A pragmatic exploration of Orji Uzor Kalu’s apology to Abians

Abstract

In pragmatics, we study meanings which transcend beyond the surface structure of a given speech act i.e. meanings drawn from context and not just structure. In doing so, we view every speech act, whether written or spoken as comprising of locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act (Austin’s speech act theory). Following these laid down parameters, certain speech act carries certain illocutionary force, which is adjudged felicitious or infelicitious depending on whether the illocutionary act resulting thereof meets the felicity conditions as well as conforms to the four maxims as stipulated by the cooperative principles. In a discourse situation, the analyst seeks to ascertain the felicity or otherwise of a given speech act based on previous background knowledge. On February 6, 2013 in an interview with the daily sun, the former governor of Abia state Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu apologized to the people of Abia state for “installing†the present governor Theodore .A. Orji who from all development indicators have succeeded only in further under development of the state. Thus our goal in this study is to critically examine the above speech act using the theoretical frameworks stated, with a view to determine if it fulfils the four basic Gricean cooperative principle and also to determine its felicitious status. From both textual and contextual analysis, certain conclusions were drawn on the future of democracy in the country.