NIGERIA 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: A MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE INTERPRETATIONS OF SELECTED CARTOONS OF TELL’S NEWSMAGAZINE

Olowu Ayodeji, Department of Languages, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo, Nigeria., ID CLEaR2017-404;     Abstract: This paper analysed some selected cartoons from TELL newsmagazines. The purpose was to describe the visual components and communicative devices employed by the cartoonist to send his message to the viewer/readers. The cartoons essentially were used to satire represented phenomenon that arose through intrigues that characterised Nigeria 2015 Presidential elections. Data for the study were drawn from both primary and secondary sources. The main data for the study comprised 4 colour cartoons purposively selected from different editions of TELL newsmagazines published in 2015. The selection of the cartoons was predicated upon the subject under consideration. Analysis of the data is based on multimodal discourse analysis as explicated by Gunter Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen (2001). The result showed that semiotic resources such as colour, image, symbols and icons, gaze and posture enhance the semantic quality of the cartoons. This study revealed very strongly and established the potentials of visual images to convey meaning beyond the verbal language in any human society.

Keywords; satire, multimodal discourse analysis, semantic quality, semiotic resources.