Slang and Catchy Phrases Used in Selected Nigerian Hip Hop Songs: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

Hip-hop songs purposefully employ slangy expressions and catchy phrases to reduce the level of vulgarity in the content to avoid transgressing society's moral standards and to increase the acceptance of such songs among listeners; to avoid directly stating the name of the referent (s), for example in a satirical song; and also to allow singers to create a landmark worth discussing even after the song is no longer in style. Along with all of these other benefits, slang idioms and snappy phrases give songs a beautiful linguistic quality and, most significantly, enable performers to express a variety of ideas while focusing on a small number of them. This implies that the slang words and catchy phrases used in hip-hop songs contain hidden messages and that a certain amount of language analysis must be employed for listeners to comprehend these hidden messages. This level seems reasonable to us. The technique used is the descriptive technique. The work was influenced by John Austin's speech-act theory. This study intends to undertake a pragmatic analysis of the slang and catchy idioms included in a sample of Nigerian hip-hop songs in order to accomplish this. The purpose of this study is to identify the actual meanings of the catchy phrases and slang words used in Nigerian hip-hop songs in connection to the overarching themes of those songs. As a result of this identification, we will be better able to explain why certain slang phrases and catchphrases are used in the songs, as well as how they relate to the singers' intended meanings. After reaching this objective, we come to the conclusion that a pragmatic analysis is necessary in order for everyone to comprehend what hip-hop music truly means.