Suchergebnisse

In recent times, politics in Ghana has become the politics of personal attack, vilification, and insults. Various attempts have been made to stop this brand of politics, including one spearheaded by the Media Foundation for West Africa, which releases a weekly report to the general public aimed at shaming politicians who are involved in the politics of insults. If a country could go to the extent of shaming politicians involved in politics of insults, then it shows how the issue of intemperate language has become entrenched in Ghanaian political discourse. Thus, there is a need to conduct a thorough analysis of the realization of insults in Ghanaian political discussion. Utilizing a Critical Discourse Analysis approach, this paper analyzes the underlying ideologies in the representation of insults in pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) newspapers. It further compares and contrasts the use of insults in the newspapers.

Intertextuality is the idea that "text cannot be viewed or studied in isolation since texts are not produced or consumed in isolation: all texts exist, and therefore must be understood, in relation to other texts" (Richardson, 2007, p. 100). In this study, I examine the kinds of Intertextuality used in the representation of insults in pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) newspapers in Ghana. I relate Intertextuality to van Dijk's ideological square to show how newspapers re-echo and legitimize the voice of the in-group by assigning them with authoritative qualities and titles, credentials that make whatever they say very reliable and at times taken as the truth without submitting them to any critical evaluation. However, in instances where the voices of the out-group members are reported, as Rojo (1995, p. 54) puts it, it is a means to "criticize them or discredit them." The application of Intertextuality, in this study, reveals what both pro-NPP and pro-NDC papers consider newsworthy, that is, whose insult or voice is reported and whose is not. It shows how the in-group's insults are represented in relation to the out-group. It further identifies the underlying ideologies in the representation of insults in Ghanaian political discourse.

Referring to politicians' use of language to promote their ideologies before, during and after elections, campaign speeches represent a key genre in political discourse. In this study, we examine the campaign speech of a Ghanaian opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, at the manifesto launch of his party. We analyze his use of language to create identity and solidarity with the electorate, with the aim of persuading them to accept and support his ideas and ultimately vote for him. Drawing on Fairclough's three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis (CDA), the study revealed that Nana Addo utilised the pronouns I, you, our and we and repetition to create a positive bond, identify and show solidarity with the electorate. Also, these strategies were aimed at persuading voters to endorse him as the most credible candidate for the position of president. This study contributes to CDA research on the nexus between language, politics and society.

Gender differences have been recognized in most cultures, but the challenge arises when such differences are misinterpreted as gender inequality, especially to the gross disadvantage of women. One dimension of culture where gender inequality is generally manifested is through language and more specifically the use of proverbs, which are generally believed to host the wisdom of societies. Among some societies, people's actions or inactions are often reflected in the meanings and interpretations of proverbs. This paper examines how proverbs may perpetuate gender inequality and potentially lead males to pronounced risks among the Akan in Ghana. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study revealed that while some proverbs portray masculine superiority, such construction of masculinity, ironically, tends to subject males to pronounced risks in trying to live up to the expectations of society. Implicitly, these proverbs restrict the socio-cultural space for men to express their socially constructed ordeals. We conclude that the traditional representation of men in proverbs needs to be critically re-examined to holistically deal with gender inequality in Ghana.