Drumspeak: International Journal of Research in the Humanities
DRUMSPEAK accepts manuscripts with contributions solely in the humanities ranging from the arts to languages in the form of research articles, books and films reviews, interviews with distinguished writers, filmmakers and scholars. DRUMSPEAK is committed to only publishing original contributions that have not been published elsewhere. We discourage multiple submissions of the same paper to different publication outlets.
Faculty of Arts, University of Cape Coast
Masking Tradition in Ipara-Remo, Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria: A study of Provenance, Forms And Costumes of some selected Masqueradesing
Masking traditions are a prominent socio-cultural practice among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria. Though, the study of Yoruba masks has enjoyed the attention of several scholars, both local and foreign, and diverse views have been postulated on how they were perceived, especially in relation to their forms and functions, there has not been any on the masking tradition of Ipara-Remo in Remo division of Ogun State, a Yoruba sub group of Southwestern Nigeria. The most relevant existing work is the one on Egungun masquerades of the Remo Yoruba by Marrilyn H. Houlberg (1978), it was however not sufficiently detailed. This paper therefore presents the findings of a recent research work carried out on masking traditions in Remoland particularly in Ipara-Remo, in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria. The paper attempts to trace the origin of some of the various existing masking traditions: their imagery/forms, costumes, function as well as the similarities noted in the various types in Ipara-Remo. Three distinct masking traditions were recognized; these are Egungun masks and masquerades, Oro masks and Agemo masks. From these three groups, twenty different masking traditions were identified and examined. Out of these twenty masking traditions, one is found to be of the Oro type, two Agemo type while the remaining seventeen are of the Egungun type. This may indicate the popularity of Egungun over Oro in Remoland. This paper also attempts a classification by provenance. It classifies Egungun masks into three types: the community owned mask and masquerades, the section/group-owned masks and masquerades and the privately-owned masks and masquerades. Finally, the costumes, carved imagery, and the forms and functions of each of the masks are also discussed against the background of their socio-cultural significance in Ipara-Remo.
Copyright (c) 2026 Drumspeak: International Journal of Research in the Humanities
Linguistic Fieldwork: The Case of Chibarwe Orthography in Zimbabwe
In contemporary language-related explorations, linguistic fieldwork is informing language development initiatives in key branches of applied linguistics such as phonology, morphology, lexicography, and sociolinguistics. This paper discusses the methodological issues in the practice of linguistic fieldwork, drawing on a case study on ChiBarwe orthography in Zimbabwe. The argument avowed in this paper is that orthography development requires fieldwork immersion, community involvement, and a systematic approach to deliverables that are consistent and linguistically accurate. It further argues that linguistic fieldwork in the context of orthographies does not solely involve data collection but also encompasses data verification, orthography validation, pilot testing, and community feedback under stringent ethical considerations. This study was guided by the Language Standardisation Model (LSM) as refined by AyresBennett (2020), which outlines the key stages in developing a functional and accepted writing system for a language. Data were collected through practical fieldwork in which the researchers got immersed in the Barweland to collect data needed to develop a standard ChiBarwe writing system. Indepth interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and elicitation (using the expanded Swadesh list for Bantu languages) were used during the fieldwork expeditions, and the findings were analysed qualitatively. The researchers also analysed existing draft orthographies developed for ChiBarwe to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and areas needing refinement. Findings indicated that linguistic fieldwork for orthography designing follows three interrelated stages: pre-fieldwork, fieldwork proper, and post-fieldwork. Findings also indicate that dialectal variation and sociolinguistic identities complicated orthographic choices, yet community validation and pilot testing confirmed the orthography’s accuracy, usability, and long-term viability.
Environmental Education, Sustainable Lifestyle Choices and the Built-Environment: The Case of Ghana
The unprecedented growth of cities and urban centres in our modern world, along with their associated environmental pressures, is a concern we must address to ensure a healthy life. Thus, concepts such as environmental education and sustainable lifestyle choices, as well as the built environment, represent deliberate and innovative efforts by scientists, environmentalists, and scholars to mitigate the adverse impacts resulting from human efforts to improve living standards on Earth. Currently, much literature exists in the field of Urban Development Studies that discusses environmental education, sustainable lifestyle choices, and the built environment. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that the desired impact is yet to be achieved. While some people recognise the importance of their consumption choices and care about environmental issues, most of them unfortunately do not translate their concerns into concrete actions when purchasing goods and services. The situation is worse in Ghana because most people are unaware of the impact of their lifestyles on the physical environment. Using a desk study and primary research approach, this paper explores the relationship between environmental education and sustainable lifestyles, and their combined impact on ensuring the well-being of the built environment in Ghana
Discursive practices in the language of protest: The case of #FixTheCountry demonstration in Ghana
Several studies have explored the language of protests using different theories. However, using transitivity to investigate the language of protests is rare, denying us a nuanced understanding of the roles of participants, the agency of actions and how meaning is constructed in the discourse of protests. The study sought to examine how the #Fix-the-Country campaigners of Ghana used language to construct discursive practices. Employing an interpretive content analytical approach, we analysed 137 placards and banners used for the #Fix-the-Country demonstration held in Ghana in August 2021. The interpretive content analysis allowed us to explore the underlying meaning and implications of the language of the protesters. The transitivity analysis showed that discursive practices such as resistance were projected through the material process to demonstrate the actions, doings, and happenings the protesters expected from the government. Relational processes were used to construct disillusionment, and mental processes presented feelings of desire whose unfulfillment resulted in rage and dissatisfaction with the government. This study has implications for theory since it provides empirical support to some theoretical claims about transitivity. It also has imlications for understanding the expression of political dissent.
Presidential addresses during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana: A rhetorical analysis of President Nana Akufo-addo’s speeches
This study examined the addresses delivered by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It addressed two research questions: a) What rhetorical elements framed the addresses; and b) What was the contribution of these rhetorical elements deployed in the speeches to the persuasive intentions of the speeches? The pragma-rhetorical theory and metaphor theory provided a theoretical and conceptual underpinning for analysing the speeches. The methodology for the study entailed the use of qualitative textual analysis using purposively sampled text versions of three of the President’s speeches. The results showed that the rhetorical devices employed entailed the use of figures of speech; modal auxiliaries; greetings; repetition narrative, flashback, alliteration, metaphor, and the mood of speeches. The findings suggest the need for more studies on audiences to discover the persuasive import of the techniques.
Copyright (c) 2025 Drumspeak: International Journal of Research in the Humanities
J. J. Rawlings and religious pluralism: A historical analysis of the man and his religious space in Ghana, 1981-2001
Jerry John Rawlings came to the national limelight when he attempted a coup in May 1979. On the 4th of June 1979, he was released from prison by some Junior Officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and became the Head of State after a successful coup de ’tat, by the Junior Ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces. After a short stint in what he called house cleaning, J.J. Rawlings handed over power to the People’s National Party led by Dr. Hilla Liman. On the 31st of December 1981, J.J. Rawlings staged another coup to overthrow the government of Dr. Hilla Liman. This coup led to the establishment of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). J.J. Rawlings ruled for 11 years as a military dictator and later 8 years as a civilian democratic leader. This article discusses the Man, J.J. Rawlings and the country's religious situation during 1981-2001. The article historicizes the space that J.J. Rawlings gave to the various religions to operate in the country. It also examines how the three main religions of Ghana, namely, Indigenous African Religion, Christianity and Islam all co-existed and found space in national affairs under him. Our position is that even though J.J. Rawlings introduced the PNDCL221, which to some extent, outlawed some religious denominations on the grounds of not meeting the standards, such intervention largely brought sanity to the religious space in the country. Again, the fact that the three main religions found space in national affairs during the regime of J.J. Rawlings underscored how religious pluralism reached its crescendo in the country from 1982 to 2001.
