Framing insecurity: the ideological functions of discourse markers in select Nigerian political interviews

What ideological functions do discourse markers (DMs) perform? Previous research on DMs has largely been descriptive and paid little attention on their broad socio-cultural and ideological roles. This study aims to fill that gap by maximising the insights of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine DMs utilised by Presidential Media Advisers (PMAs) in political interviews on insecurity in Nigeria. 366 DMs are identified and categorised into structural (43.2%), referential (28.4%), interpersonal (19.9%), and cognitive (8.5%) types. Findings reveal that PMAs strategically deploy DMs to achieve various higher-order ideological aims: legitimising the government’s inaction (e.g., “you know,” “yes,” “just”), recontextualising insecurity and governmental responses (e.g., “because,” “but,” “and,” “or”), and diverting attention from critical issues (e.g., “now,” “so,” “well”). The study highlights the significant role DMs play in shaping political discourse and public perception of national security in Nigeria.