- The Complete Research Material is averagely 56 pages long and it is in Ms Word Format, it has 1-5 Chapters.
- Major Attributes are Abstract, All Chapters, Figures, Appendix, References.
- Study Level: BTech, BSc, BEng, BA, HND, ND or NCE.
- Full Access Fee: ₦6,000
Get the complete project »
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The crux of this research is semantic ambiguity as it affects communication effectiveness of media headlines of print media. Semantic ambiguity is concerned with meaning relations at sentence level which is a sub-field in the study of semantics that deals with the influence of one word upon another in sentences. Other related terms are tautology, redundancy, paraphrase, anomaly. Ambiguity is defined as a grammatical phenomenon in which an expression can be given more than one interpretation and could be caused by syntactic and semantic factors. Semantic ambiguity is a situation in which an expression can be given more than one interpretation based on the meaning of a word or words which in themselves can be misinterpreted. Syntactic ambiguity on the other hand is caused by the
13
grammatical construction of the phrase or sentence which bring about misinterpretation.
A headline like, “Fashola meets ex-girlfriend in Paris” from Vanguard newspaper of June 4, 2013 could be ambiguous and as such could be misinterpreted. The word ‘meets’ has several meanings and denotes a lot of things. It means among others (1) to come face to face with someone coincidentally or unexpectedly (2) to converge or come in contact and finally touch or have sexual intercourse with someone (3) to come together in conflict (4) to gather for a formal discussion. The construction has therefore distorted a direct translation of the sentence to mean Fashola, saw his former girlfriend in Paris coincidentally.
The invention of printing before AD 220 represents one of the greatest landmarks in human history. The development of printing has made it possible for books, newspapers, magazines, and other reading materials to produce in great numbers and it plays an important role in promoting
14
literacy among the masses. The printing press made possible wider dissemination of knowledge through the rapid flow of ideas from one country to another and the popularization of learning. This research considers a sentence from the point of view of its semantic structure which are ambiguous as regards to media headlines of print media.
The Newspaper headlines in their ambiguous state could be misinterpreted by reader based on the construction of phrases or sentences. Taking a close look at the second headline “Republican GRILL IRS Chief over lost emails” from Daily Trust newspaper of August 22, 2013 could be understood as Republicans harshly question the chief about the emails or that Republicans cook the chief using email at the fuel. It is clearly understood that ambiguous statements in themselves are incomplete, though they make some sense but could be analysed differently by people. It’s a perfect tool to demonstrate careful reading, showcase the need for editing and encourage, creativity and
15
divergent thinking. Therefore this research wishes to create awareness that the media headlines of some newspapers are ambiguous. It is based on this that the research intends to do x-ray of media headlines of print media that are sentences in nature.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The researcher is aware that diction and audience should be put into consideration when constructing newspaper headlines. It is therefore important to investigate the use of diction in the print media because language especially the choice of words depends and differs according to context.
Meanwhile, the study attempts to focus on two major areas. The misapplication of language use and confusion arising from different meaning, the same word can have, which are relevant in most Nigerian dailies.
16
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this research are:
(i) To analyse semantic ambiguity in the headline structure of the print media.
(ii) To find several possible meanings of the ambiguous headlines.
(iii) To find out if reasons exist on why the newspaper choose to be ambiguous in their headlines.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The research is of great significance considering the level at which people misconstrue the facts and meanings of the concept of newspaper arising from the use of ambiguous words or language by the news editors and writers.
17
In view of this, the research work when completed would be significant to readers of newspapers, school libraries as well as general public. This is because it will facilitate their understanding of information transmitted to in the newspapers.
1.5 SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS
This research work shall be limited to the study of semantic ambiguity in the newspaper headlines. It does not intend to look at the lead, content and other elements of the newspaper such as advertisement, columns, letters to the editor, opinion etc.
This research work shall be delimited to DAILYTRUST and VANGUARD. The aforementioned newspapers are taken as samples because of their popularity in the area in which this research is carved out.
You either get what you want or your money back. T&C Apply
You can find more project topics easily, just search
-
SIMILAR LINGUISTICS FINAL YEAR PROJECT RESEARCH TOPICS
-
1. WH-QUESTION IN AKWUKWU-IGBO DIALECT OF IGBO
» CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY Linguistic investigation began with a prescriptive approach. where the grammar of certain languages w...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 112 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
2. IGBO PLAYS FOR SOCIAL ADVOCACY: THE STUDY OF OBIDIYA AND UDO KA MMA.
» ABSTRACT This study examines the concept of social advocacy and the forms of advocacy employed by two and contemporary Igbo playwright Akoma and Chukw...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
3. ﻦﻤﺣﺮﻟا ﺪﺒﻋ مدآ ﺦﯿﺸﻟا ﺪﻨﻋ ﺢﯾﺪﻤﻟا "وُﺪْﻨﺛِ"ﻲﻃﻮﯿﺴﻟا ﺔﯿﻠﯿﻠﺤﺗ ﺔﯿﺑ...
» ABSTRACT This work titled: STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF EULOGY IN THE POEMS OF SHAIKH ADAM ABDURRAHMAN (CHINDO), The work aimed at discovering literary aesth...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 162 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
4. THE EPISTLE AS A MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION: AN ANALYSIS OF ABUBAKAR GIMBA’S LETTERS TO MY CHILDREN AND MARIAMA BA’S SO LONG A LETTER
» CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.0 INTRODUCTION Communication is a very important activity of life. Humans and animals communicate in different ways...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
5. LANGUAGE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT; AN IMPEDIMENT OF A MULTILINGUAL SOCIETY
» CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study Multilingualism or bilingualism being a consequence of language contact has been so sensitive tha...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
6. THE ROLE OF NIGERIAN PIDGIN ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY OF ARMY DAY SECONDARY SCHOOL, SOKOTO
» ABSTRACT The Nigerian Pidgin English is a type of English used and understood by so many people in Nigeria regardless of ethnic, cultural, and socio e...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
7. AN INDEPTH STUDY OF LEXICAL BORROWING FROM ENGLISH TO HAUSA
» CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This project is centered on An In depth Study on Lexical Borrowing from English to Hausa, with the aim to study the Engli...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 50 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
8. SYNTACTIC PROBLEMS AMONG IGBO SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH (A CASE STUDY OF LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES)
» CHAPTER ONE 1.1 INTRODUTION English and Igbo Language belong to two different families of language. English belong to the Germanic group of the indo E...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
9. A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF PIDGIN ENGLISH ON NIGERIAN STUDENTS
» CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study The term pidgin is used to refer to a language which develops in a situation where speakers of di...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
-
10. CODE MIXING AS A SOCIOLINGUISTIC MEDIUM IN SOME SELECTED SONGS IN THE NIGERIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY
» ABSTRACT Language plays an important role in the society and this leads to the study of code mixing in relation to sociolinguistics and how code mixed...Continue Reading »Item Type & Format: Project Material - Ms Word | 52 pages | Instant Download | Chapter 1-5 | LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT