Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:48:44.443Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ntam ‘reminiscential oath’ taboo in Akan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2004

KOFI AGYEKUM
KOFI AGYEKUM
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, P.O. Box 61, Legon-Accra, Ghana, kofiagyekum@hotmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Ntam ‘reminiscential oath’ among the Akan of Ghana is a commissive form that has statutory force. In it, the oath-taker evokes the memory of historical events that are dangerous and unpleasant to mention. The statutory force of the oath is accomplished by the evocation of these memories in the community which shares them. This article reviews the types of ntam oaths, the contexts for their use, and their structure.

Keywords

Ntam oathAkan verbal tabooface threatcommissives
Type
Research Article
Information
Language in Society , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , July 2004 , pp. 317 - 342
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agyekum, Kofi (1996). Akan verbal taboos in the context of the ethnography of communication. M. Phil. thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Agyekum, Kofi (1999). The pragmatics of ‘grievance imprecation’ taboo among the Akan. Pragmatics 9:357–82.Google Scholar
Austin, J. L. (1962). How to do things with words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Bach, K., & Harnish, R. M. (1979). Linguistic communication and speech acts. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Benveniste, Emile (1973). Indo-European language and society. Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami Press.
Blakemore, D. (1992). Understanding utterances. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Braffi, E. K. (1984). The esoteric significance of the Asante nation. Kumasi: Educational Press and Manufactures.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Burkert, Walter (1985). Greek religion. Trans. John Raffan. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Busia, K. A. (1968). The position of the chief in the modern political system of Asante. London: Frank Cass.
Connerton, Paul (1989). How societies remember. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Coulthard, Malcolm. (1992). An introduction to discourse analysis. 2nd ed. New York: Longman.
Crystal, David (1991). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell.
Duranti, Alessandro (1993). Intentions, self, and responsibility: An essay in Samoan ethnopragmatics. In J. H. Hill & J. T. Irvine (eds.), Responsibility and evidence in oral discourse, 24–47. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Duranti, Alessandro (1997). Linguistic anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Hill, Jane H., & Irvine, Judith T. (1993). Introduction. In J. H. Hill & J. T. Irvine (eds.), Responsibility and evidence in oral discourse, 1–23. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Holmes, Janet (1995). Women, men and politeness. London: Longman.
Hymes, Dell. (1972). The ethnography of speaking. In J. A. Fishman (ed.), Readings in the sociology of language, 99–138. The Hague: Mouton.
Kasper, G. (1994). Politeness. In R. E. Asher & J.M.Y. Simpson (eds.), The encyclopaedia of language and linguistics, 6:3206–11. Oxford: Pergamon.
Klinger, Elmar (1987). Vows and oaths. In Mircea Eliade (ed.), The encyclopaedia of religion, 15:301–5. New York: Macmillan.
Leech, G. (1983) Principles of pragmatics. London: Longman.
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mallory, J. P., & Adams, D. Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. London & Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
Mensah-Brown, A. K. (1976). The nature of the Akan native law: A critical analysis. In J. M. Assimeng (ed.), Traditional culture and literature in Ghana, 137–64. London: Conch Magazine.
Mey, Jacob (1993). Pragmatics: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
New Geneva Study Bible (1995). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
New Encyclopaedia Britannica (1994). Oath. 8:847–48.
Nwoye, Onuigbo (1992). Linguistic politeness and socio-cultural variation of the notion of face. Journal of Pragmatics 18:309–28.Google Scholar
Obeng, E. E. (1988). Ancient Asante chieftaincy. Tema Ghana.
Obeng, S. G. (1994). Verbal indirection in Akan formal discourse. Journal of Pragmatics 21:37–65.Google Scholar
Obeng, S. G. (1997). Language and politics: Indirectness in political discourse. Discourse and Society 8:49–83.Google Scholar
Obeng, S. G. (1999). Apologies in Akan discourse. Journal of Pragmatics 31:709–34.Google Scholar
Rattray, R. S. (1969a). Religion and art in Asante. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Rattray, R. S. (1969b). Asante law and constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Rosaldo, Michelle Z. (1982). The things we do with words: Ilongot speech acts and speech act theory in philosophy. Language in Society 11:203–37.Google Scholar
Searle, John R. (1969). Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Silverstein, Michael (1976). Shifters, linguistic categories and cultural description. In Keith J. H Basso & Henry A. Selby (eds.), Meaning in anthropology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1995). Relevance: Communication and cognition. 2nd ed. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Yankah, Kwesi (1995). Speaking for the chief: Okyeame and the politics of Akan royal oratory. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.