Economic effects of conflict on inter-ethnic relations: Insights from Gonja-Nawuri conflict in Kpandai
This paper examined the economic effects of Gonja-Nawuri conflicts on inter-ethnic relations in Kpandai. The protracted inter-ethnic conflict in Kpandai not only caused the loss of lives and properties in the area but also contributed significantly to ethnic displacement and low economic productivity. The conflict has also underwritten the underdeveloped nature of the district and its catchment areas in northern Ghana. The theoretical framework of analysis is the greed and grievance theory. The paper also employed an exploratory case study design and relied on data from in-depth interviews. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews from purposively selected 30 study participants from the five major ethnic groups and some key informants in the study area. The analysis of both primary and secondary data revealed that the colonial policy of subordination and realignment of traditional authorities in some parts of Northern Ghana for local administration and convenience created local power dominance. The phenomenon created ethnic superiority and political and social dominance of Gonjas over Nawuris in the Kpandai traditional area. The overall effect of the conflict from the study results is that it aggravates the social and economic relations among, and between the ethnic groups in the area. The paper concludes that the Gonja-Nawuri ethnic conflict had a severe tone on the lives of ordinary people irrespective of their ethnic origin. The devastating nature of it left many of the people jobless as they couldn’t continue with their day-to-day activities. The paper recommends that for Nawuris and Gonjas to harmonise their debilitating social relations, there is a need for mutual respect and a sense of social bonding. Also, though much effort went into peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction in the area, there is still the need for the local authorities, well-meaning citizens and opinion leaders in the area to intervene through social durbars with a theme ‘One Gonja, One Nawuri, One Kpandai’ in unity reconciliatory project.
From ceremonial to social interventionism: An examination of media coverage of Ghana’s Second Lady, Samira Bawumia
This research analyzed media framing of Ghana’s second lady, Samira Bawumia. Although the office and stature of the second lady has evolved over time, there is a clear paucity of literature investigating how such a high-profile personality has been covered in the media. A media framing analysis of news reports revealed six frames in the coverage of the second lady. These include spousal frame, which was the most predominant, followed by the social intervention frame, the political frame, policy frame, ceremonial frame and fashion frame. The tone of coverage was largely positive while thematic frames dominated as compared to episodic frames. A significant finding from the study was that the media ignored divergent sources with experts and civil society minimally sourced stories while non-sourced stories were prevalent. This study demonstrates that while media coverage is improving in terms of the tone and direction of coverage for high profile female personalities, more needs to be done in terms of training and capacity building to improve the nature of gender-based reportage.
Integration of Nzema migrants into the Ivorian (Ivory Coast) society during the colonial and post-colonial periods
Unlike the pre-colonial period, migration in Africa during the colonial and post-colonial epochs was bedevilled with migrants’ integration-related challenges. Research on the integration of international migrants into their host communities in West Africa refers to migrants’ challenges that are related to economic downturns. The situation of Nzema migrants in Cote d’Ivoire appears different. Using moderate postmodernist theory as a lens and information from the lived experiences of return migrants, current migrants, relatives of migrants and supplemented with secondary sources of data, the study aimed at investigating the peculiar situation of Nzema migrants in Cote d’Ivoire from 1893 to the 1990s. The study established that between 1893 and 1960, Nzema migrants in Côte d’Ivoire experienced integration problems that were not associated with the economic situation in that country. Furthermore, irrespective of Cote d’Ivoire’s economic boom during the period from 1960 to the 1980s, some Nzema migrants were confronted with integration challenges. As coping strategies, the migrants assimilated themselves into the Ivorian society. The study contributes to the conversation on migrants’ integration into their host communities by unveiling that migrants’ challenges are not always tied to the economy of the host country.
