LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 16:8 August 2016
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Thematic Analysis of Inscriptions on Shops:
A Case Study of Amamoma Community

Anita William Quayson, B.A. (Hons.) and Emmanuel Amo Ofori, Ph.D.
University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

Studies on language have drawn the attention of many scholars over decades because of language’s feature-social phenomena. Social phenomenon of language is a feature that states that language is utilized when it is identified with people. This feature has paved way for many disciplines such as linguistics, philosophy, anthropology and many other disciplines to be more effective in human society. Thus, these fields of study have revealed the vital role of language use in society. Inscription is one of the ways in which language is used in society. The present study investigates themes that emerge from inscriptions on shops and the rationale behind those themes, within the geographical location of Amamoma (a community located within the University of Cape Coast, Ghana). The main idea behind this paper is to identify how educational environments (University of Cape Coast) can affect the themes of inscriptions on shops. The data collected, for this study, were mainly through observation and interview. The study analyzed themes identified to be dominant in the inscriptions used. It was established that the theme of identity was the most dominant theme because Amamoma is a community where new shops are continually being constructed. It also became evident that educational environments affect the choices of some of the themes where the shops are located.

Keywords: Inscription, Shops, Thematic Analysis, Amamoma Community, Communication

Introduction

Daniel Jones (1967) describes language as a system of arbitrarily organized sounds used by a speech community. Hurley (2003) mentions that language has two basic linguistic functions - to convey information and to express or evoke feelings. Thus, based on the former, communication is one of the basic functions of language. Bortsie (1996) defines communication as the act of sharing information with others by speaking, writing, moving part of the body or using other signals. He also comments that communication can be verbal or non-verbal. Verbal communication is the process of exchanging information using words orally or in a written mode, while non-verbal communication is a process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) cues between people. Visual communication involves communicating through visual aids. It involves the use of typology, tattoo, drawing, graphic design, gestures, facial expression, statue, illustration and colors to share information with others (Lehman & Dufrene, 2002).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Anita William Quayson, B.A. (Hons.) and Emmanuel Amo Ofori, Ph.D.
Department of Ghanaian Languages and Linguistics
University of Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Ghana
eofori@ucc.edu.gh
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