A pragmatic study of selected commercial billboard advertisements
| dc.contributor.author | Babagogata, A. H. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-08-07T11:46:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-08-07T11:46:10Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Several studies have examined advertising using canonical classifications of multimodality, implicature, and other linguistic resources. However, little attention has been given to the application of pragmatic tools in the analysis of billboard advertisements in Nigeria. This chapter therefore investigates selected commercial billboard advertisements with a view to exploring how texts, images, symbols, and pictures enable advertisers to communicate their intended messages effectively, as well as how these semiotic resources contribute to meaning-making for the audience. To achieve this objective, twenty-five commercial billboard advertisements were purposively selected from Ilorin metropolis. Austin's Speech Act Theory and its elements were adopted as the theoretical framework underpinning the study. The findings reveal that considerable meaning would be lost without the insights provided by pragmatic analysis. This is because audiences tend to focus more on the visual aspects of advertisements than on textual content. A pragmatic approach demonstrates that billboard advertisements deploy multiple modes of meaning which interact to produce more complete, coherent, and complementary interpretations. The study further reveals that pragmatic devices are strategically employed to attract readers' attention, communicate product features and benefits, and persuade consumers to patronize the advertised products. It also shows that graphic designers and photojournalists make deliberate use of visual elements to convey meaning based on shared conventions and ideologies. The study concludes that effective interpretation of billboard advertisements requires mutual shared knowledge between advertisers and readers. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Babagogata, A. H. (2025). A Pragmatic Study of Selected Commercial Billboard Advertisements — Chapter 6. In A. A. Muhammad & V. Bello-Osagie (Eds.), Words, Wealth, and Wisdom: A Dialogue Between Economics and Linguistics — Handboook on Interdisciplinary Collaboration (Vol. 1, pp. 66-81). Department of Languages and Department of Economics, Nigerian Army University, Biu, Nigeria | |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-978-61379-2-6 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://kwasuspace.kwasu.edu.ng/handle/123456789/7588 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Department of Languages and Department of Economics, Nigerian Army University, Biu, Nigeria. | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Words, Wealth, and Wisdom: A Dialogue Between Economics and Linguistics — Handboook on Interdisciplinary Collaboration | |
| dc.title | A pragmatic study of selected commercial billboard advertisements | |
| dc.type | Book chapter |