L’usage des signes dans les campagnes de communication : cas de la communication anti- Covid-19 au Cameroun de 2020- 2022

Abstract

This study is entitled "The Use of Signs in Communication Campaigns: The Case of Anti-Covid-19 Communication in Cameroon from 2020 to 2022." We start from the observation that communication campaigns use a variety of signs to inform, educate, and convince their target audiences. However, their reception can have significant impacts. In Cameroon, anti-Covid-19 communication campaigns have mobilized signs such as images, texts, symbols, etc. These campaigns have participated in the government's response strategy against the disease. The aim was to raise awareness among the population by informing them about the dangers associated with the disease and its other aspects; by educating them on the behaviors to adopt during the period of illness. This approach is not without consequences, in fact, the anti-covid-19 communication campaigns have had several effects within the population, in addition to their mission to raise awareness, they have caused fear, stress, awareness, etc. What explains this result? This concern leads us to formulate the following hypothesis: This result could be justified by the nature of the communication strategy used to raise awareness among populations. The objective is to demonstrate that the signs used during anti-COVID-19 communication campaigns are at the origin of the effects observed on populations. Therefore, we developed a methodology based on a field survey aimed at collecting and analyzing the population's impressions and reactions to the signs. Our work focuses on semiotics and pragmatics. This approach allows us to achieve our goal by conducting a study of the signs and analyzing their impact on the target audience. The results of this study confirmed our hypothesis: communication campaigns against Covid-19 contain shocking signs that have had several impacts on populations.