Perception of newspaper coverage of gender-based violence against male among married men in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
Globally, gender-based violence is a social menace which has broken many marriages. Meanwhile, the mass media, especially the newspapers, are change agents championing the eradication of this menace. Newspapers inform people about the danger inherent in this social scourge. Meanwhile, scholars have examined newspapers and gender-based violence from the viewpoints of female while the male perspective is more or less neglected. Hence, this study examines the perception of newspaper coverage of gender-based violence against married men in Ilorin, Kwara State. Individual differences theory serves as the theoretical lens underpins the study. Survey research method is adopted to gather data from 311 married men selected from Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State. Data gathered were analysed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Frequency tables and simple percentages were used to present the findings. Findings, therefore, revealed that newspapers report gender-based violence against male. However, married men in Ilorin, Kwara State, perceived newspapers’ reports on gender-based violence against male as inaccurate, bias and sentiment as newspapers do not give detailed reports of the incidents compared to their female counterparts. The study concludes that the reportage has prompted married men to refrain themselves from any matrimonial argument that is confrontational in nature. The study, therefore, recommends that newspapers’ organisations should accord significance to gender-based violence against male in order to enlighten people about the danger inherent in the menace.
Gender-based violence, married men, newspaper coverage, violence against male
Exploring the State of Creative Arts education in Ghana: The classroom teachers’ perspective
This paper explored the state of creative arts education in Ghana by asking primary (elementary) schoolteachers about their experiences teaching the creative arts since its implementation in 2007. The study looked into the respondents' personal experiences and training, as well as their perceptions of arts education. In-depth interviews with participants revealed the significant impact their interactions with various art disciplines had on their role as facilitators of creative arts in schools. The findings identified a variety of approaches that facilitators used for teaching and learning activities. The research not only revealed insights into the educational value that each of the teachers assigned to Creative Arts as a subject, but it also revealed their level of confidence and preparedness to teach these disciplines. Both generalist and specialist primary teachers who participated in this study identified several issues that they believed were barriers to teaching the creative arts effectively.
Creative arts, arts education, music education, teaching and learning, curriculum design
“I am his pawn, his slave and his property”: A stylistic analysis of the abuse of women in Amma Darko's beyond the horizon
In Beyond the horizon, Amma Darko uses words in unique ways to bring the subject of gender representations and the abuse of women to the fore. Employing a stylistics framework of analysis, this study investigates the text’s parallelisms and deviations, and interprets and uncovers the implied and underlying meanings of issues related to the abuse of women in the novel. The analysis reveals how through patterned repetitions of words and sentences, as well as some language deviations in the text, men abuse women physically, emotionally, sexually and economically. The paper shows that through the use of patterned repetition of words and sentences, and deviations such as metaphor and simile, Darko reveals the struggles of and unequal relationships between the “pawn”, “slave” and “property” (largely represented by Mara) on one hand, and the “master”, “lord” and “pimp” (represented by Akobi, Oves and Osey) on the other hand.
Copyright (c) 2023 Drumspeak: International Journal of Research in the Humanities
Clandestine, circumscribed and coded: Sexuality in Darko's beyond the horizon and Saadawi’s woman at point zero
This paper explores sexuality in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon (1991) and Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero (1975). The African tradition regards issues of sexuality as a suppressed discourse which is integrated into a discreet, symbolic language. The portrayal of sexuality and its modes in which individuals realise themselves as subjects of sexual desire have been widely studied but works in which these characters have been presented as subjects of concupiscence have received very little attention. Adopting Michel Foucault’s notion that the history of sexual experience involves the correlation between fields of knowledge, types of normativity and forms of subjectivity in a particular culture, this paper examines the libidinous practices of characters. The paper concludes, among other things, that: firstly, Darko and Saadawi’s writings represent the African notion which considers sexuality to be a silent discourse; secondly, both novels manifest various forms of psychosexual attitude by the characters and the quest for sexual freedom and power.
Reversing the imperial gaze, affirming possibility: Conrad and Fanon in Amma Darko's beyond the horizon
Drawing on Bakhtin’s notion of the dialogism of the word, especially double-voiced discourse, this paper examines Darko’s subtle inscription of Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth in her novel Beyond the Horizon (1995). Specifically, the paper examines "horror" and the novel’s title as double-voiced discourse or dialogical sites of contestation and affirmation, respectively. It argues that while the Conradian subtext can be understood in the context of Darko’s reversal of Marlow’s imperial gaze in Heart of Darkness, the Fanonian subtext revolves around Darko’s politics of “beyond the horizon” which is contingent on decentering Europe as the location of hope for postcolonial people. By focusing on Darko’s subtle dialogue with Conrad and Fanon, the paper shows that Darko strategically frames Mara’s encounter with Europe as a journey into the “heart of darkness” and also foregrounds delinking from the West as an emancipatory ethic and thought for postcolonial transformation.
