What is in a Name? Elucidating Conceptual Metaphors in Nigerian Newspaper Titles

Cite this article as: Masa’udu, A. (2025). What is in a name? Elucidating conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper titles. Sokoto Journal of Linguistics and Communication Studies (SOJOLICS), 1(3), 213–223. https://www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i03.028

WHAT IS IN A NAME? ELUCIDATING CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER TITLES  

By

Aliyu Masa’udu

masaudualiyu84@gmail.com

Department of General Studies,

College of Liberal Studies,

Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, Katsina.

Abstract

The increasing interest in conceptual metaphors research in applied linguistics, communication and media studies is based on their ubiquity in media language/reportage, as well as how they shape audiences’ construing of the media. This study was aimed at bridging the gap of whether conceptual metaphors exist in Nigerian newspaper titles. The instruments used were Nigerian newspaper titles, and the type of data obtained was qualitative, which was analysed through discourse analysis. Fifteen titles were purposively sampled from representative newspaper across five geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The instruments Metaphoric expressions were identified using the Metaphor Identification Procedure (Vrije University), and then semantically exculpated via the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the Cognitive Interactionist model. The results of the study identified fifteen conceptual metaphors distributed across English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba titles, confirming the cross-linguistic pervasiveness of conceptual metaphors in newspaper titles. Source domains were diverse, with polemology and public administration emerging as recurrent framing resources. Functionally, the conceptual metaphors portray newspapers in three major target roles: (1) mirrors/images of society, (2) presenters of authoritative, quality information, and (3) protectors/defenders of the public interest. Conceptual metaphor usage appears to enhance memorability, signal editorial stance, and potentially influence readership perception and market competitiveness. The paper argues that newspaper title metaphors are strategic rhetorical devices with potential editorial and commercial implications. Larger, comparative studies of metaphor use across global newspaper titles, quantitative linkage of metaphor prevalence to readership metrics, and examination of metaphoric naming in broadcast media are recommended, to deepen understanding of how conceptual metaphors mediate public engagement with news, towards increasing our understanding of the way conceptual metaphors permeate the way we live. 

Keywords: Conceptual metaphors, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Newspaper Titles, Nigerian Newspapers

1. Introduction

The importance of language as a tool of interactive processes of communication between people is readily illustrated by the continual and effective transmission of ideas between one person – say a newspaper reporter – to another person – say a reader of that newspaper. Toeing this line, Van Dijk (1991) expressed the popularity and importance of newspaper discourse in English language, opining that “There is probably no other discursive practice, besides everyday conversation, that is engaged in so frequently and by so many people as news in the press and on television” (Krennmyar, 2011). Similarly, it is a known fact that newspapers help us increase our knowledge and widen our experiences. In serving these functions, newspaper use devices such as metaphors and other aspects of figurative language (Kennedy, 2000).

Critical discourse analysis is a framework that illustrates socio-political and ideological implications of writings (van Dijk, 2001). Since metaphors can reveal aspects of a concept and or hide other aspects (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980a), we can understand, then, that their use in newspapers can convey many meanings and perform various functions, including persuasive functions (Charteris-Black, 2004; Santa Ana, 1999).

Against this backdrop, we can understand the imminent need for this research, namely researching the potential presence of conceptual metaphors in newspaper titles, and elucidating the rationales behind the use of the metaphors, and how the selection of metaphor titles might influence the readers, consciously or unconsciously. This is what the paper aimed at, and the key hypothesis the research is based on is that conceptual metaphors exist in newspaper titles, and play significant roles in how the reader interpret the respective titles.

2.  Literature Review

To the best of current research, no paper is publicly available that directly analysed conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper names and elucidated the semantic implications of such metaphors. However, some works of varying degrees of relevance to the current research were found which were subsequently review hereunder.

