

The process of sending relevance retains the audiences’ attention for longer time and leaves a deeper impression on their minds about the advertise products or services. This is another assumption contained in this advertisement based on the following statement:

Gà màasu sôn làqantàr tsantsar harshèn Turanci.

(For those hoping to learn English language)

At the same time, the process of searching relevance retains the audience's attention for a longer time and a deeper impression on their minds about advertised product, or the ultimate goal of the advertiser. This is yet another assumption from Relevance Theory attained by this advertisement in:

Kuu dai kù hanzàrtaa kù nèmi ‘English for all’

(You just hurry up and look for English for all)

5.0 CONCLUSION

This paper tries to examine the pragmatic features in Hausa advertisements in Bello Dandago Radio, their effect and possible impact on the audience, through Relevance Theory Framework. As we have seen in the samples data analyzed, advertisers exploit certain linguistic features in order to convey the messages to the audience in way out of the ordinary, i.e. pragmatically.

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