Becoming conscious of the self: Spatial dynamics, character pairs and the feminist vision in Amma Darko’s beyond the horizon
The relationship between spatial dynamics, character pairs and how this is constitutive of the feminist vision in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon has rarely been explored, despite the growing critical reception. The paper explores how Darko’s women become awakened by the redemptive roles of their fellow women through the narrative’s climatic journeys. Drawing on theories of spatiality and African feminisms, this paper argues that Darko’s attempt at associating specific characters within particular geographical contexts helps us to rethink controversial and conventional discourses on the African woman – sisterhood solidarity, education, financial freedom and bodily integrity as routes to the total emancipation of the African woman. Thus, the study suggests a shift from the rather clichéd argument that the text is male-targeted.
In pursuit of dreams: migration and toxic masculinity in beyond the horizon
This paper explores masculinity and migration, analyzing the complex processes of sustaining manhood in a different environment in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon. The paper argues that the fraught nature of the migrant experience contributes to the creation of toxic masculinities and the perpetuation of gender-based exploitation of the female. Migration then creates new opportunities for male exploitative behaviour which is detrimental to the male himself.
This special issue of Drumspeak brings together five papers that shed novel theoretical and interpretive insights on Amma Darko’s novel Beyond the Horizon. Written in the fin de siècle of the long twentieth century, Beyond the Horizon is a sobering meditation on the migration of Africans to the West. It is an important text in the subgenre of African literature that focuses on migration, dislocation, prostitution, and the crisis of expectations that confront African migrants in the West. The novel is, therefore, central to what Iheka and Taylor (2018, p. 18) call “the migration turn in African cultural productions.” Since its publication, Beyond the Horizon has generated a significant corpus of literature that attests to the amplitude of Darko’s craft and vision.
Ethnographic and functional perspectives of tilapia names among the Ewe of Ghana
Modern methods of rearing tilapia in recent years and the importation of same may have contributed to the increase in the consumption of tilapia in Ghana as a whole, particularly among the Eʋe. Most organisms, including animals and fish, are named but they may not respond to their names as humans do. Observation also shows that consumers of tilapia are mostly conversant with the generic name of the fish and less interested in particularising the different species with their names. This paper seeks to investigate the essence of animal names with particular reference to tilapia among the Eʋe of Ghana. The research questions that are germane to the study are the following: Does the composition of names of tilapia derive from their physical characteristics? What knowledge do the Eʋe have about the names of tilapia and how does their knowledge influence the production, marketing and consumption of tilapia. The paper adopts a descriptive design approach in data collection and analysis. It establishes that the idiosyncrasies and general physical features of tilapia reflect in their naming system. Analysis also reveals that the names are both free and bound morphemes. The data further shows that geographical location, vocation, sex and age dynamics affect knowledge on the names of tilapia. These, to some extent, influence the production, marketing and consumption of the fish. The paper, therefore, concludes that even though organisms may not respond to their names, the names of those organisms such as tilapia are relevant to the people who ascribe these names to them.
Murdering our promising babies: The Pan-African historical theatre festival (Panafest) factor
International cultural festivals have attracted researchers and tourists globally for their role in impacting understanding and appreciation of societies and cultures worldwide. Regardless of this recent emphasis, in Ghana, there is paucity of literature on one of the most historically celebrated international historical and cultural festivals of unique significance to the global Pan-African family, the Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST). Yankah (2012) critiques the Ghanaian PANAFEST by examining the chequered history behind its evolution from a small-scale, culturally local vision to a grandiose event more appealing to tourists than to local citizens. So, deploying the interpretive paradigm and narrative design and with a SWOT analysis, we explored PANAFEST in perspective, seeking to critically examine its genesis, state of affairs for its prime periods, from 1990s to 2010, to expose challenges shackling its sustainability by the Citizens. The findings revealed that a lack of funding, mismanagement, negative perceptions and misgivings, poor planning and organisation, and partisan politics defeat the purpose for which PANAFEST was established. We opine that PANAFEST represents geopolitical, public memory, cultural space and theatrical event, and that it has come to stay and all governments, private individuals, tourists, African diasporans, Pan-Africanists, slave descendants and other corporate institutions should put their shoulders to the wheel in making it a monumental festival for generations yet unborn.