Tunde and Oludare (2017) studied the stance of the Nigerian newspapers in terms of influencing the actions of the populace in the 2011 Nigerian Presidential election reportage. The authors opine that sentential constructions may trigger performance of acts, pragmatically. Thus, to uncover the presence of thus subtle instigators of macro speech acts, the Speech-Act Theory of conversational analysis was used, which ultimately revealed verdictive acts as the most prevalent, which declared the media’s acceptance of the outcome of the election, where the ruling PDP’s candidate emerged the winner. The writers argue that as a discourse, newspaper reportages have distinct themes that warrant their semantic and pragmatic exploration, to give them a universal coherence and function, as discourse often has a direct link with speech acts. Their research demonstrates the presence of more performatives and constantives in the reportage. The expositives, commissives, behavities and exercitives were reported in relatively lower amounts than the verdictives. The writers reveal that this clearly means that the newspapers opine, generally speaking, that the election was acceptable, even though post-election violence negates this, however, ultimately, and either way, the choice of the words might have been guided by a desire to portray the elections in a positive and peaceful light. The authors concluded that the media portrayal of events enlightens and inspires actions of the electorate, and ultimately, the acceptance of the election.

The research is linked with the current study in that both studies involve an analysis of newspapers published in Nigeria, and how these may influence the behavior of the reading populace.

Aresse and Vara-Miguel (2015) comparatively studied the metaphors used by newspapers in reporting the Euro crisis. They zeroed-in on the economic metaphors used to shed more light on the issue of the European sovereign debt crisis, which were reported by the dailies, and forming the part of public discourse. The researchers selected three countries with sovereign debt problems (Greece, Italy, and Spain) and three without them (Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), as their bases for analysis, upon the hypothesis that, in concordance with previous studies on the topic, and taking into consideration, the relatively monolithic nature of economic reportage in newspapers, a fairly common use of the same metaphors and with the same weight among countries, types of newspapers, and diverse economic conditions is expected. The authors’ findings were in agreement with this, corroborating the fact that the media finds it difficult, even in the presence of rhetorical devices such as economic metaphors, to deviate from experts’ discourse or to create new ways of analyzing economic events that go beyond the customary views. The results fall into the frame of rhetorics of economics, and generally focus on the generalized use of the same metaphors in media discourse. The study identified the two predominant types of conceptual metaphors (disease and natural) associated with the press reportage of the European sovereign debt crisis. The most dominant words are contagion and storm, which point out to the uncontrollable nature of the crisis, and the fact that human intervention is unmanageable, as they are associated with natural disasters that are by nature, uncontrollable. These are also classed as inanimate metaphors, as they concentrate on inanimate objects, not humans or human-related subjects. Furthermore, economic challenges require technical answers, just as medical treatments are required against diseases; and also, the answer need to be urgent, such as the solutions against natural disasters, which need to be urgent. Another explained metaphor is ‘haircut’ (a percentage that is subtracted from the market value of an asset), which was found especially in Greece-news metaphors. Summarily, they posit that the communication in the reportage is elite-to-elite, concentrating on political, business, and financial institutions, at the expense of ‘man-on-the-street’ approaches; which are thought to be understandable by all. The study recommends that repeating similar studies using methodologies like the one employed, to replicate the findings.

The study is related to the present work as it deals with an analysis of conceptual metaphors found in newspaper reportage associated with the Euro economic crisis. Likewise, it is related to the present study as it involves analyses of the contextual roles and meaning of the identified conceptual metaphors.

