This article explores the online discourse of the Oduduwa nation secessionist movement in Nigeria, which seeks the independence of the Yoruba ethnic group from the Nigerian state. Using critical stylistics as a framework, the study analyzes how online participants use language to express their resistance and legitimize their cause. The empirical data consists of Oduduwa nation-related posts from Nairaland, a popular Nigerian online forum, collected between September 2020 and September 2021. The study adopts a qualitative approach and identifies the dominant themes and linguistic strategies that characterize the discourse. The discursive engagement of the Oduduwa republic movement is surrounded by discourse issues, such as the amalgamation pact of 1914, the perceived ethnic oppression of the southern region, and the lingering Biafra nation secessionist agenda. The findings reveal that the online participants use various linguistic-stylistic strategies, such as naming and describing, negating, representing actions and events, equating and contrasting, exemplifying and enumerating, to construct their identity, challenge the status quo, legitimise their activities, and mobilize support for their movement. The study also reveals that the discourse is influenced by the historical, political, and social contexts of Nigeria; such as the colonial legacy, the ethnic diversity, and the security challenges. As the burning issue of secession continues to resurface in Nigeria’s political landscape, its intense contestation in online space poses a threat to nationhood because cyberspace can be harnessed to sustain the propagation of separatism and national disintegration. The study contributes to the understanding of online civic engagement and social activism in Nigeria and highlights the role of language in shaping and reflecting social movements.

Recent studies are revealing new aspects of courtroom discourse, examining its generation and applying novel analytical methods. Yet, despite their significance and complexity, the use of metadiscursive tools remains scarce. These tools offer substantial promise for analyzing discursive practices, increasingly seen as not just informative but also interactive and impactful. The inherently interactive and persuasive nature of courtroom discourse underscores the need for metadiscourse as a potent analytical instrument. Such an instrument encompasses mechanisms for expressing attitudes toward the propositional content and for drawing the recipient into a dialogue with the speaker. This article addresses the metadiscursive dimension of defense speeches as a distinct genre within courtroom discourse. The study uses quantitative analysis on a corpus of Russian-language courtroom texts, innovatively applying metadiscursive analysis to identify linguistic elements that enhance the persuasiveness of defense speeches, with a focus on the technique of boosting. Throughout the study, five types of boosters were identified – markers of certainty, evidentiality, intensity, solidarity, and superiority – each serving one of five pragmatic functions: to show the speaker’s confidence in the truth of their assertions, to point to the credibility and reliability of the source, to amplify the emotional impact of the statement, to denote the upper bounds of a continuum, and to reference commonly known facts or shared experiences of events or situations. The study reveals that boosting at the lexical level is predominantly achieved through the use of evidential verbs and nouns, adverbs of measure, degree, and time, as well as superlative adjectives. Additionally, the frequent use of first-person plural pronouns was observed. The findings suggest that adept use of boosters in courtroom discourse is indicative of a lawyer’s pragmatic competence and is crucial for effective communication with the court and the jury.

The argumentative talk on radio and TV has become a popular feature of media discourse in Kenya. Question-answer sequences as the talk unfolds through the joint participation of co-participants in the talk have emerged as a means to put argumentative talk into effect. Yet, the nature of questions and their categorization remain little understood. Given the recursive nature of question-answer sequences, this paper investigates question typology that sets apart argumentative talk shows from other types of talk. The data consists of transcripts from two Kenyan TV argumentative talk shows: Checkpoint on KTN and Opinion Court on Citizen TV. A question classification scheme by Schirm [2008] was used to discuss the incidence and usage of questions in argumentative talk shows. Findings revealed that clashing, rhetorical, classic clarifying, and opinion-eliciting questions were the most frequently used types in the data sets. It was also noted that different question types served unique rhetorical purposes leading to the conclusion that argumentative talk shows on TV exhibit recursive interactional resources qualifying it as a genre.