Use of rhetorical strategies in counselling at the Counselling Centre, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
The study explored the rhetorical strategies used by counsellors during counselling sessions. The idea was to discover what rhetorical strategies are employed by counselors to elicit relevant information from their counsellees and how effective the use of these rhetorical strategies are in communication between counsellors and their counsellees. Using Aristotle’s theory of rhetoric and a qualitative approach, the researchers studied selected counsellors and counsellees at the University of Cape Coast. The data were gathered through interviews and observation. The data were analysed thematically, and the results showed that assurance of confidentiality is a strong rhetorical strategy used during counselling. Other rhetorical strategies such as giving counsellees unconditional positive comments and empathy are very essential for a successful counselling process. Regarding the benefits of rhetorical strategies, the results indicated that counsellors’ use of rhetorical strategies helps counsellees to disclose sensitive information. Also, rhetorical strategies help counsellors determine if counsellees are benefitting from the counselling interaction. These strategies include observation, learning situation, follow-up and evaluation during counseling process. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that counsellors at the Counselling Centre of the University of Cape Coast should attach more relevance to the rhetorical strategies they use in communicating with their counsellees.
How effective are international framework agreements in subsidiary companies of multinational enterprises? A case study of the international framework agreement of Anglogold Ashanti, Ghana
This paper investigates issues relating to the two International Framework Agreements (IFA) of 2002 and 2009 of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA). IFAs have emerged as a necessary and innovative instrument of global industrial governance (Hammer, 2005) and the globalisation of business activities, and they influence financial direct investments and multinational corporations. The study investigated the effectiveness of IFA in the operations of AGA, focusing on stakeholders’ awareness/knowledge and appreciation of IFAs and the relevance and functionality of the IFA in the operations of AGA. The study occurred within the theoretical framework of sociology of law/legal sociology, which stipulates that an agreement is effective if it ensures designated effects and shapes social behaviour in a predetermined and socially appropriate manner. The methodology was qualitative with a case study design entailing data from desk research and interviews among selected mining stakeholder groups of national and local unions, AngloGold staff, government agencies, academics/researchers, other professionals and NGOs. The results showed that there was little or no awareness/knowledge of IFAs and, therefore, there was virtually no appreciation of the relevance and appreciation of these global agreements. Although AngloGold was purported to be an IFA signatory in all industrial relations literature as it deals with such framework agreements, there was no functioning IFA at AngloGold. While such agreements within the world of industrial relations are very relevant and functional especially outside Africa, this research has shown that local and national unions should be assisted by their global counterparts to deal with the challenges of international labour standards to make such IFAs very relevant and functional in Africa.
Environmental health quality of life of the aged with disability in selected districts in the Upper West region of Ghana
A substantial proportion of the aged population will have to face frailty and dependency. As a result, environmental health care for the aged with disability has become a public health concern. Therefore, the study examined the environmental Health Quality of Life (QOL) of the aged with disability in selected districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The study employed a census survey and questionnaires to collect data from 810 aged with disability. Independent-samples t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical tools were used. The analysis revealed a significant difference [F (807) = 22.318 value, p = 0.000] in environmental health QOL across age of the respondents, such that those aged 60-69 years had the highest mean score and those 80 years and older with lowest mean score. Further, mean scores were higher for those with physical disability than those with visual disability with a significant difference [t (808) = 4.085, p = 0.000] in environmental health QOL between type of disability. The study revealed the important role played by the background characteristics of the aged with disability in influencing their environmental health QOL. The study recommends that family members and governmental agencies continue to assist in the provision of environmental needs of the aged with disability.