Omoloso and Abdulra’uf-Salau (2014) reviewed the evolution of indigenous newspapers in Nigeria from 1914-2013. They traced the development of indigenous newspapers in the country back to the publication of the first newspaper, i.e. IweIrohin fun Awon Ara Egbaati Yoruba’ (A Newspaper for the Egbas and Yoruba People), in 1859, thus, they predate the existence of the country by some 50 years. These papers, as highlighted by the authors were products of missionaries, and upon assuming a territorial sovereignty, Nigeria begins to churn out numerous indigenous newspapers, albeit unable to actualize their full potential, due to irregularity and lack of popularity and acceptance; leading to many of them going extinct. This enabled English language newspapers to hold sway in the mainstream newspaper community in the country. The authors posit the notion of equality between different languages, whilst conceding the gradual dominance of English language over the indigenous languages in press reportage. Nonetheless, if the country wants its voice to be heard on the global scene of civilization, the authors are of the view that we need a complementary approach between our indigenous and English newspapers. For one, the majority of the population will be expected to understand it, considering the fact that not all citizens can read and understand newspaper-level English. To this effect, the authors call for a revival of the indigenous newspapers, an improvement in their quality, style and coverage, to further endear it into people’s minds. The staff of these indigenous newspapers should be continually trained, to ensure professionalism. Furthermore, the authors recommend the incorporation of indigenous languages in journalism curricula to adequately train the journalists. The government and the public shall also endeavor to join hands toward increasing the readership and circulation of these newspapers, by buying the papers, helping them with advertisements placing, etc. The authors conclusively highlighted the roles indigenous languages can play in facilitating effective communication and the future prospects of indigenous language newspapers in modern-day Nigeria.

The paper is related to the present work as it presents a historiographical overview of newspapers in Nigeria, particularly indigenous ones, and their development. These newspapers form the totality of the corpus of the research in Nigeria.

Thus, when we cumulatively and jointly analyse the reviewed papers, it becomes evident to us that there is a dearth of literature, or, no literature at all, about the presence of conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper titles, and how these may affect the psyche of the reader, the potential rationales for the choice of the titles, and the possible broader application of this in terms of reader preference, circulation figures, acceptance of the newspaper in the public eye, etc. hence the need for this study.

3. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

This study was guided by the Conceptual Theory of Metaphor, developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980a, 1980b). The theory interprets metaphors as cognitive constructs rather than mere semantic products in words, emphasizing five key perspectives: (i) metaphors exist primarily as concepts in the mind, not as literal word meanings; (ii) they enhance cognitive flexibility and deepen understanding, extending beyond rhetorical or aesthetic functions; (iii) metaphorical relationships are not solely based on similarities between entities; (iv) metaphors are embedded in everyday conversation, often unconsciously; and (v) they are deeply entrenched in human reasoning, having matured beyond ceremonial literary use.

In addition, the study drew on the Cognitive Interactionist Model of metaphor. According to Chapanga (2004), the interactionist perspective posits that metaphors are used to substitute words in ways that differ from their usual or proper meanings. As Ricoeur (1978, p. 86) explains, metaphors “select, emphasise, suppress, and organise features of the principal subject by implying statements of the subject that normally apply to the subsidiary subject.” This model enables the analysis of how metaphors function contextually, highlighting the cognitive interplay between the source and target domains in meaning construction.

The conceptual framework for this research is summarized in the diagram below, illustrating the interplay between metaphor identification, source domain analysis, and interpretive meaning within Nigerian newspaper titles.

Figure 1: Conceptual framework of the study

4. Methodology

This study was guided by three research questions: (1) What conceptual metaphors are present in Nigerian newspaper titles? (2) How diverse are the source domains of the metaphoremes? and (3) What are the meanings of these metaphors, and how do they affect the respective newspapers? Correspondingly, the study objectives were to identify the presence of conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper titles, determine their source domains, and discuss the meanings and implications of these metaphors for the newspapers in question.

A purposive sampling technique, as described by Tongco (2007), was employed to select the newspaper titles for analysis. Given the national scope of the research, newspapers from all five geopolitical zones of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory, were selected. Titles in both English and other languages were included to ensure representativeness. The selection criteria were guided by circulation figures, popularity, and international ranking, using the 4imn Newspaper Ranking (4 International Media and Newspapers, 2020a). This ranking considers four characteristics: Majestic SEO Trust Flow, which measures the quality of links to the newspaper websites (Majestic.com, 2020a); Majestic SEO Referring Subnets, which de-duplicates links across pages and domains (Majestic.com, 2020b); Alexa Traffic Rank, which estimates website popularity based on daily visits and page views (Hughes, 2016); and Google PageRank, which ranks websites based on the number of page views and the importance of referring websites (Sullivan, 2007).

