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Advances in Cultural Linguistics pp 369–387Cite as

Cultural Conceptualisations of democracy and Political Discourse Practices in Ghana

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Part of the book series: Cultural Linguistics ((CL))

Abstract

This chapter explores how local conceptualisations of democracy in contemporary Ghana affect political (democratic) discourses in the country. Working under the cultural linguistic assumption that political discourse is not free from cultural influences, but is in fact heavily entrenched in cultural conceptualisations, I combine principles from conceptual metaphor theory and Cultural Linguistics to analyse linguistic expressions (in three Ghanaian languages) about democracy in order to identify the underlying conceptualisations that sanction the linguistic expressions. The data were taken from talk radio shows and other media that are broadcast in the selected languages. By linking identified conceptualisations to practices in political discourses in Ghana, the analysis reveals that democracy, as practiced in Ghana, is a hybrid concept shaped by both western-based culturally construed conceptualisations and traditional Ghanaian conceptualisations of politics. As reflected in the democratic discourse practices in the country, this hybridisation has created a unique model of democracy that is different from other models of democracy around the world. This challenges the notion of a universal ‘standard’ for democracy, especially, with regards to monitoring and evaluation of democratic processes by UN agencies. The chapter, therefore, concludes that despite the near universal acceptance and practice of democracy (a concept which originally lends itself to culturally construed conceptualisations of western democracies, Sharifian in J Intercultural Stud 28(4):413–424, 2007; Towards an integration of language, culture and cognition: language in cognitive, historical and sociocultural contexts. Palgrave McMillan, London, 2013), in individual countries where democracy is practiced, the concept (with its related concepts) may be understood in terms of certain culturally specific construed conceptualisations which may be reflected in the democratic discourse practices.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The 2004 elections were significant because it was the first elections after the repeal.

  2. 2.

    30th June is celebrated annually as a martyrs’ day (mainly by the Ghana Bar Association) in Ghana.

  3. 3.

    This is the highest advisory body to the president of the republic of Ghana.

  4. 4.

    See discussion on extract (2) below.

  5. 5.

    Yankah (1997) particularly chronicles the use of sung-tale metaphors during the period of the culture of silence in Ghana—a prolonged period of military rule when perceived enemies of government were severely dealt with.

  6. 6.

    The basic meaning of this term is ‘the thumb is on’. This is a metonymy for voting in elections, a key feature of democracy. However, it is often used metaphorically to denote democratic governance.

  7. 7.

    Kufour was sworn into office for a second term as president on 7th January 2005; his first term was from 7th January 2001–6th January 2005.

  8. 8.

    A slang term for ‘trouble’ in Nigerian Pidgin English. Its origin has been attributed to either Hausa or Arabic.

  9. 9.

    The elephant is the official emblem of the New Patriotic Party, president Kufuor’s party. The NPP actually used this line as a slogan in the 2000 electioneering campaign, perhaps as way to make voting for the NPP easier for the illiterate voting population who relied on symbols other than written texts on the ballot paper.

  10. 10.

    The CDD is an independent, nonpartisan and non-profit organisation in Ghana that is dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state and integrity in public administration (as advertised on the home page of the CDD at http://www.cddghana.org/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Gladys Nyarko Ansah

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  1. Gladys Nyarko Ansah
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Correspondence to Gladys Nyarko Ansah .

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  1. Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Farzad Sharifian

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Ansah, G.N. (2017). Cultural Conceptualisations of democracy and Political Discourse Practices in Ghana. In: Sharifian, F. (eds) Advances in Cultural Linguistics. Cultural Linguistics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4056-6_17

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