A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON THE LANGUAGE OF LITURGY IN ROMAN

CATHOLIC AND PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES

(CASE STUDY OF ST. PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH AND LAST DAYS

MESSENGERS MISSION A.K.A KINGDOM MESSENGERS)

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1 Introduction

According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, the word Liturgy is

used in two senses. It relates to all of the prescribed services of the Church, as contrasted

with private devotions (685). It is simply the order of things in a particular manner, i.e.

sermons, prayers & worship service. In practice, liturgy is a set of responsive prayers and

sermons that enable a congregation to participate in the dialogue of worship. In some

traditions, congregational participation is the norm and it is done freely and openly through

words, songs and action. Liturgy enables a person to feel a part of the worship and prayer

offering to God in a way that they might not if it were all led from the front. For example, if

a church only sings a hymn, takes an offering, offers a prayer and hears a sermon, it has a

liturgy (Dennis and Robin 15).

Liturgy also means service in the sense of serving God. It encompasses the forms

by which activities in the church are carried out, i.e. sermons, prayers and worships. (Reid 9-

13). The bible teaches us that the churchs liturgy should begin with a call to worship, it

should contain hymns, prayers, offerings the reaching and preaching of Gods word, and the

sacrament of the Lords supper, and should conclude with a benediction. (Reid 15)

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 The word, sometimes rendered by its English translation service, may refer to an

elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy, Catholic Mass, the

Eucharist or Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim Salah and Jewish services (Bowker

582).

As a religious phenomenon, liturgy is a communal response to the sacred through

activity reflecting praise, thanksgiving, supplication or repentance. Ritualization may be

associated with life events such as birth, coming of age, marriage and death. It thus forms the

basis for establishing a relationship with a divine agency, as well as with other participants in

the liturgy. Methods of dress, preparation of food, application of cosmetics or other hygienic

practices are all considered liturgical activities.

Liturgy is central to Christianity and it is an integral part of our family relationship

with God. The signs, symbols and sacred actions which form our public prayer and worship

spring from the language and events of Gods own self-revelation to us (John 24).

Typically in Christianity, however, the term the liturgy normally refers to a

standardized order of events observed during a religious service, be it a sacramental service

or a service of public prayer. In the Catholic tradition, liturgy is the participation of the

people in the work of God, which is primarily the saving work of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy,

Christ continues the work of redemption (Chapman 67)

It is a fact of tradition that in liturgy, the church establishes analogies between the

sacraments of the New Covenant and the works of God under the law. The liturgy (in its

most authentic elements) reunites us with the soul of the Bible: God continues to act and to

intervene in human history as He began to do long ago.

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 This work will evaluate the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal

Churches. It will provide a comparative study of their liturgy by focusing on the sermons and

prayers in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Churches.

1.1 Background of Study

The term liturgy literary in Greek means work for the people but a better

translation is public service or public work, as made clear from the origin of the term as

described above. The early Christians adopted the word to describe its principal act of

worship, the Sunday service (Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion, Mass or Divine Liturgy).

This service, liturgy, or ministry is a duty for Christians. It is also Gods ministry or service

to the worshippers. As this study would focus on the worship services, many Christian

churches designate one person who participates in the worship service as the liturgist. The

liturgist may read announcements, scriptures, and calls to worship, while the minister

preaches the sermon, offers prayers and blesses sacraments. The liturgist may be either an

ordained minister or a layman. The entire congregations participates and offers the liturgy to

God (Baldovin 21).

Liturgies in Roman Catholic Church are written to be read or sung. They can be

invocations, Petitions, rosaries, hymns or Psalm. They are distinctive forms of religious

language. However, Pentecostalism is a renewal movement that places special emphasis on a

direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostal form of

worship or liturgy has been described as a gestalt made up of prayer, singing, sermon, the

operation of the gifts of the spirit, alter intercession, offering, announcement, testimonies,
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musical specials, scripture reading and occasionally the Lords supper (Calvin 60-61). The

nexus therefore is to evaluate the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal

Churches with particular reference to the language of worship.

1.2 Problem Statement/Statement of Research Problem

It has been argued by different scholars that there is a language of liturgy in Roman Catholic

and Pentecostal Churches. Other writers have come up with conclusions that there are

differences between Roman Catholic language of liturgy and liturgy in Pentecostal Churches.

The problem of this research study arises from the need to know if actually there is any

difference in the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and the Pentecostal Churches and to

highlight these similarities and difference through the analysis of the discourse.

1.3 Aim and Objective of the study

The aim of this research is to analyze the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and

Pentecostal Churches. This research achieves this purpose through a discourse analysis of the

spoken and written forms of language of liturgy of the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal

churches.

1.4 The Significance of the Study

This work is unique in the sense that it explores and brings out the linguistic

similarities and differences in both Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Churches. It will also be

a stimulant and reference point to future researchers in the area of liturgy in both

denominations.

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 Finally, it will further help to situate the fact that there can be slight or significant

differences in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Churches.

1.5 The Scope and Limitation

For ease of exposition, the scope of this work focuses on the language of liturgy in

both Roman Catholic and Pentecostal denominations. The limitations faced by the researcher

during the course of this work were the limited time available for this research and finance.

Hence the work is greatly restricted to the discourse forms of sermons, prayers and choruses

of the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches

1.6 Research Methodology

The observation method was used during the service. The participatory observation

was carried out in some catholic and Pentecostal church. Other sources used include journals,

Christian Newspapers. The sermons, prayers and choruses were recorded. Interviews with

the priests and pastors were conducted as well.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Sermon: It is a moral statement whose aim is to dictate a certain kind of behavior through
series of examples.

Liturgies: It can be invocations, petitions and they can be written to be read or sung.

Rituals: the system of set procedures and actions of a group

Omnipotent: Having total power, able to do something.

Supernatural: Events forces or powers that cannot be explained by he laws of science and
seem to involve gods or magic.

Benedictions: A blessing pronounced at the end of church service.

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Dogma: A belief or set of beliefs that holds to be true and indisputable

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Review

This section reviews the views of different authors, scholars and religious leaders on

the liturgy. Their views and opinions would be reviewed and used to drive this research.

In reviewing the concept of liturgy, Christopher Kiesling noted that liturgy is central

to Christianity and is an integral part of our family relationship with God. The liturgy, as he

further says, is where the whole living tradition of Gods word including the creed and the

catechism finds its real meaning and purpose (4).

Merriam Webster defined liturgy as a religious rite or body of rites (432). And also,

Most scholars like John, Harrison and West, Bridge have always defined liturgy as ritual or

ceremony (71, 13). However, liturgy is much deeper than mere ritualism or ceremony. It is

the communal expression of our personal feelings of devotion.

Hermann Schmidt opined that the medieval church preferred the word liturgy because

it was the Greek work used in the biblical times to describe the sacramental services of the

Hebrew temple (20). Spates Michael also noted that the ecclesiastical liturgy is the most

beautiful confession of the true faith (20-22). Therefore it is also its aim to impart greater

splendour to the holy proceedings, to render a more worthy homage to the Divine majesty, to

instruct and to edify the faithful by metaphorical language full of appeal and by a picturesque

representation of the various parts of the religious truth.

Reid Alcuin sees liturgy as the public and official worship of Almighty God by the

church, as distinct from personal spiritual practices (12). Hence, the liturgy comprises the

service, sacraments and the forms of daily worship to God.

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 In reviewing the sermons which is a core part of Christian liturgy, Adedun and

Mekiliuwa noted that sermons are indeed a highly structured speech event consisting of

linguistic categories and units which are however functionally determined and interpreted.

They also noted that the functionalist paradigm within which the text is analyzed further

confirms that language functions in human interaction are significant in determining

structure and form of language (21). Cook Gretel in the same vein stated that if we are to find

answers to the problem of what gives stretches of languages unity and meaning, we must

look beyond the formal rules operating within sentences and consider the people who use

language and the world in which it happens as well (99). Taiwo Rotimi noted that

interrogation is a tool in the hand of charismatic Christian preachers, not only to elicit

information from the congregation, but to regulate their linguistic behavior in the process of

the discourse (130).

In reviewing liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches, Simon Russel

opined that the Pentecostal movement does not have a particular form of liturgy. He further

emphasized that different denominations in the Pentecostal movement have different ways of

worship (12).

