Pragmatic study of verbal threats among the Fantes: A case of Apewosika

Abstract

Verbal threat is a face threatening acts that confront people. It is a language phenomenon that can generate quarrel, fight, confusion, chaos, etc. This study investigates causes, aims and effects of verbal threat, among the Fantes using Apewosika as a case study. The research employed a qualitative and a case study approach. In all, 30 participants made up of 12 male adults, 12 female adults, 3 male children and 3 female children were randomly selected using the purposive sampling technique of which their responses from the interview and the observation to the research topic problem were presented to content analysis. The results indicate that there are four main causes (ill-speaking/gossiping, insults/invectives, false witnessing against someone, and wrongly nicknaming someone), for which one issues out a threat among the Apewosika people. Also, the research reveals that there are three main aims for which an individual seeks to achieve when he/she issues out a threat and these are: to prevent the offender from repeating the same mistake, to deter other people from committing similar mistake and to present oneself as very fearful to an offender so as to demand some respect from the offender. Further, the study reveals that verbal threats have some negative effects on individuals. Thus, it breaks the smooth relationship between people, it puts so much fear in an offender and also makes one feel so worried and disorganized. The paper concludes that verbal threats are not meant to preserve the face of an individual since it is a face threatening act