Vituperative and Incendiary Language in Public Space a Ghanaian Social Concern
Edwin Boateng Afriyie 
& Priscilla Owiredu Yankah
Issue: Vol.3 No.3 March 2022 Article 2 pp. 43-53
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2022332 | Published online 22nd March, 2022.
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This paper projects the phenomenon of outbursts, insults, inflammatory and foul-language use in the public space and its implications on the moral fabric of the Ghanaian society. The objective is to sensitize the public of this negative development in the hope to encourage the use of decent language in the public space. It gives a background to the use of language in society as a normative practice in all societies and the legal implications of language use in public space in modern society. Furthermore, it throws light on the theory of ethical language, focusing on four approaches that facilitate understanding and meaning of ethical sentences. The use of language in the public space has been reviewed referencing existing literature and various case studies in different locations in contemporary times as a background to the paper. Methodological issues factored purposefully sampled views of two-hundred and nineteen respondents drawn from university campuses and the general public, in Kumasi and Accra. Research design essentialized mixed methods, integrating the explorative, qualitative and interpretive tools. Views were elicited through the tool of a survey questionnaire supported by field and library data. Data display, reduction, mapping and verified conclusion served as indices of analysis. Findings include the general awareness of worsening foul language use with incendiary and vituperative undertones in the Ghanaian public space and
unanimity in the call for multisectoral and synergistic effort to salvage the situation as a matter of urgency.
Keywords: Vituperative, Incendiary, Incivility.
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Edwin Boateng Afriyie is an Ordained Minister of God since 1988. He is the pioneer of Heritage Interdenominational Church, and President of The Manse Theological Education in Oyibi – Accra. In the past, he served as Dean of Students’ Affairs and Lecturer at Maranatha University College, Accra. He also lectured in the Department of Theology at Christ Apostolic University College, Kumasi. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra-Ghana. His research interest is in Religion in the public space.
Priscilla Wiredu Yankah is an Baptist Ordained Minister, and Lecturer at the Department of Religions, Christ Apostolic University College, Kumasi, Ghana. Email – pcillamex@gmail.com
Afriyie E.B. & Yankah P.W. “Vituperative and Incendiary Language in Public Space a Ghanaian Social Concern,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 3, no.3 (2022):43-53. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2022332
© 2022 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
