AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SYNTACTIC DEVICES IN SELECTED NIGERIAN PREACHERS' SERMONS
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The dynamic phenomenon of language and the idea that it shapes human actions and
decisions is what creates different forms of usage. This feature of Language makes it
accommodate different thoughts, terminologies and usages, and allows situations to
influence the choice of language use. For instance, religion is one major social factor
that has over the years influenced the use of language; English in specific, in Nigeria.
This work exammes two sermons by Pastor Paul Enemche of Dunamics International
Gospel Centre and Pastor Chris Oyakilome of Christ Embassy, with the view to x-ray
their use of /inguzstic devices in order to outline how the use of such devices affects
meaning and fulfils the goals of their messages. It also seeks to assess the ways that such
linguistic devices may have formed the basic characreristics of language use by
Nigerian Pentecostal Preacher. Within the framework oJ HallidaJ 's ( 1985) ystemic
Functional Linguistics (SFL), which is a distinct approach in the study and description
of language use m the society, the study identifies repetition, syntactic parallelism,
rhetorical questions, imperative sentences and dependent clauses followed by
independent ones as the distinguishing linguistic dzaracteristics of sermon in the
Pentecostal context.
Keywords
BL Religion