A Sociolinguistic Explorative Study of Interactional Discourse in Dagbani and Ewe

Abstract

This study explores greetings among the Dagbamba of Northern Ghana and the Ewe of Southern Volta, Ghana. The work investigates the time-of-day greetings as the sociocultural interactional functions and value of the people. The research is a qualitative type, which uses ethnography as its design. The primary data was solicited from information from observation, interviews, and participation in events in the research communities. Secondary data has been solicited from existing literature. Researchers participated in daily routines with the people in the research communities in Xavi Traditional Area and Tolon in Dagbon state. The data was descriptively analyzed. It was discovered that greetings in the two languages are culturally categorized with reference to the time of day, interlocutors, and specific events or occurrences. We demonstrate that the types of greetings associated to the Dagbani and the Ewe culture are important as they demarcate timelines and the phenomenal periods, in which these greetings must be cast. Apart from the time-of-day greetings, we demonstrate some referential greetings that are applicable in the languages in relation to specific events. It was further confirmed that greetings among the people encode politeness strategies fostering unity and healthy cohesion. The greetings are categorized as informal and formal or ceremonial. The investigations also reveal that there are social factors such as modernization and religious practices that contribute to changes in greetings, hence influencing society.