Uchanganuzi wa kisemantiki wa mabango ya kiswahili kuhusu Suala la afya mjini Kakamega, Kenya

Abstract

Human communication has undergone various changes over time. The traditional methods of communication that is oral and written communication have been modified by the invention of different modes of communication being invented alongside advances in science and technology. These different modes of communication include the Internet, mobiles phones, email and posters among others. Posters are a visual mode of communication that could be textual, pictorial or both textual and pictorial. Posters have been used to disseminate information about important social issues like education, economic changes, environmental conservation, health and political issues among others. Though posters are generally appealing and attractive to the eyes of the reader many a times they could be misleading and may often cause misinterpretation. The study investigated how Kiswahili health posters are presented to and interpreted by the inhabitants of Kakamega town in Western province of Kenya. The main aim of the study was to analyze different meanings accorded to Kiswahili . ( health posters. The objectives of this study were to determine the nature of information conveyed by the posters, to analyze the language techniques used to convey information in the posters, identify and to determine how reading paths assist in interpretation of Kiswahili health posters. This study employed a theoretical framework of Kress and Van Leeuwan's ideational, interactive and compositional metafunctions. Kiswahili health posters were collected from hospitals, major roads, education sectors, health cooperation’s and business premises. A document research design was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select the posters related to health. Data was collected by use of interview schedule, observation and photoshooting. The data was analyzed qualitatively. It is hoped that this study will benefit health workers and consumers of information on the posters as it provides new perceptions in the interpretation of posters.