Contextual Deliefs and Pragmatic (De)construction of Selected Lexical Items in White Garment Christian Church Discursive Encounters in Yoruba

Abstract

The belief cum doctrinal system of the White Garment Christian Church(WGCC) in Nigeria informs the choice of some lexical items which manifestdifferent conventional and contextual meanings. This study demonstrates howcontextual beliefs aid meaning (de)construction in discursive encountersinvolving the use of the seven common lexical items in the vocabulary of thechurch. The shared contextual beliefs of the participants, as evident in theirknowledge of the macro and micro contexts of the WGCC, demonstratedthrough shared knowledge of language, doctrine (church culture), situation andexperience, aid the pragmatic (de)construction of the identified lexical items indiscursive encounters.