A Communal solidarity and the challenge of intergenerational punitive system in Africa: The Yoruba experience
The transference of qualitative punitive system in Africa to the next generations is challenged by the hegemonic situations created by the Western colonial ‘theory-maker’. The reality of this formal structure promotes individual character of the law which undermines the transformative cultural principles for intergenerational legal justice in Africa. This paper, therefore, examines the communal solidarity system within the Yoruba culture in order to arrive at the socio-legal sustainability discourse for the next generations. The study employs the conceptual, critical and reconstructive methods of philosophy with a view to sustaining communal solidarity for intergenerational punitive system. The findings show that communal solidarity in Yoruba culture goes beyond the formal Eurocentric principles that celebrate individualistic for a coherent interconnection among social structure, law and belief system towards the certitude and trust making for harmonious human well-being and future generations. Also, it promotes a restitutive principle whereby the offender is reconciled to himself, the victim and the community at large, which seals generational bond not only within the family but the community at large. More so, the notion advances a creative and flexible human activity, whereby human beings are amenable to change and deserve integration into the community with the saying that bi a ba fi owo otun na omo eni, a fi t’osi fa’a mora (when a man beats his child with his right hand, he should draw him to himself with his left hand). Therefore, the study constructively addresses the dispensation of justice with legal certainty, legal diversity and social order for maximally advanced and sustained future.
Native and non-native variation in adverbial and adjectival intensification: A corpus-based study of UK and Ghanaian parliamentary debates
Studies on the use of adverbs and adjectives by nonnative speakers of English have largely focused on learner corpus. Using Hansards of British and Ghanaian parliamentary debates as data, this paper attempts to partly fill this gap by comparatively examining the use of adverbs and adjectives as intensifiers by British parliamentarians as first/native speakers of English and Ghanaian parliamentarians as second language/non-native speakers of English. Parliamentarians’ use of adverbial and adjectival intensification is consequent on parliamentary debates being truth and validity judgement, which includes speaker involvement and commitment. While both groups of MPs employ intensifiers to strengthen their convictions and arguments, it leads to exaggeration. However, the British parliamentarians use more complex adverbs and adjectives than their Ghanaian counterparts, who use simpler forms. The paper has implications for second language teaching and learning, the theory of nativisation and the characterisation of Ghanaian English.
Revisiting the ‘silent’ voice of teenagers in Lagos 1940 – 1950
Some of the most remarkable features of archival records in Ibadan Nigeria are the written expressions of teenagers to supposed European benefactors. These writings reflect the wholesome acceptance of the European value system that the teenagers had been significantly accustomed to and which had become entrenched in their worldview and mindset. This speaks to the significant reformations that had occurred in the psyche of individuals in their generation – old and young alike. This paper presents these expressions, leaving them as they are, to allow the words „speak for themselves‟. Particular attention is given to personal experiences as regards livelihood challenges, as they were written in correspondences to colonial authorities with the aim to give readers access to the uncensored „comments‟ of youngsters on general livelihood in colonial Lagos. Earlier sources exist, which provide significant discourses and perspectives on the experiences of a good number of these teenagers. However, there is more room for engagement with their texts. One way of making the texts available for a more expansive interrogation is to present them in the teenagers‟ own language, in full view of its „disorganisation‟, „lack of finesse‟, „bad grammar‟, „errors‟, „vagueness‟, and in certain cases, „outright inconsistency‟. Hence, this article makes no pretence about trying to „elevate‟ the status of the texts, but rather treats them as a kind of picaresque that discusses colonial urban livelihood realities.
