AN INVESTIGATION OF DEICTIC EXPRESSIONS IN NASIRU AHMED EL-RUFAI'S INTERVIEW ON ARISE TV NEWS NYSC SECRETARIAT KATSINA STATE, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BRANCH

Abstract

This study aims to explore the use and functions of deictic
expressions in interview of the Former Governor of Kaduna State,
Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai, on Arise TV News regarding his ministerial
nomination by President Bola Tinubu to understand their role in
constructing political narratives and managing public perception as
well as shaping political discourse. The objectives set out to identify
and classify the deictic expressions employed in El-Rufai's interview
and explore the relationship between deictic expressions and the
framing of El-Rufai's responses to criticism and controversies.
Adopting a qualitative approach, eight of the responses were
purposively identified and analysed from the online transcript of the
interview on Arise TV News online Newspaper. The study was
grounded on Levinson’s (1983) pragmatic theory and Critical
Discourse Analysis championed by Fairclaugh (1995) as a
complementary method to explore linguistic and socio-political
dimensions of the interview. The findings reveal that the dominant
use of personal pronouns "I” and "we" are to establish authority as
well as solidarity, whereas temporal deixis “now" and "then" served
to frame incidents in a politically strategic manner. The study
concludes by shedding light on the interplay between language,
power, and identity in Nigerian political discourse.