The identification of potential metaphors in newspaper titles was conducted using the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU), an extension of the original Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) developed by The Pragglejaz Group (2007). MIPVU, developed by Krennmayr (2011), provides a six-step procedure to identify metaphor-related words (MRWs) and analyze metaphorical language. These steps include detecting indirect metaphorical use, direct metaphorical use, implicit metaphorical expressions, metaphor flags, and new lexical formations. However, this study focused solely on identifying potential conceptual metaphors, as newspaper titles are typically short and lack broader sentential context, making the identification of implicit metaphors or metaphor flags less applicable.

Following identification, the analysis of the metaphors within the newspaper titles was guided by the Cognitive Interactionist Model, as detailed in the theoretical framework. This model facilitated the interpretation of the possible meanings of each metaphoreme, the metaphorical lexeme introduced into a title. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2020) was used to determine the commonest senses of each lexeme, supporting a contextual and accurate interpretation of the metaphors in the newspaper titles.

5.  Data Presentation and Analysis

The zones from which the states whose newspaper titles were chosen for the analysis of the conceptual metaphors are summarized in table 1 below:

Table 1: Geopolitical Zones/States Involved in the Study, Sampled via Purposive Sampling

S/No	Geopolitical Zone	State(s) Sampled	Number of Sampled Newspapers Chosen
1	North Central	Abuja/Federal Capital Territory	3
2	North West	Kano	1
3	South East	Anambra	1
4	South South	Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Rivers	4
5	South West	Lagos	5
6	Others	NA (Online only newspaper)	1
Total			15

 

The chosen newspapers, the states they are domiciled in, languages of origin, translation (where the newspapers were not published in English, hence the title needs to be translated), their rank, (web rankings by the 4 International Media and Newspapers/Circulation rankings by Statista.com), year of first publication, rank in the country, type of the newspaper (i.e. is it a general-purpose paper publishing everything: news, sports, finance/business, politics, etc.), mode of publication (print, online or both), geographical reach (is it a newspaper equally available everywhere, nationally, or is it restricted to specific localities/regions?) and their circulation figures were presented overleaf. NB = any referenced item in a heading which isn’t superscripted is taken from 4 International Media and Newspapers reference of that column.

Table 2: Profiles of Sampled Newspapers Within Nigeria

S/No	Newspaper Titlef	Translation	State of Origin	Rank in Country	First Publication	Geographical Reachf	Newspaper Typef	Mode	Circulation Figures
1	The Punch	N/Ni	Lagos	1	1973	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	50-100f
2	Vanguard	N/Ni	Lagos	2	1983	National	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	120t
3	The Guardian	N/Ni	Lagos	4	1983	National	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	80u
4	The Sun	N/Ni	Lagos	6	2001l	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
5	Daily Trust	N/Ni	Abuja/FCT	7	1998	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
6	The Tide	N/Ni	Rivers	13	1971m	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
7	The Pointer	N/Ni	Delta	18	1994n	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
8	The Sensor	N/Ni	AkwaIbom	21	-	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
9	The Triumph	N/Ni	Kano	25	1980o	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	-
10	Leadership	N/Ni	Abuja/FCT	8	2004p	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	100v
11	The Nigerian Observer	N/Ni	Edo	14	1968q	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	NA
12	Aminiya	Close Frienda (Femenine)b	Abuja/FCT	NAg	NA	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	NA
13	Rariya	Sifterc	NAj	NAh	NA	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Onlines	Not Applicables
14	Alaroye	Great Talkerd	Lagosk	NAg	1985r	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	NA
15	Ogene	The Belle	Anambrak	NAg	Early 1970sk	Local/Regional	Daily/General	Print and Onlinef	NA

