UNIVERSITY of CAPE COAST TRADITION in TRANSITION: the HABITS of LANGUAGE in GHANAIAN HIPLIFE LYRICS by SAMUEL KWESI NKANSAH Thes
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© University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST TRADITION IN TRANSITION: THE HABITS OF LANGUAGE IN GHANAIAN HIPLIFE LYRICS BY SAMUEL KWESI NKANSAH Thesis submitted to the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, of College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of Doctor of Philosophy degree in Literature FEBRUARY 2019 i Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature: …………………… Date: ……………………… Candidate’s Name: Samuel Kwesi Nkansah Supervisors’ Declaration We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of the thesis were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University of Cape Coast. Principal Supervisor’s Signature: ………………… Date: ……………………… Name: Prof. Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang Co- Supervisor’s Signature: ……………………… Date: ……………………… Name: Prof. Timothy Sola Babatunde ii Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui ABSTRACT The future of every nation is embedded in its youth. The older generation eats sour grape and sets the teeth of the youth on edge. A vibrant youth seeks a better future for itself since if one fails to comment on how one’s head is shaven, one ends up having a bad shave (The Author). This qualitative (textual) research is premised on the fact that research into Hiplife genre in recent years has not devoted attention to the source of its rhetorical vehemence, leading Adegbite (2006) to admonish scholars to broaden their scope of research to embrace all varieties of musical styles. The research explores the stylistic use of language in Hiplife lyrics and its effect in achieving rhetorical vehemence. The study sets out to examine the linguistic codes, perspectives of presentation, dominant tropes and schemes inherent in Hiplife lyrics that imbue it with the artistic vehemence. This stylistic study of the song texts is guided by Bloomfield’s (1976) categorization which defines areas of study in stylistics. The present study adopts four of the Bloomfield’s stylistic taxonomy - the descriptive, rhetorical, language and cultural/group dynamics of stylistics - and in the light of these, examines the stylistic elements in Hiplife lyrics. This framework combined with the Formalist analytical methodology provides detailed description and functional analysis of the stylistic facilities to evince the unique linguistic and literary characteristics of the genre. The study purposively sampled sixty Hiplife song texts composed by thirty-six Ghanaian Hiplife artistes between 1990 and 2018 as the primary data for analysis. The study also employs interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation to collect secondary data. The study among other things shed deeper light on defining Hiplife as a cultural tool that is used in the discourse of nation building. Again, it presents Hiplife lyrics as a literary material that facilitates the conceptualisation of stylistics in Ghanaian context. Finally, the study provides a corpus on the genre to facilitate other researches into Hiplife. iii Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey this far was borne out of a reading I did of Dr. James Kwegyir Aggrey when I was in class Four. Pursuing this dream, I have received tutelage from a lot of teachers; lettered and unlettered to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. My principal supervisor, Prof. Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang, I am grateful for the continual prodding and the absolute trust you have in my capacity to accomplish this goal, coupled with your critical review of the work and support of all kinds. I am indeed indebted to you. Prof. Babatunde, a man I met in Unilorin, Nigeria, during my first international conference, who incidentally came to UCC on sabbatical to become part of me, is my second supervisor. Your interest in my professional career and this project is unsurpassed. I am grateful for your words of encouragement and guidance through the journey. I am also grateful to Dr. Daniel Amponsah (Agya Koo Nimo), Gyedu-Blay Ambulley and Bice Osei Kuffour for granting me interviews to help me complete the background study of the research. I am appreciative of the contributions of Ms. Aseye Nako Tetteh, Issah Mohammed and Kingsley Yeboah Ansong who supported me in interviewing, sampling and transcribing the data for the project. My sincere gratitude extends