Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 3:2 (2004) ► pp.345–375
Invective language in contemporary Ghanaian politics
Published online: 24 August 2004
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.3.2.10agy
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.3.2.10agy
This paper addresses the use of invectives in modern Ghanaian politics. Evidence is drawn from public speeches of political activists of the two leading parties of the country, namely: the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The paper analyses at the context as well, i.e. the participants involved, the reaction of the public, and tries to answer the question what makes a public speech or utterance an invective. It also considers some pragmatic effects of such invectives in the over all development of the country and the need for reconciliation.
References (25)
Agyekum, Kofi. 1996. Akan Verbal Taboos in the Context of the Ethnography of Communication. M.Phil. Thesis Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Trondheim.
. 2004. Apology: A Repair Mechanism in Akan Social Interaction. Paper presented at Departmental Seminar Legou: 17th March 2004.
Allan, K. and Burridge, K. 1991. Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as Shield and Weapon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bradac, J.J. and Ng, Sik Hung. 1993. Power in Language: Verbal Communication and Social Life. Newbury Park California: Sage Publications.
. 1998. The discourse structure of news stories. In: Allan Bell and Peter Garrett (eds). Approaches to Media Discourse. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 62–104.
Chilton, P.A. 1998. Politics and language. In: Jacob L. Mey (ed.). The Concise Encyclopaedia of Pragmatics. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 668–695.
Clyne, Michael. 1987a. The Role of linguistics in peace and conflict studies. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 10(1): 76–97.
Davies, A. 1994. Politicised language. In: R.E. Asher and J.M.Y. Simpson (eds). The Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics. Vol. 61. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 3212–3214.
Fairclough, Norman. 1998. Political discourse in the media: An analytical framework. In: Allan Bell and Peter Garrett (eds). Approaches to Media Discourse. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 142–162.
Garrett, P. and Bell, A. 1998. Media and Discourse: A Critical Overview. In: Allan Bell and P. Garrett (eds.). Approaches to Media Discourse. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1–20.
Grimes, L.M. 1977. The linguistic taboo: Examples from modern Mexican Spanish. The Bilingual Review 41, 69–80.
Leach, Edmund. 1979. Anthropological aspects of language: Animal categories and verbal abuse. In: William A. Lessa and Evan Z. Vogt (eds). Reader in Comparative Religion. An Anthropological Approach. 4th. edition. New York: Harper and Row, 153–166.
Reisigl, Martin and Wodak, Ruth. 2001. Discourse and Discrimination. The Rhetoric od Racism and Anti-Semitism. London: Routledge.
Schröder, K.C. 1998. Media language and communication. In: Jacob L. Mey (ed.). The Concise Encyclopaedia of Pragmatics. Amsterdam. Elsevier, 547–556.
Cited by (8)
Cited by eight other publications
Thompson, Rachel G.A. & Evershed Kwasi Amuzu
Mensah, Eyo, Samson Nzuanke & Theophilus Adejumo
Thompson, Rachel
Thompson, Rachel
Thompson, Rachel
Ansah, Gladys Nyarko
Sunday, Adesina B.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