Current media studies as well as the analysis of social interaction put forward the notion of rumours playing a significant role in human communication and making it a full-fledged object of linguistic analysis. The article is devoted to the description and unification of the lexicographical meaning of the word ‘rumour’ which is basic for indirect knowledge transmission. The proposed research perspective is preconditioned by the interest in uncertain knowledge and informal communication practices including such phenomena as rumors, gossip, etc., inherent in professional communication, as well as in the category of evidentiality. The empirical material comprises dictionary interpretations, the inconsistency of which stipulated the application of the ideas of lexical semantics. Componential analysis is chosen as the main method to define meanings. As a result, the polysemy of the word under study has been exposed, with its structure including five lexico-semantic variants with different types of relations. The invariant set of ‘without confirmation’, ‘uncertain origin’, ‘questionable accuracy’ components in the structure of the meanings indicates that there is a direct connection of the word semantics with the linguistic categories of evidentiality and epistemic modality. The analysis shows that when interpreting the values obtained, the concept of evidence as a source of information has an explanatory potential, the crucial factor being its distinct classification in terms of levels. The extensive typology of reportive evidentials enables to define the central meaning of the word ‘rumour’ as information characterized as transmitted knowledge, realized through informal statements, categorized as a proper reportative marked by the third level of evidence. The core ‘questionable accuracy’ seme testifies to the correlation of the reportative evidential value and the epistemic evaluation of the acquired knowledge which manifests itself in the fact that indirect mediated access to information potentiates its qualification as lacking confirmation.

This paper aims to highlight the prevalent challenges faced by Hong Kong Chinese students in utilizing connectives and ensuring coherence in their English academic writing. Research indicates that constructing fluent, effective, and cohesive English written texts that maintain logical flow poses a significant challenge for Chinese learners studying English as a foreign language (EFL). This difficulty is likely attributed to the substantial cultural differences between the English and Chinese languages, regardless of the learners’ grasp of English grammar and vocabulary usage. In order to raise awareness among EFL teachers regarding the struggles Chinese students encounter in mastering connectives and cohesion in English writing, this qualitative study analyses five sample English term papers written by Hong Kong university students majoring in English in 2023. The findings reveal that the Hong Kong EFL participants tend to present their arguments in an indirect and circular manner within their English essay assignments. Additionally, due to cultural norms and politeness, the true intent of their writing is often withheld, and the thesis statement is implicitly inferred towards the end of the essay rather than being explicitly stated at the beginning in the introduction. Furthermore, a focus group interview with the student participants conducted after the written analysis demonstrated that their English academic essays reflect the influence of Chinese social interaction norms on rhetorical patterns. The relevance of this study lies in its potential to inform EFL instruction, enabling educators to better support Hong Kong Chinese students in navigating the complexities of English academic writing and to adapt pedagogical approaches that bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.

The pervasive impact of the English language on global linguistic landscapes is undeniable, with Russian being no exception to this trend. This study explores the extent to which English has influenced Russian-language political discourse, particularly focusing on the stylistic elements that have percolated into the vernacular of Russian student political scientists. Through a meticulously designed experiment, the authors investigated whether the continuous exposure to authentic English political texts – both oral and written – within a structured academic setting has led to the stylistic emulation in the students’ own Russian-language political speeches. Utilizing a complex analytical approach that combines linguistic-stylistic, functional-linguistic, structural-semantic, and statistical methods, the research revealed a notable incorporation of imagery and humor akin to that found in Anglophone political discourse. The findings of the study indicate that a majority of participants have adopted and actively employed stylistic devices such as humor, irony, self-irony, and expressive language tools in their speeches. These devices stand in stark contrast to the traditional tenets of Russian political oratory, suggesting a discursive-stylistic convergence with English norms. The implications of this study are twofold. Academically, it contributes to an understanding of cross-linguistic stylistic influences in an era of increasing globalization. Practically, the insights gleaned from this research have the potential to enhance the teaching methodologies for foreign language acquisition in the field of political science, ensuring that future professionals are equipped with a nuanced command of language that reflects contemporary communicative practices.