A linguistic investigation into selected media campaigns on voluntary medical male circumcision in Namibia, 2018 –2019

Abstract

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) is a surgical procedure which involves the total removal of the foreskin of the penis, in order to reduce a man’s risk of contracting HIV by 50-60% (MoHSS, 2018). Male circumcision is practiced by some communities as part of their traditional rituals (Kuyunde, 2017). The HIV prevalence rate in Namibia was still reported to be among the highest in the world, with an HIV prevalence rate of 12.6% among adults aged 15-64 years, and the low coverage of male circumcision was among the factors contributing to this (NAMPHIA, 2017, as cited in Stegman et al., 2019). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how language was used in the media campaigns on VMMC in Namibia, during the period of 2018 to 2019, in terms of the linguistic devices, the types of speech acts and Aristotle’s rhetoric proofs that were incorporated in these VMMC campaign messages for persuasive purposes. The study employed a quantitative, descriptive, exploratory design, where a purposive, non-random sampling method was used, in which a total of ten (10) online newspaper articles on VMMC campaigns published during the period of 2018 to 2019 were selected from the two Namibian newspapers, The Namibian and New Era newspaper, and eleven (11) printed commercials in the form of posters. A Content Analysis Checklist was used as a data collection tool and the collected data were analysed based on the checklist, which was made out of a collection of the linguistic devices used in advertisements, as well as data from the Speech Act Theory of Austin (1962) and Searle (1979), and Aristotle’s rhetoric proofs. The findings of the research revealed that all (100%) printed commercials on VMMC campaigns in Namibia published during the period of 2018 to 2019, incorporated the formal features of advertisements such as the headline, signature and the slogan, and about 72% of the printed posters on VMMC campaigns incorporated the body copy, while 45% included some testimonials from the individuals who had gone through the “smart cut”. However, the online media campaigns incorporated only the use of headlines and body copy. Moreover, the linguistic devices which were utilised in the printed commercials on the VMMC campaign messages in Namibia during the period of 2018 to 2019 included the use of short phrases (such as noun phrase, verb phrase and adjectival phrase), simple sentences, parallelism, rhythm, metaphors, second person’s possessive pronouns, direct address, compound words, and poetic devices such as rhyme, alliteration, anaphora and intonation. However, more linguistic devices were utilised in the online articles published during the same period, and these included the use of simple sentences, metaphors especially on headlines, the use of colloquial language and simple diction, tone and hyperbole. vii Furthermore, the findings also revealed that both the printed commercials and the online media campaigns on VMMC in Namibia utilised Austin (1962) and Searle (1979) speech Act Theory and Aristotle’s rhetoric proofs adequately. The majority (42%) of the printed commercials on VMMC campaigns utilised the directive acts, and about 34% incorporated the assertive acts, while 16% included commissive acts. Furthermore, only about 8% of the printed commercials included declarative acts and none of the printed commercials included expressive acts. However, the online newspaper articles on the VMMC campaigns in Namibia published during the period of 2018-2019, incorporated more of the assertive acts, in the form of providing information or claims, and directive acts, in the form of suggestions and advice. Moreover, the findings also demonstrated that all Aristotle’s rhetoric proofs were incorporated in both the printed commercials and the online articles. The results indicated that the printed commercials comprised of about 43.5% of the Aristotle’s rhetoric appeal to emotions (pathos), 30.4% of the Aristotle’s appeal to character (ethos) and 26.1% of Aristotle’s appeal to logic (Logos). Other findings from the study were that the barriers to VMMC included cultural beliefs that male circumcision is not part of their culture and common myths that wounds do not heal in summer but winter. Based on the findings of the research, the researcher made recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) to research more on the barriers that hinder the desired coverage of the VMMC program, in order for it to reach its 80% target, especially in communities where male circumcision is not part of their cultural practice. The second recommendation is that the MoHSS practitioners should strengthen the VMMC campaigns, especially in the communities where it is not a part of their cultural practice, and more posters on VMMC should be printed, as they are currently few, and should be in local languages as it may assist to persuade a larger audience. Lastly, the MoHSS should modify their VMMC campaign messages to include more of testimonials from various famous people in Namibia.