However, Nicholas Elias disagreed with this view as he stated the four values that

govern Pentecostal form of worship. The first was individual experience, which emphasizes

the Holy Spirits personal work in the life of the believer. Second was orality, a feature that

might explain Pentecostalisms success in evangelizing non-literate cultures. The third was

spontaneity, members of Pentecostal congregations are expected to follow the leading of the

Holy spirit. He emphasized that, this is the concept whereby most scholars or other Christian

movements misunderstand and think Pentecostal denominations have different liturgy. They
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are always expected to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the different directions in

which he leads them sometimes resulting in unpredictable services (32). The fourth value

was a commitment to biblical authority, and many of the distinctive practices of Pentecostal

are derived from a literal reading of scripture (Calvin 60-61).

Having reviewed opinions of the above persons, it can be justified that there is a form of

liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Churches. In the light of this, discussions shall be

made, focusing on the different language of liturgy (spoken and written) in these different

Christian movements.

2.2 An Overview of Language of Liturgy

According to Salvucci Coulthard, language of liturgy is a language that is cultivated

for religious reasons by people who speak another language in their daily life (8)

Once a language becomes associated with religious worship, its believers may ascribe

virtues to the language of worship that they would not give to the native tongues (Buswell

137). In the case of sacred texts, there is a fear of losing authenticity and accuracy by a

translation or re-translation and difficulties in achieving acceptance for a new version of a

text.

Buswell Robert added that language of liturgy is typically vested with a solemnity

and dignity that the vernacular lacks. Consequently, the training of clergy in the use of

liturgical language becomes an important cultural investment, and their use of the tongue is

perceived to give them access to a body of knowledge that untrained lay people cannot (or

should not) access (138). According to Cutler Montogomery in medieval Europe, the ability

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to read scriptures which was in Latin was considered a prerogative of the priesthood, and

a benchmark of literacy, until near the end of the period almost all who could read and write

could do so in Latin (43, 73).

Cutler Montogomery noted that because liturgical language is ascribed with virtues

that the vernacular is not perceived to have, the sacred languages typically preserve

characteristics that would have been lost in the course of language development. In some

cases, it may simply reflect archaic forms of a living language. For instance, 17 th-century

elements of the English Language remain current in Protestant Christian worship through the

use of the King James Bible or older versions of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (3).

In more extreme cases, the language has change so much from the language of sacred texts

that the liturgy is no longer comprehensible without special training (Kanchan 16).

The concept of liturgical languages is distinct from that of divine languages, which

are languages ascribed to the divine and may not necessarily be natural languages (Buswell

10).

2.3 Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church

According to Phayer Serjudo, Roman Catholic Church is the worlds largest Christian

Church with more than a billion members. Its leader is the person who holds a supreme

authority in concert with the collage of Bishops who holds a supreme authority in concert

with the collage of Bishops. The church defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus

Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity. It operates social programme

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and institutions throughout the world including schools, universities, hospitals, missions and

shelters (44).

According to the Encyclopedia of Catholicism, the Catholic Church holds that there is

one external God, who exists as a mutual indwelling of three persons, God the Father, God

the son and God the Holy Spirit which makes up the Trinity. To Catholics, the term church

refers to the people of God who abide in Christ and who are nourished with the body of

Christ. The Catholics also believe that the fullness of the means of salvation exists only in

Catholic Church. It also acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of Christian

communities separate from itself to bring people to salvation.

This doctrine teaches that anyone who is saved is saved even if the person has

invincible ignorance of the church and its teaching. According to the council of Trent, Christ

instituted the seven sacraments; they are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist,

Reconciliation (Penance), Anointing of the sick, (formally extreme unction), Holy orders and

Holy matrimony. Sacraments are important visible rituals that Catholics see as Gods

presence and effective channel of Gods grace.

In an event known as the incarnation, the church teaches that through the power of the

Holy Spirit, God became united with human nature when Christ was conceived in the womb

of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christ therefore, is believed to be fully divine and fully human.

In the Mediator Dei Pope Pius stated that prayers to the Virgin Mary is also part of

Catholic piety but are distinct from the worship of God. The church holds Mary, as a

perpetual virgin and Mother of God, in special regard. Catholics beliefs concerning Mary

include her immaculate conception without the stain of original sin and bodily assumption

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into heaven at the end of her life. This is infallibly defined as dogma by Pope Pius ix

.Devotions such as the Rosary, the Hail Mary, the slave Regina and the memorare are

common Catholic prayers (Pius 56).

After baptism, Catholics may obtain forgiveness for subsequent sins through the

sacrament of reconciliation (confession). In this sacrament, an individual confesses to a

priest who then offers advice and imposes a particular penance to be performed. The priest is

forbidden under penalty of excommunication to reveal any sin or disclosure heard under the

seal of confession. Immediately after death, the soul of each person will receive a particular

judgment from God based on the deeds of that individuals earthly life.

2.4 Doctrine of the Pentecostal Denominations

Probert, Walter Microsoft Encarta states that Pentecostal denominations dates from

April 4 1906, when members of the congregation of Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles

Californian experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This denomination emphasized the

teaching of the full gospel or foursquare. This term refers to the four fundamental believes

of Pentetcostalism: Jesus saves according to John 3:16, baptizes with the Holy spirit

according to Acts 2:4, heals bodily according to James 5:15 and is coming again to receive

those who are saved according to Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Sprinkle in his website noted that Pentecostals greatly adhere to the doctrine of

biblical teachings, believe that the Bible has divine authority in matters of faith and adopt a

literalist approach to its interpretation. However, they differ from other evangelicals by

rejecting Colossians teaching. They belief that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and

prophecy did not cease after New Testament times and that they are still in operation today.

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This is the fundamental requirement of Pentecostalism. The Pentecostal belief and practice

centers on the understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To them salvation is received

by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and cannot be earned through good deeds alone unlike

the Catholic belief (Sprinkle 8).

Like other Christian churches Pentecostals believe that certain rituals or ceremonies

were instituted as a pattern and command by Jesus in the New Testament. Some Pentecostals

commonly call these ordinances, while the Roman Catholics in particular, call it sacraments.

However, the ordinance of communion is seen as a direct command given by Jesus at the last

supper. Some Pentecostals reject the use of wine for the communion; they use grape instead.

These Pentecostal denominations are also seen in Africa and Nigeria.

2.5 A Procedural Discourse Analysis of the Language of Liturgy in Christian

Religion

Every religion has a body of sacred texts and written doctrine which sustains and promotes

its particular spiritual wisdom. This is because Christianity is a religion that originated with

the English-speaking people. In Christian religion, prayers are a special form of police

command or request addressed to God; liturgies are chants, thanksgiving, hymns and psalms;

sermons and moral statements which aim to dictate a certain kind of behavior through stories

or examples. Theological texts are discursive documents with a moral purpose written by

biblical scholars clergy or theologians; they contain justifications for certain benefits and

lifestyles, spiritual guidelines or explanations of religious teachings (Sprinkle 10)

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Christian rites, rituals and ceremonies are not celebrated in one single sacred language. There

are specific words spoken by the priests, Pastors or anyone in the leading position of the

church. Also, there is a difference in the sermons of the Catholics and the Pentecostal

Churches. An analysis on the language of liturgy in Roman Catholics and Pentecostal

churches focusing on their sermons and prayers shall be examined in subsequent chapters.

However, before analyzing the language of liturgy in Catholics and Pentecostal, this study

shall analyze the features of the language of liturgy in Christian churches in general.

The examples to be considered with regard to the distinguishing features of the writings used

by Roman Catholic Church and Pentecostal denominations are taken from the traditional

sources because they are marked by the most distinctive linguistic features of the variety as a

whole. Modern versions provide a paraphrase for the subject specific terms and avoid

unnecessarily complicated sentence structures; however many of the characteristic features

of the traditional version still remain. These features include: grammatical feature, the lexis,

the metaphorical language, typographical language and the graphological features.

2.5.1 The grammatical feature of the liturgical language in Pentecostal/Roman

Catholic Churches

The grammar of the language of Christian religion (Bible) often resembles the older

forms of English. The third person singular verb is infected with the th and est.

th as in cometh

th as in liveth

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est as in highest

Some verbs also have stronger forms such as sware for swore and shewed for sowed.