Key: - = No authentic information found, to the best of the research efforts of the author ^a= Translation of Aminiya from Hausa to English taken from kamus.com.ng (2020a), ^b = the term Aminiya is the feminine noun in Hausa, while Amini is the masculine form, and since jarida, i.e. newspaper is a feminine noun, the name of the newspaper is given a feminine form too, ^c =Translation of Rariyafrom Hausa to English taken from kamus.com.ng (2020b), ^d = Translation of Alaroye from Yoruba to English taken from CMS (1913), ^e = Translation of Ogenefrom Igbo to English taken from Nwene (2000), ^f = taken from 4 International Media and Newspapers (2020b), ^g = newspaper names sourced from Ifeduba (2012) cited in Omoloso and Abdulra’uf-Salau (2014), however, no ranking was given^h = newspaper name sourced from Rariya.com (2020), no ranking was given, ⁱ = N/N, i.e. not needed, as the newspaper names are in English, no translation is necessary, ^j = the newspaper is nowonline, (Rariya.com, 2020) so, no information about state of origin can be provided, ^k = sourced from Nwabueze(2020), ^l = sourced from Obialo (2020), ^m = sourced from Finelib.com (2020), ⁿ = sourced from thepointernewsonline.com (2020), ^o = sourced from Adamu (2012), ^p = Sourced from Sadiq (2004), ^q = sourced from Nigerian Observer (2020), NA = Not Available, to the best of the investigation of the author, ^r = sourced from Vanguard.com (2011), ^s = sourced from The Nation (2015). As Rariya is an online newspaper, no circulation statistic is available, ^t = sourced from Vanguard (2020), ^u =sourced from nationsencyclopedia.com (2020), ^v = sourced from Olaniyan (2018).

5.1  Analysis of Data

An Analysis of the Conceptual Metaphors in Newspaper Titles of Selected Nigerian Newspapers

1.   Newspaper Title: The Punch 

Metaphoreme: Punch

Source Domain: Boxing

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: In boxing, punching is the most important action, through which the pugilist expresses his raw power, style and technique. Later, the word was extended to mean any substance with an effective energy or forcefulness. It is in this sense that the word is used in the newspaper title, i.e. portraying the newspaper as an agent for the effective and forceful presentation of ideas, information, news, reports, etc., in a manner that acts like a ‘punch’, in the positive sense of the word.

2. Newspaper Title: Vanguard 

Metaphoreme: Vanguard

Source Domain: Polemology

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The vanguard refers, traditionally, to the regiment at the forefront of the army in a war. When used in contexts like these, however, the meaning intended is an entity that is at the head of any particular event or movement, thus, the paper is portraying itself, by title alone, as being ahead in terms of news reporting/stories’ quality, delivery, etc.

3.  Newspaper Title: The Guardian   

Metaphoreme: Guardian

Source Domain: Security

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The termguardian is originally associated with guarding, as such, its origin is security. Likewise, the meaning has become transferred to someone who takes care of another in place of a parent. The meaning, in this context, is the newspaper that guards the public from threats of misinformation, tyranny, falsehood, improper and unprofessional journalism, etc.

4. Newspaper Title: The Sun   

Metaphoreme: Sun

Source Domain: Astronomy

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The sun is the celestial body around which other planets revolve. It is also the key indicator of the beginning of a new day. Thus, a metaphorical use of the newspaper confers on the newspaper the properties of the sun, i.e. centrality. As such, we conceptually define the paper as the central newspaper around which the others evolve. Also, the newspaper becomes a key aspect of our day, just as the sun is.

5.                  Newspaper Title: Daily Trust   

Metaphoreme: Trust

Source Domain: Ethics/Public Administration

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: Trust, as Sheikh Bin Fodio is reported to have once said, is a burden. This is the motto of the paper, and it summarises their metaphoricity. However, in layman’s language, trust refers to the assurance of reliance on the character/ability, integrity, truthfulness o strength of an entity or a person. Thus, by naming their newspaper trust, they are portraying it as a paper whose news, reportage, articles etc. can be trusted, as they possess the above-mentioned features.

6.  Newspaper Title: The Tide 

Metaphoreme: Tide

Source Domain: Oceanography

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The tide, in oceanography, refers the (usually twice daily) rise and fall of the surface of water bodies, due to the exertion of geographical factors. As used here, the term conceptually refers to the change in news, events, happenings, etc., as such, since the paper represents the tide, it is the go-to place for the tide in terms of news of the place. This becomes clearer when one considers the fact that the paper originates from a coastal state in the country, Rivers.

