Graffiti Discourse Analysis in Bontoc, Mountain Province: A Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

This paper analyses the fabrication of graffiti as an unconventional communication channel for the locals of Bontoc, Mountain Province focusing in language content, purposes, discourse domains and themes using the writings collected on public transportations particularly on tricycles and on public spaces. Insights from Corpus-Based Theory utilizing Braun & Clarke’s (2006) Thematic Analysis and Fairclough’s (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis which concerns the usage of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), a concept proposed by M.A.K. Halliday that offers the basis for language study in context and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) recommended by Kress and van Leeuwen (2001) which was beneficial not only in examining the texts, but also analysing the visual components. These theories were used to answer the following problems: (1) to determine the various discourse domains of public transportation and public spaces graffiti in central Bontoc; and (2) to examine the communication content that includes the intention of inscription. Qualitative method was employed in the analysis and it was interpreted that graffiti on the selected sites contribute a collective interactive linguistic style employed to show the inscribers’ creativity, imagination, and freedom of expression. In Bontoc, Mountain Province, graffiti have been observed as a noteworthy and substantial cultural sensation over a long period. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijhss.11.2.1