In modernized version of the Christian religious Language, modern verbs are very common

and they function to imply contrasts in the speakers attitude. The mood is rarely

interrogative, but frequently declarative:

The Lord hates people who use dishonest scales. He is happy

with honest weights

(Good News Bible, Proverb 1.11).

In the modernised version of the Christian liturgical language, modal verbs serve to

bring out contrasts in the speakers attitude. They are sometimes used in conveying certainty

in the future or to mark a special command which should be followed. Pronouns are also

distinctive because of their archaic forms Ye and thee are wildly used most often.

Prayers also have distinctive structure of a sentence. These prayers begin with a single

proper noun which may be proceeded by an object and adjective or which may be followed

by a post-modifying relative clause. They contain an imperative verb which is followed by

an object and its dependent clauses.

On the other hand, the authorized version of the language in churches have a different

type of sentence structure that is used in prayers and ritual ceremonies in the book of

common prayers.

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The authorized version uses archaic features such as inversion of the subject and the verb or

direct and indirect objects. Prayers are more likely to have long sequences of dependent

clauses as shown in chapter four. Rites are usually more straight forward often using simple

and compound sentences as rightly observed by Crystal (6).

2.5.2 Lexis of liturgical language of Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches

The Lexis of the language of Christian religion is subject specific. It contains nouns

such as parables and disciples and verbs like pray and forgive. In considering the

traditional sources, the vocabulary is sometimes archaic, some verbs no longer have a

contemporary equivalent. Some may be linked directly to a specific person, place or action

and take their meaning from a historical situation. As a result of the traditional language of

Christian religion, it has formal phrases and idioms.

Let there be light is a written language which is taken from the beginning of the

Bible (Good News Bible, Genesis 1.3), while let us pray is a spoken language directed to the

congregation. This language is often formulaic with openings like we beseech thee and

closings like Amen. This is to mark the beginning and the end of a prayer. The nominal

group in the language of religion especially in prayers tend to be quite long. Most of the

nouns are modified by at least one modifier and post modifier and noun phrases in apposition

are common.

In prayers, post modification is usually in the form of a relative clause following a

personal pronoun. It can also take the form of a prepositional phrases and non-finite clauses.

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 The post modifying phrases or clauses sometimes take a human understanding such as

referring to God as our Lord , Father, King, as seen in Oh Heavenly Father, King of

Kings and Lord of Lords. There is also a link, between the unknown human world and

the theological world which is created through modifiers that define divine attributes. God is

the central cohesive concept in Christianity. The references are made to God and to

theological concepts that are also linked with God. This implies that half of the determiners

used are possessive. As a result of the abstract spiritual nature of religion, some of the nouns

are not countable such as heaven, compassion, salvation and so on.

2.5.3 Metaphorical Language in Pentecostal and Catholic Churches

The metaphorical language in churches is central to the field of religion. Both the

authorised version and the modern versions of the Bible use a range of techniques that make

it more like a narrative. Metaphor adds an extra layer of meaning to the stories that provide

the philosophy of Christianity. The description of Adam and Eve hearing the voice of the

Lord God walking in the garden, conveys effectively Gods omnipresent power (Genesis

3:8). The personification here enables the reader to understand Adam and Eves fear as a

result of their disobedience to Gods wishes. It gives a concrete presence to Gods voice. The

description of Gods anger as fire also portrays the power of God to punish those who do not

follow the spiritual path.

The people began to complain to the Lord. It burnt among them and destroyed one

end of the camp. (Good News Bible, Numbers 11:1).

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 Symbolism is central to the interpretation of the language of the church. In Genesis,

Adam and Eve represent humanity, the serpent represents evil, and the apple represents

temptation. The temptation makes the Adam and Eve story more than just a narrative it

becomes a moral lesson exemplifying the spiritual and religious message.

In fact, the Bible, as Throne has noted has a controlled framework of balanced

structures; the division of the text into verses make it easy to read aloud. Co-ordination and

the frequent use of pauses marked by comma give it a serious and resonant tone. Some of

the service books are actually written to be read aloud; part of the text is the to be read by the

clergy who is experienced, while other sections are to be read by the inexperienced

congregation speaking in unison. The tone variations are often predictable and the sentences

are rhythmically balanced.

2.5.4 Typographical features of liturgical language

These are features often used to help the congregation read the relevant parts of the

service successfully. Paragraphing and spacing split the text into phonetic value. Full Stop

are not always used to mark the grammatical end of a sentence, but sometimes they imply a

major phonological pause. Commas can reflect a brief pause, capitalization marks a proper

noun, and personal titles and pronouns are used to refer to the deity.

Throne further observes that this variety is unlike the language of everyday

conversation because even in the modernised version, many distinctive features can be traced

directly to the Christian religious language of the Good News Bible and authorised version.

Both are marked by archaic language and structure (352).

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2.5.5 Graphological features of the liturgical language

The graphological features of the language of Christian religion can also be said to be

the general physical layout of the written materials which may also signal phonological

features. Graphologically, it is important to note the controlled rhythmical framework of the

whole involving balanced structures and generally slow rate of progression. There are

numerous graphological features distinctive in an earlier stage of religious language. At this

graphological level, there is a reflection on the old writing habits such as up up for Jesus,

Jesus for Jesus (Crystal 7).

2.6 Liturgy of the Catholic Church: History

The liturgy of the Catholic Church had its origins in the liturgical practices of the

Jews in the first century. When Luke tells us in Acts 3:42 that the earliest Jewish followers of

Christ in Jerusalem devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and the prayers, it is most

likely that this breaking of the bread was an adaptation of the Jewish Shabbat which was a

thanksgiving prayer celebrated with bread and wine in small groups, usually families, on

Friday evenings. And when later Eucharistic practices were developed in the early centuries,

they drew their formulas from the Synagogue services especially from the Passover Seder

services.

In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries, liturgical prayers and formulas were developed in the

various languages throughout the Middle East: Greek, Syrian, Latin, Alexandrian,

Antiochean, etc. These were the origins of the various Eastern rites, which have flourished in

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the Middle East ever since. The Latin rite, which was the basis for Western liturgy today,

grew out of services in Rome and Alexandria.

Although the earliest versions of these liturgical prayers drew upon the Jewish

berakah (thanksgiving) formulas, they quickly became embellished with Christian themes

based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

2.7 Pentecostal liturgy

According to Herman Cohen, Lutheran professor and theologian, the medieval church

preferred the word liturgy because it was the Greek word used in biblical times to describe

the sacramental services of the Hebrew temple. Evangelicals at the time ceremony rather than

liturgy to describe their activities (499)

While the early Protestant Reformers retained certain ceremonies long used in the

Christian Church, they did not view public worship as re-creating a temple-sacramental

service; it was to be a time of Scripture reading, prayer, singing and sermon rather than as the

means of saving grace. Later of course, the reformers followers and descendants reverted

to using the medieval sacramental-oriented word liturgy.

While in the early form, Many Pentecostal missionaries avoided using the words

sacrament and liturgy. In fact the founders carefully called the ceremonies of the church

ordinances to avoid any sacramental connection. Hence, rather than sacramentalism which

the word liturgy historically brings with it, Pentecostals more accurately have ordinances and

ceremonies. However, these ceremonies are important in educating and binding the

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generations of Christians together. Therefore, continuity and carefulness in performing these

ceremonies should be practiced.

Modern society attempts either to personalize or individualize everything from the

rendition of the national anthem to teaching that values and religion are also personal

choices.

Ceremonies conducted in the church are marvelous opportunities for teaching the

great truths of the Christian faith and the Christian life. Experience has taught that such

ceremonies are most effective when they are carefully and consistently performed with very

little individualization interjected. This allows the Holy Spirit to take the familiar words of

the event and apply them to each person present. For those who have not yet participated in

such ceremonies, the well-planned and careful ceremonies teach the most important values of

life in a Christian community. Therefore, in all our ceremonies let us do all the glory of God.

2.8 A Discourse Analysis of the Language of liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church:

A Procedural Discourse

The Roman Catholic liturgies are written to be read or sung. They can be invocations,

petitions, rosaries, hymns or psalm. However, this research focuses on the prayers and

sermons.

Liturgical prayers in Roman Catholics

In the Roman Catholic Liturgical prayer is public prayer that follows prescribed ritual

formulas. Liturgical prayer is prayer for the salvation of the world. It can be distinguished

from Devotional prayer, which is intended to unite the individual with God through Christ.

