Humour In Akan: The Case Of Draught And Selected Radio Programmes

ABSTRACT Humour is an integral part of our daily lives, however, it is one of the least studied phenomena. This thesis, therefore, discusses humour in Akan, a Kwa language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in Ghana. The study focused on providing an ethnographic and ethnopragmatic description of the nature of humour and how it manifests in the language. Using the Incongruity theory (c.f. Kant, Cicero, Schopenhauer), the study provides explanations on why people find certain circumstances amusing in draught and some selected radio programmes in Akan. It was discovered in the study that humour in Akan involves insult, ridicule, mockery, etc. especially in draught games where members have a ‘license’ to use invectives on the other due to the lift of the social ban on insults in that setting. This research further shows that context is an integral component in humour appreciation in Akan because what one counts as humorous in one situation may not be so in another situation. The study discovered that unlike draught which has an informal setting, the radio programmes setting is formal where humour is used as a persuasive device, a softening mechanism, a tool of ridiculing, a politeness strategy, a tool of indirection, etc. to address delicate issues affecting the society. Outcomes from this thesis show that participants can tease each other with a humorous reference term which is known to all especially in draught games. The study also showed that the use of certain humorous expressions in draught games and radio programmes are also just for the fun of it.