Conceptual Blending Patterns in Selected Nigerian Television Talk Shows

Abstract

Several studies on Nigerian television talk shows have examined the interactions of participants by investigating turn-taking patterns, paralinguistic cues, interactional patterns and communicative strategies, and mental and context models of the discourses. Scant attention has been paid to the conceptual blending patterns that can be found in television talk shows with a view to highlighting how mental spaces are created in the minds of the participants and are reflected by their use of metaphors. This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining the conceptual blending patterns observable in selected television talk shows in Nigeria so as to show how thought processes, as revealed by utterances, lead to the formation of strong opinions and positions by change agents. The conceptual blending framework is utilised to identify how several inputs blend to form an emergent structure that is most times revealing of ideology. Processes such as ‘Theme-Event-Process-Action’, ‘Theme-Action’, and ‘Theme-Process/Action-Process’, were realised by participants’ contributions to the discourse and helped to show how they really viewed the matter on hand.  Their striking uses of metaphors showed that positions adopted in the interactions held in television talk shows are indeed conceptualised. Several argumentative moves and framings were deployed to create mental spaces using metaphors such as the following: The BringBackOurGirls campaigners are charlatans; Nigeria is a disputed project; the Nigerian Constitution is an apartheid constitution and a slave master; and Senator Sani Yerima is same as Shekau, the Boko-Haram terrorist leader. These go a long way in showing how participants on the selected Nigerian talk shows conceptualised the happenings discussed.