Abstract

In Nigeria, political actors, especially those in the ruling and opposition political parties, utilise labelling as a rhetorical strategy to characterise each other in negative and face-threatening ways and achieve positive self-presentation before the public. The aim of this article is to contribute to existing literature on political communication through an investigation of labelling as a discursive political strategy and a mechanism for understanding Nigeria’s sociopolitical dynamics. We adopt Culpeper’s theory of impoliteness to foreground labelling as a relationship of power which is an aggravating facework rooted in interactional behaviour. Data for this study were purposively sampled from online newspaper articles which were published between 2015 and 2020. We conclude that Nigerian politicians use labelling as a face-saving strategy to showcase themselves to their best advantage and to discredit or attack their opponents. Therefore, while labelling may create positive or negative emotional reactions, it can also serve as a face-threatening act or a face-maintaining act, articulating opposing ideologies aimed to deceive, gain advantage, or simplify politics.

摘要

在尼日利亚，政治人物，特别是执政党和反对党的政治人物，利用贴标签作为一种修辞策略，以消极和威胁面子的方式相互描述，并在公众面前实现积极的自我展示。本文的目的是通过研究标签作为一种话语政治策略和理解尼日利亚社会政治动态的机制，为现有的政治传播文献做出贡献。我们采用 Culpeper 的不礼貌理论，将前景标签视为一种权力关系，这是一种根植于交互行为的加重面子。本研究的数据有目的地从 2015 年至 2020 年间发表的在线报纸文章中抽取。我们得出的结论是，尼日利亚政客使用贴标签作为一种保住面子的策略，以展示自己的最大优势并诋毁或攻击他们的对手。因此，虽然贴标签可能会产生积极或消极的情绪反应，但它也可以作为威胁面子的行为或维护面子的行为，表达旨在欺骗、获取优势或简化政治的对立意识形态。