Metaphors of Geo-Political Space in Ghanaian Political Discourse: A Cultural Linguistics Analysis

This paper uses examples from political discourse in Ghana to discuss the role cultural-metaphorical conceptualizations play in lexical innovation in Ghanaian English. Specifically, the paper examines the cultural conceptualizations that underlie two novel linguistic expressions in Ghanaian English that are used to describe geo-political spaces according to their voting behavior. The study subsumes the Cultural Linguistics position that non-native varieties of English often have certain innovations that are motivated by and encode cultural conceptualizations that are needed to communicate culture-specific experiences and practices that are socio-culturally salient (in the non-native communities) but that are not found in native English communities. Data were collected from relevant Ghanaian political websites which are available to the public and allow for socio-political discussions/interactions in Ghana. The analysis revealed that the metaphorical understanding of the two political lexical innovations (housewife and ORPHAN constituency) to describe specific electoral spaces is motivated by Ghanaian cultural conceptualizations of certain FAMILY relationships. The findings contribute to recent research in the literature that underscores the important connection between World Englishes and Cultural Linguistics.