Language Use in Conflict Resolution: Nigeria and South Africa 2019 Xenophobic Attack

Abstract

Experts in conflict management argue that intra and inter-conflict in and between nations can be managed if only there are proper channels of negotiation, or else, a degeneration of conflict leading to either civil or trans-national war may ensue. Similarly experts in language studies have proposed that one of the ways to manage conflict is the appropriate use of language in negotiation that could convert supposed adversaries into partners. Consequently stakeholders in conflict negotiation have called for language studies in conflict resolution. Thus, this paper examined the interactions between Nigeria and South Africa during the 2019 xenophobic attacks for the function and quality of language use in resolving the conflict. Qualitative analysis of the data was conducted using linguistic cues on the five conflict resolution strategies proposed by the Harvard Law School. In addition, the relational theory, which among others holds that “what we say conveys information about how we perceive our relationships with others” together with the politeness model that recommends the use of politeness strategies to ameliorate face threatening acts are used in the analysis. The analysis revealed the important role language play: linguistic cues that actualize conflict resolution strategies, politeness strategies and proper perception of relationship that contribute towards the resolution of the conflict. These results support previous studies’ findings that emphasize the important role language plays in conflict resolution and suggest better use of language – linguistic cues that can be implored to resolve conflicts.