Pedagogical Communication in Nigerian Children Literature: A Pragma-Semiotic Study of Akintayo Oluyinka’s The Greatest Mistake

Abstract

This study is a cross-disciplinary investigation of the pedagogical significance of children literature in Nigeria—a linguistic study of selected samples from Akintayo Oluyinka’s The Greatest Mistake. Visual illustrations are typical of children literature because of the age-range of the readers. Hamilton (2000) notes that “children who encounter excellent picture books learn how to read not just the moods but also the pictures. They pay close attention to what they see often discovering things in illustrations.” Like in the literary text we examine in this study, pictorial illustrations in Nigerian children literature have varied contextual underpinnings which make them have meanings to children-readers. This establishes their pragmatic relevance. Objects and gestures convey messages in discourse. Therefore, semiotics is a crucial concern of this study. Hinging on the Pragma-crafting theory, this study concludes that the effectiveness of children literature in the transmission of knowledge to the target readers (children) depends on the skillful use of textual and extra-textual elements of communication.