Making complaints in Ghanaian English :A case study of three senior high schools in the Asante Mampong Municipality

Abstract

Complaints are bound to occur in our daily interactions while seeking a remedy to that which has directly or indirectly affected someone unfavourably, thus, threatening the face of the addressee and may eventually engender social relationship breakdown if not done appropriately. However, that which is deemed appropriate is both language and culturally specific. This study examined the complaint speech act produced by the Ghanaian learners at the second-cycle institutions in the Ashanti region to ascertain the politeness strategies invested in expressing their dissatisfaction with an unacceptable act in Ghanaian English. The Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness theory served as the theoretical framework used in the study. The qualitative design was adopted and data was elicited from ninety-six (96) participants who were sampled using the purposive sampling technique from the three senior high schools in Ashanti Mampong. The participants role-played four complaintprovoking situations which focused on different power relations and social distance. The data were transcribed and analysed thematically. The findings revealed eleven strategies used in making a complaint in Ghanaian English, yet, the choice of a particular politeness strategy depended on the sociological variables of power/status and social distance. The findings further indicate that Ghanaians are indirect and tend to have a high inclination toward positive politeness strategies as they try to reduce the effect of the face-threatening act of complaining on the addressee‟s positive face. It was also found that this complaint behaviour is influenced by the Ghanaian cultural norms of politeness.