A SOCIO-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMEDY SKITS OF MARIAM APAOKAGI, POPULARLY KNOWN AS TAOOMA

ABSTRACT Humour is a vital element of human interaction and social critique. Previous studies focused on humour in stand-up comedy and films, with little attention on social media skits. Therefore, this study was designed to conduct a socio-pragmatic analysis of Taaooma’s comedy skits, to analyse the socio-cultural context, to examine humour strategies, and to examine how conversational implicature contributes to achieving humour strategies. This study was anchored on Acton’s Socio-Pragmatic Framework because it accounted for the social significance of language choices. The qualitative method was adopted. Twenty (20) comedy skits were purposively selected. Data were analysed thematically. Findings showed that Taaooma’s skits reflected Nigerian socio-cultural realities, employed pragmatic violations, code-switching, satire, and exaggeration, and used conversational implicature to enrich humour. Specifically, the socio-cultural context of family life, discipline, and communal expectations was dominant, humour strategies included hyperbole, sarcasm, and mock politeness, while conversational implicatures created indirect meanings understood by audiences. These features revealed how language in skits both entertained and reinforced cultural values. The analysis indicated that humour was not only for amusement but also a subtle form of social critique, drawing attention to parental authority, generational conflicts, and community norms. Thus, Taaooma’s style reflected the negotiation of identity, power, and politeness through humour in digital spaces. This study concluded that social media comedy skits serve as cultural texts that reflect and critique Nigerian social realities. It recommended that future research should extend socio-pragmatic analysis to other digital comedians to broaden insights on humour and culture in online media.