THE GRAMMAR OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH CARE: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF VERBAL MODE IN MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH TEXTS IN SELECTED MACHAKOS COUNTY HOSPITALS, KENYA

Authors

  • Evelyne Mutheu Ngina School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Linguistics and Languages, Machakos University, Kenya
  • Geoffrey Maroko Professor of Linguistics, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Linguistics and Languages, Machakos University, Kenya
  • Oketch Omondi Professor of Linguistics, Department of Information Science, Language and Communication Studies, Technical University of Kenya, Kenya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v9i2.743

Keywords:

health communication, maternal and child health care texts, grammar, systemic functional linguistics, verbal mode, multimodality

Abstract

Maternal and child healthcare is a critical aspect of global health, focusing on the health and well-being of mothers and children under 5 years. Despite sustained policy interventions, numerous campaigns and the availability of maternal and child health (MCH) services, progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was delayed, and current efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 remain a challenge. The persistently high maternal and child mortality rates in developing nations such as Kenya indicate that service provision alone does not translate into improved health outcomes. This disconnect implies a critical gap in how MCH information is communicated to the target audience. While campaign and maternal and child health education materials are widely distributed, little attention has been paid to how the verbal mode employed in these materials constructs meaning, positions caregiving and shapes health-seeking behaviour. This study therefore examines the grammar of verbal mode in the communication of MCH information in selected Machakos County hospitals in Kenya. Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the study conceptualises the grammar of the verbal mode not merely as formal sentence structure, but as a social semiotic resource through which health knowledge, caregiving roles, institutional authority and behavioural expectation are realised. The analysis of the verbal mode in posters, brochures, and the national mother and child health handbook reveals how ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings are encoded to promote compliance and how the current linguistic constraints constrain dialogic engagement and the effective communication of MCH information within a broader multimodal health environment. The study thus concludes that for verbal MCH communication to support SDG target 3, the texts should be redesigned to move beyond imperative grammar that incorporates inclusive, dialogic and context-sensitive language that will enhance accessibility, shared responsibility and ultimately improved maternal and child health outcomes.

Author Biography

  • Evelyne Mutheu Ngina, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Linguistics and Languages, Machakos University, Kenya

    Ngina Evelyne Mutheu is a part-time lecturer of linguistics and communication at Scott Christian University, Kenya, a PhD student in Applied Linguistics at Machakos University; Master of Arts in Linguistics, Bachelor of Education (English and Literature). Her research interests are discourse analysis, semantics and pragmatics and language teaching and learning.

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Published

2026-09-11

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2026)

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Articles

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