7. Newspaper Title: The Pointer 

Metaphoreme: Pointer

Source Domain: Pedagogy/Instrumentation

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: In teaching, the pointer is a key component of the teacher’s lesson, as the arrowed rod is used to highlight and illustrate key concepts, ideas and relationships. The pointer is also found in instrumentation, where it refers to the needle-like apparatus which illustrates the reading of a device, such as a timepiece or an odometer. Thus, the pointer, when used metaphorically, implies the paper as being an agent which focuses the mid of its reader on the true state of events, happening, etc., by highlighting to them key aspects, and giving them the true reading/level of events, just as a device’s pointer does.

8.  Newspaper Title: The Sensor 

Metaphoreme: Sensor

Source Domain: Engineering/Biology

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: In engineering, the sensor is a device which is capable of responding to stimuli, such as magnetism, pressure, motion, heat, light, sound, etc., and measuring/transmitting the impulse, to aid measurement and control of the particular stimulus. This sense is closely related to the biological sense, where the sensors refer to the sense organs which collectively collect, detect, differentiate and transmit impulses from the environment to the brain, and they are five i.e. eye/ear/skin/nose/tongue. When used as a conceptual metaphor, we readily understand that this means that the paper is portrayed as a means of collecting news, reports, etc., categorizing them and sending them to the people for accurate analysis. Thus, the newspaper becomes the sensor, while the readers are the device/bodies.

9. Newspaper Title: The Triumph 

Metaphoreme: Triumph

Source Domain: Polemology

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: Triumph originally refers to a ceremony accorded to a foreign general who conquered a foreign enemy, upon returning to Rome. Later uses of the word diluted the meaning to the senses of any military achievement or victory. Thus, when used in this context, we can view it from two perspectives, i. the perspective of the newspaper being the one which triumphed over its competitors, or ii. being the one which brings triumph to its readers.  

10. Newspaper Title: Leadership 

Metaphoreme: Leadership

Source Domain: Public Administration

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: Leadership can be understood from the perspective of the qualities or being able to lead, the capacity to lead, or the office or position of a leader. The metaphorical use of the terminology means that the newspaper had, by the means of their title, conferred on themselves the level of being the leaders, the pacesetters in the newspaper publishing industry. Such a name can reasonable be expected to have a huge impact on the readers.

11. Newspaper Title: The Nigerian Observer 

Metaphoreme: Observer

Source Domain: Polemology/Public Administration

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: Observers originally refer to third-party emissaries sent observe, but not participate, in a war. Later, the term’s meaning accommodated the outsiders that are involved in a meeting, election, etc., without the participating therein. Thus, in a metaphorical way, this newspaper cast themselves in an observatory role, as agents who gather in-depth information between two sides, namely, the governors and the governed, the people and the rulers, and present the facts for its readers.

12.  Newspaper Title: Aminiya/Close Friend

Metaphoreme: Aminiya/Close Friend

Source Domain: Sociology

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The Aminiya is a female confidante of another, usually a female too, and usually, there are no secret between them. As such, a person feels ready to divulge all their secrets, ambitions, etc. to their Aminiya, and vice versa. Thus, by using the title aminiya, the newspaper is portraying itself as a trustee of the reader, which divulges its secrets, happenings, etc. to the reader. This correlates well with the newspapers motto of ‘AmintacciyarJaridarku’, i.e. ‘Your Trusted Newspaper’.

13. Newspaper Title: Rariya/The Sieve or The Sifter

Metaphoreme: Rariya/Sieve or Sifter

Source Domain: Separation Techniques/Chemistry

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The sieve is a device usually used for separating particles of irregular sizes, in separation techniques. It is a physical means of separation, as the flour, ash, sand, etc. particles are separated based on their particle sizes. As used here, however, the newspaper is portrayed as the agent through which true news maybe sifted form an aggregate of true/false news, which goes in tandem with their motto of ‘MatatarGaskiya’, i.e. ‘The Sieve of Truth’.

