Abstract
In this paper, an analysis of form of linguistic ambiguity in the headlines of contemporary Yoruba newspapers is presented. The paper analyses 100 verbally ambiguous headlines in some newspapers. The focus of the paper is on examples of lexical and structural ambiguity that result in involuntary humour. This is usually contrived by Yoruba newspaper writer for the sake of entertainment which makes the headlines funny. Therefore, this paper examined some words and expression which are possibly ambiguous in the headlines of contemporary Yoruba newspapers. The headlines collected in our corpus and analysed were selected precisely because the sources of ambiguity that produced the humorous effect were of a linguistic nature. This is in an attempt to propose a systematic analysis of humorous headlines that have rarely been considered in the Yoruba literature.
Highlights
A major component in the Yoruba newspaper discourse is the headline, which has become an interest of linguistics and stylistics. This is because newspaper headlines are considered to have their own characteristics and status in news discourse (Bell, 1991)
Newspaper headlines are written in a special kind of language with its own vocabulary and grammar
Yorùbá newspaper writing style generally consists of three parts
Summary
A major component in the Yoruba newspaper discourse is the headline, which has become an interest of linguistics and stylistics. Yorùbá newspaper writing style generally consists of three parts It has a range of functions that dictate its shape, content and structure, and it operates within a range of restrictions that limit the freedom of the writer (Reah , 1998:13-14). It encapsulates the story, i.e. article content, in a minimum number of words, attracts the reader to the story and, if it appears on the front page, attracts the reader to the paper. Because of the function of the headline, and in view of limited space at the disposal of the writer, he makes some linguistic choices which sometimes result in ambiguity
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