Copyright (c) 2022 Drumspeak: International Journal of Research in the Humanities
A stylistic study of patterned repetition in Ghanaian hiplife lyrics
This study is a stylistic analysis of the dominant patterned repetition – schemes – in Ghanaian Hiplife lyrics. Schemes constitute a broad range of repetitive structures in literature. They represent the grammatical or linguistic breach of expressions, literally, to allow further emphasis and attention through some elements of repetition manifested in the phonological, graphological or formal patterning of these expressions. Data for this study came from fourteen hit Hiplife songs released between 1994 and 2018. The data were analysed within Leech’s (1969) framework for the stylistic analysis of schemes. The analysis revealed that both free repetition and parallelism were used in the data. Free repetition manifested in various kinds, such as epizeuxis and ploce, while epistrophe, symploce, anadiplosis and epanalepsis were the kinds of parallelism found in the data. These schemes were used to achieve an aesthetic effect and also highlight the necessity borne out of spontaneity and artistry of delivery of message. The paper has implications for literary studies in schools as the data are readily available and familiar to current students Again, it has huge relevance to African Stylistics as the concept has been generally seen as alien to the African context.
A functional analysis of Ghanaian presidential debates
Scholars of the functional theory of campaign discourse have explored the nature of political campaign discourse, particularly presidential campaign discourse. This paper adds to the exploration and the data by analysing Ghanaian presidential debates using Benoit’s functional theory. The analysis reveals that the presidential candidates acclaimed more than they attacked and defended. Two additional functional categories – appeal and recommendation – are identified. Contrary to the assumptions of the functional theory that incumbents acclaim more than challengers, the paper finds that challengers acclaimed more than the incumbent, and that the candidates discussed more future plans/deliberative rhetoric. The study concludes that even though most of the assumptions of the theory were confirmed, there are additional persuasive strategies of presidential candidates in Ghanaian political debates such as appeal and recommendation. Thus, the study recommends that further studies extend the theory to accommodate the discourse strategies in multi-candidate campaigns since the theory emerged from several studies of two-candidate campaigns in the United States.
Morphological case languages do not necessarily depend on word order to determine their grammatical relations. However, structural case languages depend largely on word order to determine the various grammatical relations. For most configurational languages, the agent/experiencer usually precedes the patient/theme in a simple clause (in the active voice). In the passive voice, the patient/theme occupies the subject position while the agent becomes an object of a preposition (oblique) or omitted as evident in English. Akan, a Kwa language of the Niger-Congo family, being a nominative-accusative language, allows the agent/experiencer to precede the patient/theme in the active construction. In the passive- like construction, however, unlike a language like English, an impersonal pronounoccupies the subject position while the patient or theme remains at the object position. This implies that agents/experiencers do not occur at the oblique position in Akan; neither dopatients/ themes occur at the subject position. Certain verbs (symmetrical verbs), however, may allow the experiencer and the theme arguments to switch positions in the active construction without affecting the meaning of the sentence in the language. This paper seeks to highlight these marked grammatical relations in Akan within the framework of Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG).
Development Tools of Parasitic Paradigm: An African Perspective of Western Theories of Development and Reforms
The orthodox conceptualisation of development and its reforms which are rooted in Western schools of thought recognizes the existence of three categories of polities, viz: developed, developing and underdeveloped states. But the major questions that are of concern are: on what grounds do we submit that a country is developed, and the other is either developing or underdeveloped? Using a historical method of research and utilising mainly secondary sources of data, the paper attempts to answer these salient issues by critiquing the orthodox western development theories and reforms, citing a wide range of instances of faulty development reforms imposed on the global south by the West. The study found that the western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ for the governments of the global North are incompatible with the dynamics and interests of the South. It also found that the western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ were never intended to sustain the economies of the global south or worsen the North-South dichotomy. The paper concludes that every society has its own sense of development and that the orthodox conception of development, and its reforms are not sacrosanct given the peculiarities of the global South. The paper also posits that western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ are ̳neo-colonial schemes‘ targeted at strengthening the core-periphery arrangements between the global North and the global South.
Villains, victims and victors: A character analysis of Amma Darko’s women
Studies on Amma Darko‟s presentation of women suggest a retaliatory and sexist characterization because of the condescending circumstances her female characters find themselves. This critique, however, distorts the novelty she brings to the table with regards to the politics of female emancipation. Thus, drawing on postcolonial feminism, this paper explores the dynamism in character presentation in Darko’s first four novelsin order to show how she rethinks female subjectivities. Such a reading is important in the ways in which it provides a better appreciation of Darko’s vision through character and characterisation and postcolonial feminisms.