COHERENCE BETWEEN CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR AND MENTAL SPACES IN ETHNO-RELIGIOUS CONVERSATIONS BY NIGERIAN FACEBOOK USERS

Abstract

This study examined hate speeches in the social media (Facebook Status) conversations among Nigerians. The research looked at naturally-occurring language situations in relation to the ethnic, religious, regional and cultural stereotypes of the interlocutors to determine how such interactions turned sensational. It used two theories of linguistic investigation. They are; Cognitive Metaphor and Mental Spaces both of which are cognitive linguistics theories that relate language with human thought/mind. The method of data collection was sampling of a Facebook conversation by Nigerians in which expressions are emotionally-charged. The result of the findings showed that the dual theories of Cognitive Metaphor and Mental Spaces readily accounted for such language situation. On the one hand, the metaphorical expressions used are found to be the language of cultural stereotypes because the slur language that ensued was actually a reflection of the assumptions each interlocutor held against the other. On the other hand, it was discovered that the perceptions of the interlocutors, resulting from their perceptual experience, depicting their feelings of disaffection against each other, were key factors in conceptualizing such emotional statements or utterances as stereotypical.