Directive Speech Acts as a Communication Strategy in the Social Media Posts of Traditional Medicine Providers in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Since the arrival of Europeans and the subsequent adoption of western methods in medicine, Traditional and Alternative Medicine (TAM) Providers in Nigeria have not received adequate patronage, credibility and acceptability as their orthodox counterpart. Based on this, this study examines how Traditional and Alternative Medicine providers in Southwest Nigeria project their knowledge, competence, and practice through the engagement of directive speech act on social media. Using Searle’s (1967) and Kohnen’s (2008) models of directive speech acts as the theoretical orientations, ten (10) TAM providers, who are independently managing their practice and craft, are purposively selected on Facebook to facilitate the analysis for this study. The findings reveal that TAM providers employ various pragmatic strategies to project themselves and their services to their audience on Facebook. Specifically, this study identifies that legitimisation, cultural contextuality and identity construction are strategies engaged by TAM providers to project knowledge, give credence, and dissuade scepticism surrounding traditional and alternative medicine in Nigeria.

Keywords: Traditional and Alternative Medicine (TAM), Southwest Nigeria, Pragmatic analysis, Directive Speech Acts, Healthcare System in Nigeria