Pragmatic Analysis of Names of Some Deities in Some Bono Towns in Ghana
Author: Lawrence Bosiwah, David Adu Tuffour & Dr. (Mrs.) Esther Nana Anima Wiafe-Akenten
Abstract: This paper analyses names of some deities in some Bono towns in Ghana pragmatically through the lens of Speech Act Theory. The study employed an ethnographic research design using a qualitative approach. Names of deities were collected from some selected towns in Bono and Bono East Regions in Ghana. Some of the specific towns and villages were: Watro, Yeji, Takyiman, Atebubu, Nkoranza, Atronie, Nsuatre, Kyeraa, Komfokurom and Wiase. The researchers consulted ten traditional priests and ten spokesmen at shrines. The consultant’s ages were between twenty-five (25) and sixty-two (62). In all, eighty (80) names of deities were selected for the analysis in this study. The study has proven the perception that names are lexicons and not sentential was not always a good point. The results from the research showed that some names of the deities were sentential through the surface representation and truncation processes that brought about the smooth pronunciation of the names that have been truncated. The term truncation as the analysis has proven in terms of sentences is a Traditional Hungarian grammar, successfully reflecting the observation that we often leave out the subject or speaker or hearer what the subject or object is in the given sentence. Truncation is a phonological process that allows flexibility in the pronunciation of words, phrases, clauses, and statements. It identified that contextualization was important in meaning and driving force that is truncated from names the deities and generally accepted by the Akans.