SOCIO-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED SECURITY HEADLINES IN NIGERIA’S DAILY TRUST NEWSPAPER.

Abstract

Headlines are not just summaries of events but also embed some notions and ideologies. Languages used in Newspaper headlines also shape the attitudes of people towards the news. The pragmatic values embedded in the headlines have unconsciously created some images in the reader’s mind therefore the readers would be more likely to believe what is written in the headline rather than explore the news story. Headlines expose social, cultural and national representations. This paper drawing on the assertion that when language is properly used, a readers’ perception is fashioned in accordance with the script-writer perception analyzed some selected security headlines in Nigeria’s Daily Trust Newspaper.