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Prayers are recognizable because they are a special form of polite plea addressed to God

Throne.

The ritual of public prayer includes not only prescribed texts, but also gestures,

garments, symbols and materials such as bread and wine, candles, ashes, palms and other

symbolic elements. For Roman Catholics, liturgical prayer includes the Scriptures, the seven

Sacraments (especially the Eucharist), the Divine Office, and prescribed prayers and services

for special occasions.

2.9 Prayer in Pentecostal churches

Prayers in Pentecostal churches are referred to as charismatic. It is the main form of

worship in Pentecostal churches. It usually includes song and dance, and may include other

artistic expressions. There may be no apparent structure, but the worshippers will be led by

the Holy Spirit. (Holsinger 2)

2.10 Conclusion

According to the authors cited, Roman Catholics liturgy is traced to the early apostles

while most early Pentecostal missionaries hardly admit that they are liturgical. According to

the writings, in conclusion of this chapter two, Christian churches in general have a

particular language in worshiping God. Relating to language of liturgy in Roman Catholic

and Pentecostal churches, it is an established fact that Roman Catholics as well as the

Pentecostal have a particular liturgy. In view of the above fact, the language of liturgy of the

prayers and sermons of Roman Catholic and Pentecostal movements shall be analyzed in a

discourse form.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHOD OF THE STUDY

This chapter presents the methods and procedures that were used in data collection

and analysis. It includes, theoretical framework, research design, sampling techniques, data

collection, population of the study and discourse strategies.

3.1 Theoretical Framework

This section discusses theory related to language of liturgy in Christianity generally:

Sermonic Discourse: A Descriptive Framework

Discourse analysis is often conceived of by linguists in various ways, first as a sub-

discipline of linguistics with a variety of research topics, as a group of theories or approaches

used to analyze discourse (Schiffrin 4) or as a research method or heuristic consisting of a set

of procedures for analyzing discourse (Johnstone 2). Much of the early contributions of

scholars to the analysis of discourse as a sub genre of linguistics have been made by Sinclair

and Coulthard (5). In an attempt to produce a linguistic description of interaction in the

classroom, the scholars offer an analytic framework comprising categories, description of

units within classroom discourse. A rank scale of four ranks: lesson, transaction, exchange

and move were suggested as typical of classroom interaction.

Further studies of exchange structure in classroom and other types of interactions

were also carried out in Stubbs Macaulay (83), Olateju Adams (19), Fakoya Adetoyin (8),

among other studies, the last two being examinations of classroom discourse in the second

language environment, Nigeria. As seminal as their work is and as significant as their

contributions to discourse analysis are, Sinclair and Coulthards 1975 model has not been

23
able to account for other types of talk which do not exhibit features of formal, reciprocal and

collaborative speech as classroom discourse does, and attempts to apply their descriptive

units to other types of talk have encountered problems. The Sinclair-Coulthard model

therefore may not be suitable to the current study of sermonic discourse. Stubbs Macaulay

for instance, confirms, teachers talk is different from preachers talk. (43) In a bid to

tackle these kinds of utterances therefore, that is, utterances that institutionalise the

suspension of the turn-taking machinery, Coulthard and Montgomery proposed a

descriptive framework for the analysis of monologues. While acknowledging the infancy of

their categories, opining that they are still pre-theoretical, the ranks and units proposed by the

scholars are considered useful in our examination of sermons as a speech event. This is

because sermonic discourse is traditionally assumed to be non-reciprocal and monologic in

form, though the dynamics of face-to-face interactions and the rhetoric of Pentecostal

spirituality in Nigeria significantly re-shape this assumption, often influencing the form that

the sermon takes.

This research has initially attempted to unite discourse and liturgy with a number of theories

and models. This theoretical framework however is preliminary, and therefore, the research

would continue a more intimate observation with Churches. This will be discussed and

analyzed in the subsequent chapter.

3.2 Research Design

Research design entails the various methods and procedures employed by a research.

According to Tafida, a research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigation

conceived so as to obtain answers to a research question and to control variables (4).

24
The research design adopted by the researcher in this study is the observational research

design. In this research work, the observational research design was employed to accurately

carry out a discourse analysis of the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal

Churches.

3.2.1 Population of the Study

The population of the study consists of the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Church studied.

This research would make use of St. Pauls Catholic Church, Airport Road, Benin City and

Last Days Messengers Mission, G.R.A. Ugbor Road, Benin City.

3.2.2 Instruments for Data collection

The main instrument which would be used for data collection would be the interview. Also,

the recorder would be used to record the activities in the selected churches in order to get

sufficient data. These instruments would be used to drive the research, in order for the

findings to be generated.

3.2.3 Method of Discourse Analysis

Data shall be analyzed in a discourse form. The narrative and procedural discourse shall be

adopted in analyzing the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Churches.

The results acquired from the analysis would be used to drive the research.

Data for this study were drawn from the Pentecostal and Catholic Churches. The sermon Be

a Miracle was preached by Pastor Anozie of Last Days Messengers Mission, a rapidly

growing church in Benin.

25
Discourse Strategies in Sermon

Sermons, typical of spoken exchange or interactions are structured by shared though

unspoken assumptions between speaker and addressees. These shared assumptions,

constitute a group of related facts or knowledge structure known to interactants in the

discourse and with which they determine meaning. In the sermon context, listeners

(the congregation) are able, with the aid of a key word, phrase or contextual cues, to

activate their knowledge schema(s) and with these are able to make sense of the

entire discourse. Participants in discourse will normally activate several schemas, for; these

are what give them a cue when and how to respond to speakers utterances and it gives

them a clue, for instance, that the sermon has come to an end. Indeed, the

congregations ability to arrive at interpretation of the unsaid are based on these pre-

existing knowledge structures.

Discourse refers to language in actual usage. There are different kinds of discourse:

monologue, dialogue, multilogue, conversation, written discourse and interpersonal

discourse.

Monologue: Monologue refers to a speech situation in which an individual is doing the

talking for a long time either to himself or to other people who are not responding. The

person may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud or directly addressing other persons, e.g.

an audience, a character, or a reader. Many times, we get carried away that we express our

thoughts aloud even when they are not really addressing some specific people (Haliday and

Hassan 2).

26
Dialogue: Dialogue is a discourse that involves 2 or more interlocutors. For two or more

people to be involved in a dialogue successfully, they must be able to share some sort of

understanding about the topic in focus (Haliday and Hassan 3).

Conversation: Conversation simply refers to the use of speech for exchange of ideas by two

or more people. A conversation may be formal or informal (Haliday and Hassan 5).

Written Discourse: A written discourse is any discourse in which the thoughts of the

producer are represented graphically on a surface, such as paper and other media (Haliday

and Hassan 5).

Interpersonal Discourse: Interpersonal discourse is the kind of discourse that involves two

or more person. One of the commonest forms of interpersonal discourse is a conversation.

Interpersonal communication is not restricted to face to face communication; it may also be a

feature of written or even distance communication, e.g., telephone discourse, letters,

communication through electronic media, such as e-mail, mobile phones, SMS texts and so

forth (Haliday and Hassan 5)

It will analyze the language of liturgy used in Pentecostal and Roman Catholic churches.

27
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction

This chapter shall analyze the data collected from the Roman Catholic (St. Paul

Catholic Church) and Pentecostal Church (Last Days Messengers Mission) studied. The

interviews and service observations will be analyzed. The data collected shall be presented in

a discourse form. This chapter shall be divided into sub-headings in discussing the above

4.2 Language in Pentecostal Denomination

In line with the interview conducted with the resident Pastor of Last Days Messengers

Mission, Ugbor, Benin City, he noted that Pentecostals believe to reverence God. They make

sure every activity carried out is backed up with the scriptures. They believe that before

anything is done, thanks should be accorded unto God. He noted the Lords Prayer saying

that even Jesus first exalted Gods name before he began his request.

He also noted that Pentecostal church do not follow any haphazard manner. He said that

Whenever we come before God, everything we are doing must be done decently and in

order.

4.3 The Prayers in the Pentecostal Denomination

Prayers are recognizable because they are a special form of communication with God.

Prayers in the Pentecostal denomination are usually introduced with songs, such as warfare

songs. e.g.

