Ajayi Crowther University hosts 2023 PrAN conference

The 6th edition of the Pragmatics Association of Nigeria, PrAN, International Conference, which had the theme, pragmatics of violence, was held at Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, with Prof Teun van Dijk from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain delivered the keynote address.

While declaring the three-day event, which drew participants from all over Nigeria, open on Tuesday, the vice-Chancellor of the hosting university, Prof Timothy Abiodun, said hosting the conference would increase the understanding of verbal instances of forms of violence, pragmatic strategies for the avoidance of violence, as well as the pragmatics cues for the promotion of peace.

He said, “Experts in the field of pragmatics, that is, the science of language use, have a global spread under the umbrella International Pragmatics Association which started in 1986 in Antwerp, Belgium.

“Since then, there have been other national and continental branches of the association. I congratulate the national body of PrAN not only for the current conference which they have so beautifully organized but also for keeping yourselves together for the past six years, in advancing knowledge and promoting quality research in the vast field of pragmatics.”

President of the association, Prof Akin Odebunmi from the Department of English, University of Ibadan, stated that the group is connected to some international associations, noting also that it is not a profit-making organisation.

“We have connections with international sister groups. For example, we collaborate with International Pragmatics Association with the headquarters in Belgium. We also collaborate with Africa Pragmatics Association which has its headquarters in Ghana.”

While justifying the selection of ACU as the venue for the 2023 edition, Odebunmi said, “Prior to any of our conferences, we put out invitations for bids and whichever university agrees to host and wins the right will be selected.  One of the criteria we look out for is a university with the facility to host. We are a group that is current when it comes to the state-of-art of knowledge. We handle things as consistent with current development in the world so there must be the technology that will connect us with the rest of the world. In most of our conferences, we have invited scholars who are theorists from outside Nigeria.”

Convener of the conference and Dean of post-graduate school, Ajayi Crowther University, Prof Olatunde Ayodabo, said ACU as a school and its students will benefit from the content of the conference, while also saying that the theme of the conference interrogated the relationship between language and violence and how violence could be reduced through the use of language.

“Our students are participating in the workshop where we train starters in pragmatics and learning how to do it. We have many post-graduate students taking part and it will rub on their scholarship and academy because some of them will present papers and data for their research works. There are also many senior professors who will provide mentoring during sessions.

“There is a lot of dangers that are a threat to the use of language. As pragmatics, this is our concern. We want to interrogate the relationship between language and violence and how we can stem down violence through the use of language,” he said.