A PRAGMATIC STUDY OF SELECTED PROFILE STATUS ON WHATSAPP VIRTUAL BOARD

Abstract

The study examines the thematic foci of selected Nigerian profile status on the WhatsApp virtual board. It identifies and analyses the mood structure and speech act features of the selected profile status. The study relates the identified mood structure and speech act features to the context of the situation. This is done to understand the sociopolitical and economic challenges of WhatsApp users and how such challenges have affected their feelings, ideas and perceptions of the Nigerian nation. The data for the study are drawn from the profile status of selected Nigerian WhatsApp users. The profile status of 20 Nigerians from the Southwest is purposively selected for analysis. The choice of Southwest is justified by the researcher’s accessibility of WhatsApp users. The threads of discussion were selected between January 2023 and April 2023. This period was chosen not only because it captured the most recent updates on profile status, but also because it was a tough period in the country when Naira and petroleum were scarce. Pet names are deployed as profile names under analysis so as not to reveal the identities of the users. Data are analysed using Osisanwo’s principles of Mood System (1999) and Searle’s classificatory model of Speech Acts (1979). Findings reveal that mood structure and speech act analysis account for attitudinal, affective and interpersonal meanings in the data. The study posits that WhatsApp profile statuses are characterised by attitudinal, affective and interpersonal meanings. The study concludes that not only does the selected profile status exemplify the socio-political and economic woes of the masses/users in a postcolonial Nigerian nation, the profile status help to realise the significance of the theories adopted for the study.