Arise O Lord and my enemies be scattered

O Lord, My God, Arise

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Prayers also can be done in any manner (by the leading of the spirit), it can be quietly, or

loud. According to the interview, many people think the Pentecostal force members to pray

loud or in a rough manner. This is not true, as prayers are done according to the leading of

the Holy Spirit.

According to the service observed, the service started with different worship songs to open

the service and it is believed to allow the free flow of the Spirit of God. After worship, a

prayer is said by the Pastor.

Table 1: Analysis of Prayers Pentecostal churches

Type of discourse Classes of Transaction Examples

Monologue Discourse
Multilogue Discourse
Opening Transaction
Directing Transaction
Father,
We declare this service open in
the name of the Father, and the
Son and the Holy Spirit.
Open your mouth and begin to
thank God for making you see
this day,

Open your mouth and begin to

thank God for keeping your
family safe.

Pray that the King of Glory

Multilogue Discourse
Eliciting Transaction
should go before you
throughout this week
Lift up our hands and say:
Father locate me Lord
Locate me Lord!!!!
Holy Ghost!!! Father!!!
Locate me Lord
In the name of Jesus

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Directing discourse Eliciting transaction Let us come against any power
that would try to hinder our
breakthrough
According to the table above, the prayer session begins with thanks to God. The minister

leading the prayers instructs the people to pray on a particular point or request. There are

different points of prayer. As stated earlier, the prayer begins with an offering of thanks. The

prayer leader prays as the congregation continues in prayer. Prayers are often said loudly,

accompanied with vigorous jumping and shaking. It is clear that the church uses a lot of

exclamations. Use of commands rather than entreaties are a common usage. This is

characterized by high pitched voices and shouting. Such prayers are also said in emotionally-

ladden voices. The Holy Spirit is often associated with fire as expressed in the Pentecost

(Acts 2:1-5). The yoke is like a chain. Yule Turner refers to language as having cultural

transmission in that speaker of a language picks up that language from the community he

grows up in and is not born with the knowledge of the language, not even that of his parents

(15).

Language therefore is passed on from one generation to the next and humans are born with

an inmate predisposition to acquire language. The language of the church therefore is passed

on from generation to generation, it has been growing and changing as language is very

dynamic. This change is best reflected in the music of the Pentecostals which has generally

been caught on by even the historic churches.

4.4 Observed Language use in Choruses in the Pentecostal Denomination

Although, most Pentecostal churches have discarded, the singing of the traditional hymns,

some do still sing them but with a faster, livelier beat, not using the traditional organ as used

30
in the historic church but drums, saxophones and the piano. However, the Pentecostal Church

understudy sings hymns, but with a livelier beat.

Showers of Blessing, Showers of Blessing we Plead

Mercies around us are falling, but for the showers we plead
There shall be showers of blessings

The choruses are sung mostly in the languages of the community, from Standard English

(SE) to Nigerian Pidgin (NP) to the local languages in Nigeria, particularly the State in

which the church is located.

He has given me victory

I will lift him higher
Jehovah, I will lift him higher

It is presumed that Jehovah has already been lifted high and can go higher.

.Glory, glory, Lord

We give you glory Lord
You are the mighty God
Songs in NP include

God na helele, God na waya o

God na helele, God na waya o
Nobody be like am, Nobody dey like am
Ewo, nwanem (Igbo)
God na helele
Translated thus:

God is excellent, God is wonderful

Nobody is like him, Nobody is like him
My brother/sister
God is excellent

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Ewoo is a meaningless emotional exclamatory expression in Igbo that can be used in many

situations from the joyful to the sorrowful. The song is a code mix of Nigerian Pidgin and

Igbo. Nwannem is my brother or my sister, literally my mothers child.

According to Singleton Archadeacon, this sudden change from Pidgin to Igbo is

conversational code-switching (20).

4.5 Some Observed Sermons in the Pentecostal Denomination

Table 2: Analysis of Sermon: You are a Miracle

The data from the sermon were analyzed identifying the discourse structure of the sermon.

Type of discourse Classes of Transaction Examples

Pre Sermonic Discourse
Main Discourse
Subsidiary Discourse
Subsidiary Discourse
Opening Transaction
Informing Transaction
Eliciting Transaction
Directing Transaction
Haleluyah!
You are welcome to this great
service.
This is a day that the Lord has
prepared for you. If you can
open your heart to his word, you
shall be blessed
When you acknowledge the fact
that you are better than your
oppositions, you acquire the
grace to go forward, being in
front of them in any area of your
life.
You have no reason to fail
because you are a miracle. Why
do you have doubts when facing
a challenging situation? Dont
you know that you are meant to
overcome that challenge?
Shout a better Amen I said,
you are more than a conqueror.
You are a miracle. Do something
for the Lord

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Post-Sermonic Discourse Closing Transaction You have been blessed tonight
with Gods word. Meditate on it
therein. Have no doubts. He has
made you a miracle. You have
no reason to fail. Believe it
always and overcome always.
Be Blessed
Halleluyah, Praise God.
Lets stand on our feet
Discussion

Transaction Informing

Sermon Directing
(Speech event) Members

Acts Eliciting

Declaring

Pre-sermonic

Main Discourse

Subsidiary Discourse

Post sermonic discourse

The diagram illustrates the structure of the sermon. The sermon is a speech event

consisting of linguistic categories such as transactions, members and acts. Transactions in this

regard are of four kinds: informing transactions, whose function is to communicate ideas, facts

and opinions to hearers; directing transactions which attempt to get hearers to perform non-

verbal action; eliciting transactions that bring out verbal actions from hearers, and declaring

transactions which are realized by acts such as prayers, petitions, declarations and other

utterances through which speakers perform their institutional roles and functions.

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The discourse is also made up of members main and subsidiary that help to develop the

thematic proposition of the sermon through informatives, comments and illustrations.

The pre-sermonic discourse in this sermon consists of an opening prayer and a series of

exclamatory expressions, such as Halelujah, You are welcome to this service, all of which

are interpreted by hearers as elicitations, for responses are provided by the congregation.

The sermon begins and progresses through an alternation of main and subsidiary

discourse members. The structure of a sermon therefore conforms to the pattern: pre-sermonic

discourse + main discourse + subsidiary discourse + post sermonic discourse. The main

discourse is initiated through directives to hearers to open to Bible texts and this is further

developed through textual exposition and exegesis. The sermon has lengthy main discourses

centering on issues of life, death and victory in life. It is also significant for its subsidiary

discourses which are declamatory and highly rhetorical in nature.

The preacher in the Pentecostal church violates all spatial contiguity as he may start off

with a public distance up at the pulpit, then moves down and around at a social distance going

further to a personal distance where he may stand and pointedly talk to an individual.

The preacher sometimes preaches interactively. This way, he involves the audience by asking

them polar questions that require a clear yes or no answer. Am I right? Or speak to me

somebody! He may also suddenly burst into a song that the church sings along with him. He

may also make general requests such as Somebody say Amen! or Praise God as the

congregation replies Halleluya. This is known as a summon, as it is used to get attention of

the congregation.

In his voice production, the Preacher articulates in a loud voice and may sometimes

quicken and suddenly slow his preaching for effectiveness. He plays a lot on the effect of
34
shouting suddenly and pausing for dramatic effect. He injects emotion into his voice.

Rhetorical questions are used as a device. The preacher does not expect any answer and this

may affect the congregation more positively than any direct question or statement.

The sermon bridges both written and spoken language. The sermon is spoken by a

minister to the congregation. It is delivered orally to the congregation. The minister makes

the language seems spontaneous in his intonation and this enables the congregation to listen

to the complex language structure.

When you acknowledge the fact that you are better than your
oppositions, you acquire the grace to go forward, being in front
of them in any area of your life. As a Christian, your heritage is
divine immunity. Every believer is saved to serve and to that
extent, we are all servant of the lord. Thats why the bible says
in the book of numbers Surely, there is no enchantment against
Jacob neither any divination against Israel. It shall be said that
of Jacob of Israel is applicable to any child of God who has
been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. You have no reason to
fail because you are a miracle. Why do you have doubts when
facing a challenging situation? Dont you know that you are
meant to overcome that challenge? You are more than a
conqueror because the risen Christ is with you.
Shout a better Amen I said, you are more than a conqueror.
You are a miracle. Do something for the Lord
The manner is formal and this also reflects the relationship between the minister and his

congregation. There is also a personal relationship beyond the formality of the Sunday

services. The field is clearly religious. The use of metaphorical language is also evident. Do

something for the Lord which means Clap for Jesus.

