Discursive Construction of Language between the Vehicle Inspection Officers and Drivers in Abuja

Abstract

Language has, since, shifted from just being a means of communication to a manner of showcasing power, ideology and other fundamental issues of identity. This has been the result of the shift in focus from language analysis as a form to language analysis as a function by modern linguists. This work, basically, is an exploration into the discursive properties in the interlocutions of Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) and drivers on the major highways in Abuja. Their conversations were sampled through oral interviews and participant observation. This was carried out at the VIO major offices in Abuja and three major highways: the Nyanya-Keffi highway, the Zuba-Kaduna highway, and the Gwagwalada-Lokoja highway. To properly unveil the invested ideology and the exercise of power, Fairclough’s (1995) Ideological Discursive Formations (IDF) and Fairclough’s (1989) Members Resources, with insights from van Dijk’s (1998, 2001) social cognitive notion of Positive Self-presentation and Negative Other-presentation are employed. It is discovered that language is a veritable tool used by the officers and, sometimes, the drivers to perpetuate power and inherent ideology. The findings show that a lot of illegitimate dealings are committed by the Vehicle Inspection Officers and drivers as they deploy different strategies in words and action to display a superior ideology and institutional power.