14. Newspaper Title: Alaroye/Great Talker

Metaphoreme: Alaroye/Great Talker

Source Domain: Oratory

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: The great talker meaning can be seen from two facets, either the quality or the quantity of the talk. In the metaphorical sense, the newspaper is portrayed in a personified fashion, i.e. as an individual who talks greatly and in great amounts, thus, making it look like a companion with which one talks. 

15. Newspaper Title: Ogene/The Bell

Metaphoreme: Ogene/Bell

Source Domain: Communication/Musicology

Explanation of the Metaphorical Sense of the Newspaper Title: In Igbo culture, the Ogene plays a significant role. It is the instrument which is used to signify announcements, and beating it has an effect on the listener: they listen, to hear and be informed. By naming the newspaper the Ogene, the publishers are harping on the quality of the Ogene to attract attention and be used in passing information to portray their paper in the role of a modern tool to supplant the ancient Ogene.

When compared to previous studies, this research offers fresh perspectives in the presence of conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper titles and what they connote. For instance, Aresse and Vara-Miguel (2015) studied the metaphors used by newspapers in reporting the Euro crisis, particularly the economic metaphors discussing the European sovereign debt crisis. generally focus on the generalized use of the same metaphors in media discourse. The study identified the two predominant types of conceptual metaphors (disease and natural) associated with the press reportage of the European sovereign debt crisis. Metaphoremes reported include contagion, storm, and haircut, which are all different from what this study finds, even though the two studies are fundamentally different as this study focuses in newspaper titles, not reportage of a particular situation.

Therefore, considering the dearth of relevant literature on this subject in Nigeria and globally, this study potentially contributes fresh perspectives on conceptual metaphor theory research in Nigeria and globally at large. The metaphoremes identified, as well as the explanation of the meaning of the metaphors as well as the potential rationales for the choice of the titles, vis-à-vis the possible broader application of this are all novel contributions of the study.

5.2                   Discussion of Findings

The study revealed several key insights regarding the use of conceptual metaphors in Nigerian newspaper titles. First, there exists a rich and varied presence of conceptual metaphors across the titles surveyed. These metaphors, whether employed consciously or unconsciously, have the potential to influence the perception of the reading public by creating enduring associations between the metaphors and meanings derived from their respective source domains. Such associations can indirectly affect critical factors, including the readership and market relevance of the newspapers.

However, the study also underscores that the mere presence of a metaphorically rich title is not sufficient to determine a newspaper’s market power. Market success is influenced by a combination of economic, graphical, geographical, and sociological factors, among others. The findings further reveal that a recurring set of themes and metaphors dominates newspaper titles, thereby expanding on Larson’s (1937) earlier postulate that “the majority of American newspapers choose their names from a fifteen-word corpus.” This study proposes a revised postulate: newspapers predominantly select titles from domains reflecting mirrors or images of society, presenters of accurate and qualitative information, and protectors, defenders, or liberators of society.

Additionally, the survey demonstrated that conceptual metaphors in newspaper titles exist universally across languages, as evidenced by titles in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. This finding reinforces the universality of metaphorical expression in media communication and highlights the strategic role of metaphors in shaping public perception.

6. Conclusion

The study identified fifteen conceptual metaphors across fifteen Nigerian newspapers, affirming the pervasiveness of conceptual metaphors in newspaper titles. These titles are deliberately crafted to leave a lasting positive impression on readers, convey specific attributes of the newspapers, and enhance their market relevance. Moreover, newspapers tend to choose titles from well-defined thematic domains, including societal representation, informational accuracy, and societal protection or liberation.

Future research should expand the scope to include global newspaper titles and explore potential links between conceptual metaphors, reader perception, satisfaction, and newspaper sales. Further investigations into conceptual metaphors in television and radio programs, as well as media station names, are recommended to determine their role in audience acceptance and overall communication strategies. Such studies will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how conceptual metaphors permeate media and influence everyday communication.

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