Legitimization Discourse to Covid-19 Vaccination in Tanzania: A Discursive Analysis of Public Speech and Comments on social media

Abstract

The year 2019 Tanzania experienced the eruption of COVID-19 pandemic disease from which different health measures were needed against the pandemic. However, Tanzania had a divided ideological positioning regarding the legitimization of COVID-19 vaccination. This is because the 5^th phase government regime did not favour the legitimization of COVID-19 vaccination contrary to the next 6^th government regime. This divided ideology has brought dividing tensions among the public leading to different public reactions to the legitimization processes of COVID-19 vaccination in 2021. Therefore, the study aimed at assessing the legitimization discourse of COVID-19 vaccination in Tanzania and different reactions from YouTube online users upon its legitimization. The transcribed data were collected using a documentary review. The units of analysis were the current head of the state and YouTube online followers. Purposive sampling was used to select the head of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination speech. Systematic sampling was used to select 160 YouTube online followers. Descriptive and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to guide the analysis and discussions of the findings.  The findings showed that the head of the state has used a range of legitimization processes relating to positive self-presentations to win the public a positive face. They include linguistic strategies like emotion, the voice of expertise, rationality, hypothetical features and altruism. YouTube online followers had found to use exclusive linguistic strategies linked to negative self-presentations for de-legitimization purposes. They include nominations, predictions and rationality. It was recommended that legitimization discourse be characterized by using inclusive linguistic strategies that employ positive emotional, hypothetical features, rationality, the voice of expertise and altruism linguistic strategies to win the public a positive face.