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 The moral of the message is that belonging to the family of God, makes you a

miracle. It makes you conquer you oppositions. The title of the message was You are a

Miracle. It was taught that Christians have to proclaim this with faith, and understand that

they are miracles. The main idea of the passage which is Christian religion is evident in the

use of words in the passage. Words such as Jacob, Israel, God and Lord are found in

the Bible.

4.6 Sacred text readings in the Pentecostal denomination

(Bible Reading)

i. The same day went Jesus out of the house, sat by the sea side.
ii. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, ship, and the whole multitude
stood on the shore.
iii. And he spoke many things unto them in parable saying, Behold, a sower went to
sow.
iv. And when he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside and the fowls came and
devoured them up.
v. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth and forthwith they
sprung up, because they have no deep of earth:
vi. And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they
withered away.
vii. And some fell among thorns, the thorns sprung up and choked them.
viii. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some on hundred fold, some
sixty fold, some thirty fold.
ix. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.
x. The disciple came and said unto him, why speakest unto them in parables.
xi. He answered, and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given.

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xii. For whoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
[Matthew 13:1-12].

Grammar of the above Bible passage

Grammar of the passage Examples

Verbs The same day went Jesus out of the house, sat by
the sea side. (Verse 1)
A sower went to sow (Verse 3)
The fowls came and devoured them up (Verse 4)
and forthwith they sprung up, (Verse 5)
Adverbs, Verb And when the sun was up (verse 6)
Adverb
Noun Sat by the seaside (verse 1
And the fowls came
And some fell among thorns
and brought forth fruits
Pronouns And he spoke many things unto them
And when he sowed
let him hear.
to him shall be given, and he shall have more
abundance
from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Adjectives And great multitudes..
And he spoke many things unto them
Some fell upon stony places

The Grammar of the Passage:

The word hath is the archaic form of the third person singular such as she or he.
This gives the traditional religious language the distinctive tones. The modal verbs are used
to reflect the meaning of certainty as shown in For whosoever hathshall be given.
37
The Sentence Structure:

The sentence structure of the passage is made up of mainly complex sentences. They
indicate the simple but complex nature of Christian religious language which also captures
its literary tone. Structurally, there is the frequent use of conjunctive element And and
But at the beginning of each verse. The illustration is provided below:

Compound sentence

An instance of the compound sentence is seen below:

Compound sentence

An instance of the compound sentence is seen below:

Others fell into good ground and others brought forth fruit.

Main clause Main clause

Conjunction subject predicate

Subject Predicate (Adverbial phrase (Complement

Functioning as the of the

Complement of the verb) Verbal elements)

Complex Sentence:

The complex sentence is seen as follows

And when the sun was up, they were scorched

Conjunction Sub. Clause Main clause

And because they had no root, they withered away.

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Conjunction Sub. Clause Main clause

The Metaphorical Language in the Sacred Text of Pentecostal Denomination:

Below describes the metaphorical meaning of words used in the passage:

1. Fruit the word fruit was used metaphorically to illustrate the image of growth
2. Fowls the word fowls was used to describe the devil
3. Seed Seed in the passage was used to describe the Word of God which was

sown into the people

These images are also present in the texts of Roman Catholic Church.

In addition, the use of repetition is evident in the sower and sow, thorns and

thornes, hath, and shall. And, there is also frequent use of commas and symbolic

parables such as the sower.

4.7 Language of Liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church

According to the interview conducted by the researcher with the Parish Priest, he noted that

liturgy is all about public worship. In Catholic churches all over the world, masses begins

with Homly, (a brief sung or spoken invitation for the people to praise) then Liturgy of the

word where the readings are taken. There are three (3) readings usually taken in masses, then

followed by liturgy of Eucharist, then sermons and prayers. Prayers in the Roman Catholic

are usually according to the missal, and it is the same all over the world. The language of

liturgy in Roman Catholic Church is normally in Latin, though masses could be said in

English and other languages. Prayers are not done in a half-hazard manner in Catholic

Church. It is orderly and solemn.

39
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest offers sacrifice to God during communion. He

does this by raising the cup (wine) which signifies the precious blood of Jesus, and bread

which signifies flesh of Christ which he shared on the cross of Calvary.

4.8 Some Observed Prayers in the Roman Catholic Church

Below is an analysis of the observed prayers in Catholic Church in line with the kind of

discourse.

Type of discourse Classes of Transaction Examples

Monologue Discourse Informing Transaction May your people exalt forever,

Main Discourse
Monologue Discourse
O God, in renewed
youthfulness of spirit so that,
rejoicing now in the restored
glory of our adoption, we may
look forward in confident hope
to the rejoicing of the day of
resurrection.
Main Discourse Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your son who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God,
forever and ever.
Directing Transaction Receive O Lord, we pray,
these offerings of your
exultant church, and, as you
have given her cause for such
great gladness, grant also
that the gifts we bring may
bear fruit in perpetual
happiness, through Christ our
Lord. AMEN

40
Here, the prayer is read by the minister and it is addressed to God. The lexis is typically

religious, focusing on the nouns, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

We exalt you, Lord rejoicing, reigns,

Pronoun Verb Pronoun Noun Verb

Prayer after communion:

Receive O Lord, we pray, these offerings of your exultant

church, and, as you have given her cause for such great
gladness, grant also that the gifts we bring may bear fruit in
perpetual happiness, through Christ our Lord. AMEN

The prayer can be read by a minister or congregation, and it is addressed to God. The initial

vocative is capitalized. It also marks the point in which the prayer begins and ends.

4.9 Observed hymns & Choruses in the Roman Catholic Church

Hymns: (Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

R: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or: Alleluia.

1. I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up, and have not let my enemies
rejoice over me.
LORD, you have lifted me up my soul from the grave, restored me to life from those
who sink into the pit
2. Sing psalms to the LORD, you faithful ones; give thanks to his holy name. His anger
lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night, there are tears, but at down
comes joy
3. Hear, O LORD and have mercy on me; be my helper, O LORD. You have changed my
mourning into dancing. O LORD my God, I will thank you for ever.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ has risen, who created all things and has had mercy on the human
race.

41
Grammatical linguistic Examples Functions
features
Pronoun I will extol you, Lord I used instead of David,
the writer and also the
readers

His favour all through my You was used to refer the

life God

Verb and have not let my Use to describe victory over

enemies rejoice over me the writer and the reader

You have changed my Used to describe the

mourning into dancing behavior of the reader
Adverb Give thanks to his holy name Used to describe Gods
nature
Noun Christ has risen The Son of God

The hymn is addressed to God. Repetition is seen in the chorus Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ has
risen

4.10 Observed Sermons of the Roman Catholic Church

The data from the sermon were analyzed identifying the discourse structure of the sermon.

Type of discourse Classes of Transaction Examples

Subsidiary Discourse Directing Transaction God never abandons those who has
faith. When facing difficulties in life, we
should be steadfast in our faith. Without
Jesus in our life, life would be difficult
and unbearable. Without him we can do
nothing. Without Christ, those who
labour, labour in vain. We should be
conscious of the risen Christ in our
lives.

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Subsidiary Discourse Declaring transaction Peter argued and said We have toiled
all night, and caught nothing but what
happened, he still cast his net and the
catch was great that he called
neighbours to help him hold the net.
Subsidiary Discourse Declaring Transaction The risen Christ is a shepherd to Gods
people. In the bible, after Peter
reaffirmed his love for him. Jesus asks
him to feed his flock which was a
practical way of demonstrating his love
for him by carrying out diligently
whatever task God must have entrusted
to us. It may be as a dedicated medical
doctor, teacher, lay reader, father or
mother.
Subsidiary Discourse Informing Transaction This shows that obedience and faith is
necessary.
Main Discourse Directing Transaction Whatever vocation he has called us
to, let us prove our love for him by
faithfully living out our vocations.
Jesus reminds us if you love me, you
will keep my commandments.
Discussion

Sermons are religious statements based on a particular moral or spiritual view of the

world. Ministers sometimes write them as speeches to be delivered to their congregation or

they may speak spontaneously on an appropriate topic. A lot of ministers prepare their

sermon carefully, and learn them in order to speak in a more immediate and dramatic way.

