Research article | Open Access
International Journal of Language and Education Research 2026, Vol. 8(1) 81-105
A Multi-modal Analysis of Syntactic Structures within the Anti-Building Bridges Initiative Discourses in Kenya
pp. 81 - 105
Publish Date: April 30, 2026 | Single/Total View: 0/0 | Single/Total Download: 0/0
Abstract
Over the last few years, the use of X (formerly Twitter) for political purposes has gained prominence in Kenya. The Kenyan political elite appear to strategically maximize on the platform to propagate their egoistic political agenda. X was extensively used during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a political season characterized by the Kenyan government’s quest to unite the nation. However, this initiative came at a time when the electorate was inflamed and yearning for new leadership. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the syntactic structures that characterized tweets by the anti-BBI micro-bloggers within Kenya’s political online space. The multi-modal theory was used to analyze eighteen tweets which were selected from six hashtags namely; #BBINonsense, #RejectBBI, #StopBBI, #NoToBBI, #BBIMustFall and #BBIniScam. The findings revealed that tweets were regulated by length constraints on the X platform. As a result, the written text and visual modes worked together to construct syntactic structures which included ellipsis, substitution, unique punctuation patterns, substitution, short-forms and emojis. According to the findings, the syntactic structures displayed non-adherence to prescriptive rules according to traditional grammar. Language was creatively used to compensate for the word limit constraints. The findings of this study will help shed light on language use in social media interactions and how this might affect language learning and teaching in Kenya. Additionally, the findings of this study shall be used by Kenyans on X (KoX) in a bid to understand the nature of the syntactic structures used in the platform.
Keywords: Micro-bloggers, Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), Kenyans on X (KoX), Syntactic structures, Traditional grammar
APA 7th edition
Maroko, G., Ngau, J.S., & Ndivo, L.M. (2026). A Multi-modal Analysis of Syntactic Structures within the Anti-Building Bridges Initiative Discourses in Kenya. International Journal of Language and Education Research, 8(1), 81-105.
Harvard
Maroko, G., Ngau, J. and Ndivo, L. (2026). A Multi-modal Analysis of Syntactic Structures within the Anti-Building Bridges Initiative Discourses in Kenya. International Journal of Language and Education Research, 8(1), pp. 81-105.
Chicago 16th edition
Maroko, Geoffrey, Joylene Sophia Ngau and Larry Mutinda Ndivo (2026). "A Multi-modal Analysis of Syntactic Structures within the Anti-Building Bridges Initiative Discourses in Kenya". International Journal of Language and Education Research 8 (1):81-105.
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