Winning the audience: a relevance theoretic analysis of us-them relationships in a text on HIV/AIDS

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Periodical article

Title:	Winning the audience: a relevance theoretic analysis of us-them relationships in a text on HIV/AIDS
Author:	Conradie, Marthinus
Year:	2015
Periodical:	Language Matters: Studies in the Languages of Africa (ISSN 1753-5395)
Volume:	46
Issue:	2
Pages:	159-179
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	students AIDS sexuality information dissemination communication linguistics
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2014.966854
Abstract:	South Africa faces the greatest HIV infection rate among adolescents on the globe. Most university students are part of this age cohort, and are treated as an essential audience for campaigns aimed at curbing the infection rate. This investigation departs from the observation that the texts disseminated among students may benefit from critical reflection on the discourse through which the sexuality of target audiences is constructed. A pragmatic and metadiscursive analysis is conducted of the devices used in a particular text. This text was selected because in working to directly address the sexuality of the target audience, and by explicitly expounding the communicators' stance toward it, the text assumes a unique approach among those currently designed specifically for the student population. Analysing its construction of the audience's sexuality may therefore yield insights into the way specific pragmatic and metadiscursive devices are used to enhance the relevance of their HIV/AIDS messages. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]