Representation of Disability in Akan Discourse

Emmanuel Amo  Ofori; Issahaku  Adam; Catherine Ekua  Mensah; Comfort  Bonsu; Esther  Asare

Authors

Emmanuel Amo Ofori University of Cape Coast https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4316-7551
Issahaku Adam University of Cape Coast https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4769-9504
Catherine Ekua Mensah University of Cape Coast https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0820-9015
Comfort Bonsu University of Cape Coast
Esther Asare City University of Hong Kong

Keywords:

Disability, Akan Discourse, Proverbs, Insults, Critical Discourse Analysis, Marginalisation

Abstract

The study examines some proverbs and insults in Akan that legitimise and reinforce marginalisation and stigmatisation of people with disability (PWD) in Ghana. Analysing fifty (50) proverbs and ten (10) insults from both written and oral sources collected through interviews and library search, the findings reveal that some proverbs and insults portray PWD as weak and vulnerable, making aspects of the Akan language a perpetuator of disability. Taking into consideration the Sustainable Development Goal 10, which strives to reduce inequality within and among countries by empowering and promoting social, economic and political inclusion of all, there is the need to make indigenous languages inclusive of the needs of PWD.

Author Biographies

Emmanuel Amo Ofori, University of Cape Coast

Emmanuel Amo Ofori is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cape Coast. He obtained his PhD. in Linguistics from the University of Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A. in 2015. His areas of research are Critical Discourse Analysis (Politics of Insults in Ghana), Pragmatics and Morphology of Akan.

Issahaku Adam, University of Cape Coast

Issahaku Adam is a Professor at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana His research interests include inclusive leisure, sustainable tourism, tourist behaviour and experience, crises management in tourism and hospitality, accessible tourism, backpacker vulnerabilities, and gendered entrepreneurial pathways in tourism and hospitality.

Catherine Ekua Mensah, University of Cape Coast

Catherine Ekua Mensah is an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Linguistics, University of Cape Coast. She is a PhD candidate at the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana. She is currently working on names of diseases in Akan. Her research areas are Ethnography of Communication, Pragmatics, Ethnopragmatics, Sociolinguistics and Morpho-semantics of Akan.

Comfort Bonsu, University of Cape Coast

Comfort Bonsu is an Assistant Lecturer at Ola College of Education, Cape Coast, where she leverages her experience in teaching and research to foster academic excellence. Her research interests lie in the areas of gender studies, folklore, oral and written literature, and translation. She is passionate about exploring the intersections of culture, identity, and power dynamics through her work

Esther Asare, City University of Hong Kong

Esther Asare is a PhD student at the Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong. Esther does research on Kwa languages with interest in language description and typology, language and gender, corpusbased (statistical) approaches to lexical semantics, and Usage-based Functional Grammar. She is currently working on a usage-based description of the nominal system of Akan, alongside building a corpus for the Asante Twi variety of Akan.

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Representation of Disability in Akan Discourse

Authors

Keywords:

Abstract

Author Biographies

Emmanuel Amo Ofori, University of Cape Coast

Issahaku Adam, University of Cape Coast

Catherine Ekua Mensah, University of Cape Coast

Comfort Bonsu, University of Cape Coast

Esther Asare, City University of Hong Kong

References

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