These sermons contain modern or biblical stories such as parables, psalms and so on.

God never abandons those who has faith. When facing

difficulties in life, we should be steadfast in our faith. Without
Jesus in our life, life would be difficult and unbearable. Without
him we can do nothing. Without Christ, those who labour,
labour in vain. We should be conscious of the risen Christ in

43
 our lives. Jesus told peter to cast the net into the water. Peter
argued and said We have toiled all night, and caught nothing
but what happened, he still cast his net and the catch was great
that he called neighbours to help him hold the net. This shows
that obedience and faith is necessary.

After the Passover meal, Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if
he loved him which coincided with the number of times Peter
denied him. Through this very act Jesus wanted Peter to
reaffirm his love for him. Jesus may be asking us the same
question today if we truly we love him after the many times we
have offended him. The risen Christ is a shepherd to Gods
people. In the bible, after Peter reaffirmed his love for him.
Jesus asks him to feed his flock which was a practical way of
demonstrating his love for him by carrying out diligently
whatever task God must have entrusted to us. It may be as a
dedicated medical doctor, teacher, lay reader, father or mother.
Whatever vocation he has called us to, let us prove our love for
him by faithfully living out our vocations. Jesus reminds us if
you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Very Rev. Father Paul B. Enow

Parish Priest

The mode of the above sermon bridges both written and spoken language. It is

carefully crafted on the page before being delivered orally to the congregation. The text

displays many features of the written language; however it is written to be spoken. The

minister makes the language seems spontaneous in its spoken form, intonation, pitch, pace

and emphasis. This helps the congregation to focus on key elements of the sermon even if

they were unaccustomed to listening to complete language structure.

The manner is inevitably formal and this reflects the relationship between the minister

and his congregation. In essence, a minister is Gods representative on earth and in

preaching, his sermon can be seen in the role of a mentor, advisor, or educator. With a bishop

44
 who is known to his congregation, however, there is a personal relationship beyond the

formality of the Sunday services.

The field is clearly religious despite the fact that traditional archaic language and verb

infection have been replaced by modern English. The sermon is almost a literary text with a

religious and spiritual message. This sermon begins with an opening remark; Every year, on

the third Sunday of Easter, the church reflects on the image of the good shepherd Sunday.

The moral message of the sermon is that ministers should be good shepherd who lead by

examples and show their flock the right way of living a Christian life; just as Christ did and

showed the way to eternal life.

The subject of the passage is Christian religion .This is identified with the use of proper

nouns such as eternal and shepherd. Abstract nouns like Victory, success, Biblical

names like risen Christ , good shepherd and God are found in the Bible. The noun

phrases are complex and these makes the variety distinctive even though the sermon is

modern.

The risen Christ is a shepherd also to the people of God

Determin Adjective Noun Predicat

Head Post
er e
Noun Phrase determiner
Noun

The central message of the good Shepherd Sunday is made vivid through the juxtaposition of
the worldly and spiritual typified through the lamb and the risen Christ.

4.10 Sacred Text of the Roman Catholic Church

i. I am the true vine, and my father is the husband

45
ii. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that
beareth fruit, purgeth it, that it may bring fourth fruit.

iii. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken to you
iv. Abide on me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, expect it abide in
the vine, except you abide in me.
v. I am the vine, you are the branches, he abides in me and I in him, for without me you
can do nothing.
vi. If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
vii. If you abide on me, and I in you, you shall ask what you want, and I will do it.
viii. Here my father is glorified that you shall bear much fruit, so you shall be my
disciples.
ix. As the father has loved me, so I have loved you: continuo in my love.
x. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my
fathers commandments and abides in his love.
xi. This is my commandment, that you may love one another, as I have loved you.
(King, James, Version Bible, John 15:I-12 1st Reading)

The Lexis of the Passage:

The word disciple and commandments clearly marked the field as a religious field.
The verb abides in me makes it to have an archaic ring. It is always a collocation.

The father the vine.

Determiner Noun Determiner Noun

My fathers commandments.

Determiner Adjective Noun

{Noun functioning as
adjective} 46
 Here Jesus is speaking to the disciple and it resembles spoken language. The godhead is

named exclusively in relation to the use of father instead of God emphasis that Jesus is a

man like any other. It draws attention to his human rather that his spiritual side and therefore,

makes it seem easier for his disciples to do as he does.

The Grammar of the Passage:

The word taketh, purgeth, and abideth is an archaic form of the third person singular.
This gives the traditional religious language its distinctive tone. Modal verbs are used to
reflect the meaning of shall and might: it shall be done and my joy might remain in
you . Ye is used instead of you in the Standard English.

The Sentence Structure: The sentence structure of the sentence is simple because of the
literary tone of the Bible

Compound Sentence:
The compound sentence is seen as follow:
I am the truth vine, and my father is the husbandman

Main clause
Co-coordinative
Main clause conjunction Main clause

Subject Verb Complement Subject Verb Complement

.

Noun Phrase Noun Phrase Noun Phrase

47
Complex Sentence:

The complex sentence is seen s follows:

Now ye are clean through the world I have spoken to you

Main clause Adverbial clause of reason

through the word which I have spoken to you.

(Prepositional phrase) Adjectival clause Direct object

Preposition Det. Noun Prepositional phrase

Which I have spoken to you

Proposition pronoun
Adjective clause

Adv subject predicate

The Metaphorical Language in the Sacred Text:

The metaphor fruit and vine is a natural image of growth. It also represents the idea that

someone who follow the Christian teaching of God will lead a productive life. Repetitions is

seen in the word abideth and abide and love and loved.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

In comparing the language of liturgy in the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal of liturgy, the

similarities and differences have been observed as noted in chapters two and four:

SIMILARITIES

They both make use of archaic languages such as liveth and cometh.

They both make use of long sentences in their prayers , like O God, in renewed

youthfulness of spirit so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption.

They share common linguistic features such as, pronouns, nouns, verbs etc.

They both make use of monologue discourse in their opening transactions. Examples:

We declare this service open in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Their main sacred text the Holy Bible - is the same.

They both constitute central elements of societal values that shape the rulers,

principles and instructions governing the society.

They both make use of pre-sermonic discourse patterns. Words like Hallelujah, you

are welcome to this mass/service.

Both denominations sing similar songs and praises. Songs like Showers of

Blessings. can be sung in both denominations.

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 Both denominations make use of verbs, pronouns, nouns, and adverbs during their

sermons, prayers and choruses. For example, verbs rejoice, dancing, pronouns His,

you, nouns Christ, God, adverb holy, up,

Both denominations make use of informing transactions during sermons, for example,

when you acknowledge the fact that you are better than your oppositions, you acquire the

grace to go forward, being in front of them in any area of your life

Both denominations make use of post-sermonic discourse when sermons are about to

end. For example, You have been blessed tonight by Gods word. Meditate on it therein.

Have no doubts. Believe it always and overcome always. Be Blessed. Halleluyah, Praise

God. Lets stand on our feet.

DIFFERENCES

In Roman Catholic Church, the Priests do not quote the Bible during sermon but the

Pentecostals do so.

The Prayers of Roman Catholic Church can be in written and spoken form for

instance Hail Mary, while that of the Pentecostal Denominations are not always written

down.

The Roman Catholic Church observes the liturgy while the Pentecostals observe

ordinances.

In line with linguistic features, the Pentecostal denomination make use of jargons

which they usually call tongues during prayers and sometimes during sermons and

choruses while the Roman Catholic do not observe this.

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 Most songs and prayers observed in the Roman Catholic Church requires a

congregational response. However, in the Pentecostal church, this is carried out

randomly.

During sermons in Pentecostal churches, scriptures are cited most often than Roman

Catholic sermons.

During sermons, the Pentecostal churches make use of subsidiary discourse in an

eliciting transaction. However the Roman Catholic also make use of subsidiary discourse

but in a directing transaction. For example, The Pentecostal use: you have no reason to

fail because you are a miracle. Why do you have doubts when facing a challenging

situation? Roman Catholic use words like: God never abandons those who have faith.

When facing difficulties in life, we should be steadfast in our faith without him we can do

nothing.

