Aspects of Semiotics of Dagbamba Dance: A Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

This thesis investigates aspects of the semiotics of Dagbamba Dance using linguistics analyses. