Discourse analysis of Catholic homicides: A case study of Queen of Apostles Seminary Church, Ruaraka Nairobi

Abstract

The focus of this study is the language employed in Catholic homilies in Queen of Apostles Seminary Ruaraka. The aim is to find out what makes disparate discourse sentences hang together as well as the tools used by homilists to knit together their messages. Further, the study aims at finding out the role of topic as a coherence principle and how the principle organizes the speech into a coherent whole as well as assessing how meaning is conveyed in concrete situations. An eclectic theoretical approach is assumed in the study involving the Halliday and Hasan (1976), Cohesion approach, Brown and Yule (1983); Topic framework theory and Grice (1975), Implicature approach. Data collected was transcribed before being analyzed within the stipulated theoretical frameworks. The study found out that topic is the strongest coherence principle used by homilists to achieve relevance and by the congregation to interpret what is relevant and what is not relevant. The study therefore recommends a further study on the relevance of prosody in homilies.