During prayers, Pentecostal churches make use of the multilogue discourse in an

eliciting transaction. However, the Roman Catholic Church make use of monologue

discourse during prayers.

The responses in the Pentecostal Churches are interrogative, elicit response, and

rhetorical while the Roman Catholic Churches are repressive.

During prayers, the Pentecostal Churches make use of the directing discourse in an

eliciting transaction while the Roman Catholic make use of the main discourse. In the

Pentecostal denomination, for example, they make use of words like: Let us come against

any power that would try to hinder our breakthrough, while the Roman Catholic use

51
 words like: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son who lives and reigns with you in the

unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

The major difference found between the language use of the two denominations is that

Pentecostals seem to be more rhetorical and informal in their language use, with regard to

their worship, characterized by the spontaneous joyful noise of the worshippers (Psalm

100:1).Any other observed difference can be found mainly in their mode of worship, but

their belief system is basically the same Jesus Christ is seen as the risen saviour of the world,

the soon coming Messiah, the creator of heaven and earth and the Son of the Almighty God.

5.2 Conclusion

This study is an exploration into the language of liturgy in Roman Catholic Church

and Pentecostal Church. It has briefly examined separately the different language use of the

Catholics and the Pentecostals and have also looked at their similarities and major

differences. These languages function to promote and preserve a particular spiritual belief

system, to persuade the congregation and individual worshippers to live their lives in a

certain Christian way.

Utterances in the different denominations studied, can be statements of belief, prayers

of supplications, narratives with spiritual or moral messages and celebrations of occasions.

The Holy Bible plays an important role in defining the nature of Christian liturgical language

both in Roman Catholic Church and the Pentecostal denominations. The study further

demonstrates the interrelatedness of language, action, knowledge, meaning and context in

discourse. The study of the discourse features and patterns of a Christian liturgy is a veritable

way of demonstrating the symphony between language use and the people.

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5.3 Recommendations

This project is a comparative sample survey of the language of liturgy with regard to

that of the Roman Catholics and Pentecostals. The generalization made are drawn from the

sample surveys of the Holy Bible and other Christian excerpts acquired from the study

carried out in the different church services and masses. The research in essence will be a

useful tool to students of English Language and generally to researchers in the area of

register, especially those with particular interest in Christian religion. Therefore, more works

should be done in the field of liturgical language.

5.4 Suggestion for Further Research

This project has attempted a discourse analysis of the language of liturgy focusing on the

Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches. Further research could adopt a semantic study of

the language of liturgy in both denominations.

53
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Haliday, Mak, and Hasan, Raqaiya. Cohesion in English, London: Longman, 1976. Print.

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 APPENDIX

Sermon of the Pentecostal Church (Pst. Gilbert Anozie)

Jesus may be asking us the same question today if we love him after the number of times we have
offended him. Peter reaffirmed his love for him, Jesus asks him. Just as the people of Israel are
testimonies, so are we. Just as the people of Israel are testimonies, so are we. Praise God!!!

The reason why we are made children of God, is for God to use us as testimonies. Whenever we
move out, the Glory of God is with us. When you acknowledge the fact that you are better than
your oppositions, you acquire the grace to go forward, being in front of them in any area of your
life. You have no reason to fail because you are a miracle. Why do you have doubts when facing
a challenging situation? Dont you know that you are meant to overcome that challenge? There
is a difference between extraordinary and ordinary. That is the extra. Therefore you are
extraordinary, an extraordinary miracle. I need a resounding hallelujah! But some Christians
have been underestimating themselves, underestimating the power of God upon their lives.
Common, open your mouth and tell God "Lord! have mercy on me.

Elicit Responses in the Pentecostal Church

PREACHER RESPONSE
That great song says "who is like unto
oh-oh Lord
thee?
Interrogative with
Spoken Response Are you with me? yees
(INSR)
Jesus said "go ye into the world and
the gospel
preach what?

Interrogative with Let me ask you, how many of you were

Action as Response at the Holy Ghost Miracle Night we Some raised hands
(INAR) had on Friday?

Interrogative with
I know you speak in tongues everyday, The congregation just
Mental Response
but how many demons know you? reflecting on the question
(INMR)
Offering time! Blessing time!

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 This month, you shall go forward. Amen
The joy of the Lord is my strength
Declarative with If any man is in Christ, he is a new
Spoken Response Noo! Old thing are passed
creature, old things continue to be with
(DESR) away
him
This month, I shall not beg
This month, I shall not beg for bread
for bread
Declarative with I lift up my hands unto the Most High
Some also raise their
Action as Response God for He is worthy of my praise and
hands
(DEAR) adoration (raised hands)
Declarative with
You know the difference between The congregation
Mental Response
extraordinary and ordinary is extra reflecting on the statement
(DEMR)
A deafening shout of
I need a resounding hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Imperative with I want you to shout "amen" in such a
A loud shout of "amen"
Spoken Response way that this building will shake
(IMSR)
Common, open your mouth and tell
God "Lord! have mercy on me and Lord, have mercy on me
deliver me from my enemies"
Imperative with The congregation opened
Open your eyes and lift up your hands
Action as Response their eyes and lifted up
to the Lord
(IMAR) their hands

Prayers in the Pentecostal Church

Open your mouth and begin to thank God for making you see this day. Open your mouth and

begin to thank God for keeping your family safe.

Pray that the King of Glory should go before throughout this week. Begin to speak in tongues!

Lift up your hands and say:

Father, Locate me Lord

Locate me Lord, Locate me Lord

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Holy Ghost! Father!! Locate me Lord!!!

In the name of Jesus

Let us come against any power that would try to hinder our breakthrough

You are a miracle, Praise the Lord

Put all your trust in God, he can turn our lives around in the book of Exodus Chapter 27:21

In the tabernacle of the congregation without he veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and

his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute for ever unto

their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. God has made us a miracle. God who

knows the end from the beginning would always be with us his promises abide with us. God pulls

us out of our troubles so to give us a testimony

Choruses

He has given me victory

I will lift him higher
Jehovah, I will lift him higher

.Glory, glory, Lord

We give you glory Lord
You are the mighty God

God na helele, God na waya o

God na helele, God na waya o
Nobody be like am, Nobody dey like am
Ewo, nwanem (Igbo)
God na helele

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 God is excellent, God is wonderful
Nobody is like him, Nobody is like him
My brother/sister
God is excellent

Showers of Blessing, Showers of Blessing we Plead

Mercies around us are falling, but for the showers we plead
There shall be showers of blessings

The Sermon in Catholic (Rev. Fr. Paul Enow)

People are in mad search of miracles, centres where they can gain material relief but we are not
interested in places where they will tend to repent build up a truly spiritual life. Today, Jesus tells
us that we must walk for the food that endures to eternal life. It is not bold to look for miracles
but let us first and foremost search for places that will reconcile us with God and lead us to
salvation for Jesus tells us seek ye first the Kingdom of God and every other thing shall be
added unto you.
Prayers in The Roman Catholic
Priest: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Response: Amen
Priest: Since, then you have raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God
Response: Father God, be with us in our worship, in our prayers and in our reading of your
word.
Priest: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever
believes in him shall not perish
Response: But have eternal life

Prayer over the Offerings

Accept in compassion, Lord, we pray, the offerings of your family that under your protective care
they may never lose what they have received, but attain the gifts that are eternal through Christ
our Lord.
Response: Amen

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Prayer after communion
Keep safe, O Lord. We pray, those whom you have saved by our kindness that, redeemed by the
passion of your son, they may rejoice in his resurrection, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Response: Amen

Choruses
Showers of Blessing, Showers of Blessing we Plead
Mercies around us are falling, but for the showers we plead
There shall be showers of blessings

Responsorial Psalm
Response: I will extol you Lord, for you have raised me up.
Alleluia

I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up,

and have not let my enemies rejoice over me
LORD, you have lifted up my soul from the grave restored me to life from those
who sink into the pit.

Sing Psalms to the LORD, you faithful ones: give thanks to his holy name.
His anger last for lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are
tears, but at dawn comes joy.

Response: I will extol you Lord, for you have raised me up.
Alleluia

Hear O LORD, and have mercy on me; be my helper, O LORD.

you have changed my mourning into dancing. O LORD my God,
I will thank you for ever.

Response: I will extol you Lord, for you have raised me up.
Alleluia

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