Analizing the Stylistic Effects of Material Processes in Nigerian Newspaper Headlines

This study was conducted to find out the pattern through which the material processes, which predominantly appear in the headlines of political news reports of the Daily Trust and The Guardian newspapers, operate. It is aimed at making a stylistic study of the choices of linguistic features (participants) with a view to examining their style and effects on the experiential meaning of the selected texts (headlines). The main objectives of the study were to find out whether the frequent choice of the identified process types has any effect on the experiential meaning of the language of headlines in Nigerian newspapers. This study involves fifty-five (55) plain headlines selected via content analysis by using non-random purposive technique. The analytical framework adopted was the Hallidayan transitivity model of systemic functional linguistic theory. Findings of the study established the pattern of the choice of material processes, which established the language of headlines in Nigerian newspapers as oriented towards “Action” in relation to their respective participants, which are functional linguistic features realised in the nominal groups and is expressive towards the roles of Nigerian politicians as political actors capable of drawing the attention of the people.