to my 2016 batch of Stylistics students (Level 400) who were actively involved in the focus group discussions and the pilot study of the data. Ms. Christabel Ackon, who typed the song texts cannot be forgotten. Profs. L. K. Owusu Ansah, Albert Sackey, J. B. A Afful, Sakyi-Baidoo, Dora Edu-Boandoh and Drs. J. Arkoh, Sarfo Sarfo-Kantanka and I. Mwinlaaru, I thank you for the various roles you individually played in making this work a success. My wife, Elizabeth Efua Addison and my sons Kofi Kwansa Nkansah and Kobina Nyame Nkansah, I am grateful for keeping wake with me through the preparation of this work. Very Rev. Samuel Asoku Thompson (my guardian) and other relations whose prayers and concern urged me on, I am appreciative. Finally “Not to me, O Lord, but to your name is the glory” for all these. iv Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui DEDICATION To all who yearn to achieve academic greatness v Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATIONS ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv DEDICATION v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Background to the Study 1 Thesis Statement 19 Research Objectives 20 Research Questions 20 Scope of the Study 20 Methodology 22 Research design 22 Sample size and sampling technique and data collection procedure 23 Translation 25 Research instruments 27 Recording 29 Analytical framework 29 vi Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui Transcription 32 Coding 33 Ethical Considerations 33 Structure of the Thesis 35 Conclusion 36 CHAPTER TWO: CONCEPTUAL THRUST 38 Introduction 38 The Concept of Stylistics 39 Evolution of the term ‘Hiplife’ 51 Defining Hiplife 55 Cultural and Historical Context of the Study 61 Empirical Studies on Hiplife 64 Conclusion 69 CHAPTER THREE: LINGUISTIC CHOICES AS STYLISTIC DEVICE 71 Introduction 71 Discussion 71 Code mixing/switching 75 English or Pidgin English in Hiplife songs 93 Ghanaian Indigenous Languages 102 Conclusion 109 vii Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui CHAPTER FOUR: PERSPECTIVES OF PRESENTATION IN HIPLIFE 111 Introduction 111 Discussion 111 Conclusion 122 CHAPTER FIVE: SOME DOMINANT TROPES: CONTEXTUAL CONDITIONING 124 Introduction 124 Discussion 124 Metaphor 125 Jargon 133 Paronomasia and Revitalised Expressions 136 Euphemisms/Irony 139 Hyberbole 140 Proverbs 142 Oxymoronic innuendoes 146 Conclusion 148 CHAPTER SIX: SOME DOMINANT SCHEMES 149 Introduction 149 Discussion 149 Conclusion 173 viii Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY, FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 174 Summary 174 Findings 179 Recommendations 185 Statement of Contribution 186 REFERENCES 189 APPENDICES 208 APPENDIX A 208 APPENDIX B 211 ix Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background to the Study “The literature of any time is inevitably bound up with time, simultaneously shaped by world events and shaping how we understand them” (Geyh, 1998, p. xi). Events of times have and continue to provide subjects for discussions. Literature has “drawn its subject matter from the enormous changes the world has undergone from historic international realignments; from reconfigurations of local and global economies; from technological developments and demographic shifts; and most significantly, from revolutions in how information is communicated between individuals and among nations (ibid). Of the variables that crystallised the dramatic change that characterised Post 45 (after the second world war) included the involvement of the youth in national and social discourse, and their mode of expression. Literature as a social product is seen from sociological perspective as concerning itself with the means of literary production, distribution and exchange in a particular society (Eagleton, 2002). The period after the war provided opportunities for the youth to explore. In Ghana, for instance, the Second World War veterans who returned to look for better economic opportunities were disappointed when it dawned on them that their expectation would not be met. The deprivation that greeted their return translated into political upheavals culminating in drastic political reformations of 1948. On the other hand, the economic boom 1 Digitized by Sam Jonah Library © University of Cape Coast https://erl.ucc.edu.gh/jspui that followed the war in Europe increased affluence and technological breakthroughs resulting in consumption becoming part of life for the working classes too (Chaney, as cited in Bennett, 2001); consumerism became a way of life for all including