Orthophomism And Tact: A Strategic Impoliteness Analysis of Centre-Periphery Political Discourse in President Tinubu's Inaugural Speech
This study investigates the pragmatic deployment of orthophomism and tact as instruments of strategic impoliteness in political discourse, with specific reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's inaugural speech presented on 29 May, 2023 in Nigeria. Anchored in the theoretical frameworks of Culpeper's Impoliteness Theory, Grice's Cooperative Principle, and Expectancy Violation Theory, the paper adopts an Integrated Pragmatic Model of Strategic Impoliteness as its methodological lens. The study examines how Tinubu's candid announcements — particularly the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira — constitute forms of strategic orthophomism that violate cooperative norms and societal expectations, thereby endorsing discursive impoliteness within the political centre-periphery relationship. The paper argues that such strategic straight-talking, while ostensibly transparent, functions as a political face-threatening act that reshapes the communicative contract between the government and the governed. Empirical data drawn from the inaugural speech are analysed qualitatively, revealing that the deployment of orthophomism triggers negative psychological, economic, and socio-political consequences on the Nigerian polity. The study recommends a more tactful balance between political transparency and communicative sensitivity in high-stakes political discourse, particularly in postcolonial, developing-economy contexts where public trust is delicate and economic anxieties are pervasive. The findings contribute to scholarship in political linguistics, critical discourse analysis, and pragmatics in African political communication.
Onebunne, L. A. (2026). Orthophomism And Tact: A Strategic Impoliteness Analysis of Centre-Periphery Political Discourse in President Tinubu's Inaugural Speech. International Journal of Global Humanities and Management Insights (IJGHMI), 2(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.63665/ijghmi-y2f2a002
[1] Adegaju, A. (2008). A rhetorical analysis of selected texts of the Obasanjo presidency in Nigeria (1999- 2007). Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
[2] Allan, K. & Burridge, K. (1991). Euphemism and dysphemism: Language used as shield and weapon. Oxford University Press.
[3] Allan, K. & Burridge, K. (2006). Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language. Cambridge University Press.
[4] Anchimbe, E. A., & Mforteh, S. A. (Eds.) (2011). Postcolonial linguistic voices: Identity choices and representations. De Gruyter Mouton.
[5] Ayemon, M. O. (2006). The language of politics and political communication in Nigeria: A case study. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 15(3), 421- 435.
[6] Ayodele, B. (2020). X- phemism in Nigerian political discourse: A study of presidential economic communication. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(2), 734- 750.
[7] Bousfield, D. (2008). Impoliteness in interaction. John Benjamins.
[8] Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
[9] Burgoon, J. K. (1978). A communication model of personal space violations: Explication and an initial test. Human Communication Research, 4(2), 129- 142.
[10] Burgoon, J. K. (1993). Interpersonal expectations, expectancy violations, and emotional communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 12(1- 2), 30- 48.
[11] Burgoon, J. K., & Hale, J. L. (1988). Nonverbal expectancy violations: Model elaboration and application to immediacy behaviours. Communication Monographs, 55(1), 58- 79.
[12] Charteris- Black, J. (2005). Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor. Palgrave Macmillan.
[13] Chukwu, E. A., & Onebunne, L. A. (2023). Dysphemism strategies in President Buhari's Arise TV interview. Studies in Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis, 4(2), 32- 48.
[14] Culpeper, J. (1996). Towards an anatomy of impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics, 25(3), 349- 367.
[15] Culpeper, J. (2005). Impoliteness and entertainment in the television quiz show: The Weakest Link. Journal of Politeness Research, 1(1), 35-72.
[16] Culpeper, J. (2011). Impoliteness: Using language to cause offence. Cambridge University Press.
[17] Culpeper, J., Bousfield, D., & Wichmann, A. (2003). Impoliteness revisited: With special reference to dynamic and prosodic aspects. Journal of Pragmatics, 35(10-11), 1545-1579.
[18] Ekpenyong, M. J. (2014). Discourse analysis of presidential speeches in Nigeria: A study of selected texts. International Journal of Linguistics and Communication, 2(3), 45-63.
[19] Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power (2nd ed.). Longman.
[20] Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual: Essays on face- to- face behaviour. Anchor Books.
[21] Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics, Vol. 3: Speech acts (pp. 41-58). Academic Press.
[22] Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. Longman.
[23] Onebunne, L.A., & Chukwu, E. A. (2023). Euphemism strategies in President Buhari's Arise TV interview. Interdisciplinary Journal of African and Asian Studies (IJAAAS), 9(2).
[24] Shils, E. (1975). Center and periphery: Essays in macrosociology. University of Chicago Press.
[25] Taiwo, R. (2010). Language, ideology and power relations in Nigerian newspaper headlines. Nebula, 7(1-2), 218-231.
[26] Van Dijk, T. A. (1997). What is political discourse analysis? In J. Blommaert & C. Bulcaen (Eds.), Political linguistics (pp. 11-52). John Benjamins.
[27] Wallerstein, I. (1974). The modern world- system I: Capitalist agriculture and the origins of the European world- economy in the sixteenth century. Academic Press.