Transitivity in Atukwei Okai’s “The Oath of Fontomfrom”

https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i4.1102

Authors

  • Edward Owusu Sunyani Technical University
  • Emmanuel Botchwey Sunyani Technical University
  • Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful University of Cape Coast
  • Asuamah Adade Yeboah Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana
  • Ebenezer Asinyor Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana
  • Abraham Gyasi University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

Keywords:

Systemic Functional Linguistics, Transitivity, Processes, Participants

Abstract

Examining the language of a literary text can be a reliable way of comprehending literary writers’ experiences. This paper explores the relationship between linguistic forms and socially construed meaning in Atukwei Okai’s poem, “The Oath of the Fontomfrom”. The objectives of the study were to (1) examine the poet’s process choices and their typical distribution in the text, (2) assess the participant characteristics of each process category, and (3) establish the role of the speaker/persona in the poem. This descriptive qualitative study was underpinned by the transitivity framework of Halliday and Matthiessen’s (2014) Systemic Functional Linguistics. So, a content analysis tool was used in analysing the text by revealing how meaning is presented. The results revealed that the poet (or persona) used different kinds of processes to present meaning to his reader.Consequently, when these processes were analysed, the results indicated that material processes were most frequently used. The distribution of process types includes 42% material, 16% mental, 15% behavioural, 13% relational, and 10% verbal processes. Again, the persona is involved in 32 processes, constituting 35% of the total processes. The preponderance of material processes revealed that the poet portrayed warfare as mainly involving concrete physical actions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Emmanuel Botchwey, Sunyani Technical University

Emmanuel Botchwey is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies, at Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana. He holds a Master of Philosophy and Bachelor of Education degrees in English Language both from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana in 2015 and 2012 respectively. He has since 2002 taught English Language, Linguistics, and Literature of English at all levels of education: first, second and third cycles. His research interests include Applied Linguistics, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Grammar Studies, English Pedagogy, and Second Language Studies.

Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful , University of Cape Coast

Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful (Prof) has been an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Cape Coast since 2014. He holds a PhD in Applied English Studies from the National University of Singapore (Singapore) as well as a Dip.Ed., BA in English, and MPhil (English Language) from the University of Cape Coast, where he has been engaged in teaching, research, and extension service for over twenty years. His research interests include English for Academic and Publishing Purposes, Naming and Address Practices, Genre Studies, Grammar of Interpersonality, and the Interface between Postgraduate Pedagogy and Thesis Writing, and Linguistic Landscape. Prof Afful has won several awards including DRIC Research Grant (Group-led), DRIC Research Grant (Individual-led), both from the University of Cape Coast; Travel Grants from Hunan City University (China) and the University of Vrije, Amsterdam; Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa); and Doctoral Research Scholarship Award, from National University of Singapore.  Currently, Prof Afful is a member of the Department of English, a member of the Faculty of Arts Appointment and Promotion Board, a member of the College Board, a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and a former Vice-Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. He also serves as the Chairman of the University of Cape Coast Library Board. Prof Afful was the first Head of the Department of Communication Studies (formerly the Communication Studies Unit). He has served as a member on numerous statutory boards and committees in the University and a representative of the University on committees and boards outside the University. He has also served on panels of the National Accreditation Board and UCC’s Affiliation Unit to ensure the quality of academic programmes, in public and private universities in Ghana, among other purposes. Prof Afful has over 40 publications on the address and naming practices, English for Academic and Publishing Purposes, and Genre Studies can be found in several national and international refereed journals such as Drumspeak, Legon Journal of Humanities, Nebula, Africology, ESP World, ESP Today, and Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. He once served as Editor-in-Chief of Drumspeak, and continues to serve as a reviewer for several national and international journals such as Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Asian ESP Journal, Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistic Studies, Language Matters, and Language and Intercultural Communication. Prof Afful is a member of associations and institutions such as AILA Africa Research Network, European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW), Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG), Consortium on Graduate Communication (CGC), Postgraduate Research Supervisors Network, and The International Network of Address (INAR). 

Asuamah Adade Yeboah, Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana

Asuamah Adade-Yeboah holds an MA in Comparative Literature from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Also, he is a Senior Lecturer, and the Head of the Department of Communication Studies, at Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana. He has forty (40) publications in other international peer-reviewed journals. In 2008, he published Practical English for Effective Communication, which has sold thousands of copies. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate at Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica (UNEM). He is a member of the Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG, Ghana). His research interests are Comparative Literature, Applied Linguistics, Language Studies, Academic Writing, African Literature, and Communication Studies.

Ebenezer Asinyor, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana

Ebenezer Asinyor (Dr) holds a PhD, MPhil, and MA in TESL from the University of Ghana, where he did his first degree. Currently, he is a lecturer in the Department of Liberal Studies Department, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana. Dr Asinyor has over fifteen (15) publications in refereed journals to his credit. His recent research interests cover Language Teaching, Applied Linguistics, and Composition Studies. He has participated in several conferences held in Ghana and outside Ghana. He is a member of the Linguistics Association Ghana (LAG, Ghana). 

Abraham Gyasi, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

Abraham Gyasi is currently the Head of the General Arts Department at Komenda SHTS. He is also a student of MPhil English Language at the University of Education, Winneba. He holds B.Ed in English Education from the University of Education, Winneba, 2011. He has been teaching English Language and Literature-In-English for the past 11 years. Before 2011, he taught as a class teacher after graduating from Foso College of Education in the year 2000 with a Teacher's Certificate 'A'.

Published

2022-12-29

How to Cite

Owusu, E., Botchwey, E. ., Afful , J. B. A. ., Yeboah, A. A. ., Asinyor, E. ., & Gyasi, A. . (2022). Transitivity in Atukwei Okai’s “The Oath of Fontomfrom”. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 4(4), 175–201. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i4.1102

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 4 (2022): 2022 (4)

Section

Articles
Copyright & Licensing

Copyright (c) 2022 Edward Owusu, Emmanuel Botchwey, Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful , Asuamah Adade Yeboah, Ebenezer Asinyor, Abraham Gyasi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Most read articles by the same author(s)