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 WhatsAppvirtual board. It identifies and analyses the mood structure and speech act features of theselected profile status. The study relates the identified mood structure and speech actfeatures to the context of the situation. This is done to understand the sociopolitical andeconomic challenges of WhatsApp users and how such challenges have affected theirfeelings, ideas and perceptions of the Nigerian nation. The data for the study are drawn fromthe profile status of selected Nigerian WhatsApp users. The profile status of 20 Nigeriansfrom the Southwest is purposively selected for analysis. The choice of Southwest is justifiedby the researcher’s accessibility of WhatsApp users. The threads of discussion were selectedbetween January 2023 and April 2023. This period was chosen not only because it capturedthe most recent updates on profile status, but also because it was a tough period in the countrywhen Naira and petroleum were scarce. Pet names are deployed as profile names underanalysis so as not to reveal the identities of the users. Data are analysed using Osisanwo’sprinciples 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, affectiveand interpersonal meanings in the data. The study posits that WhatsApp profile statuses arecharacterised by attitudinal, affective and interpersonal meanings. The study concludes thatnot only does the selected profile status exemplify the socio-political and economic woes ofthe masses/users in a postcolonial Nigerian nation, the profile status help to realise thesignificance of the theories adopted for the study.