Love and language - A socio-rhetorical analysis of love texts on a Ghanaian radio network

Abstract

While research in rhetorical analysis has focused predominantly on academic writing, little is known of the moves employed in relatively new modes of computer-mediated communication. This paper, therefore, examines the rhetorical structure of text messages posted by listeners, most of whom are university students, to express love to their partners on one of the most patronized shows of a local campus radio network in Ghana. Based on a combined framework of Mann and Thompson‟s rhetorical structure theory and Swales‟ rhetorical move approach, results show that radio love text messages bear a generic four move structure. The study also reveals that the elaboration step is the nucleus of a love text, given that it involves a three-tiered sub-move which tends to be either romantic or erotic in nature. Further, the research shows that men deployed more affectionate lover address forms than their female counterparts, thereby contradicting the extant literature on gendered language. These findings hold implications for further research in gender studies, computer-mediated communication and mass communication research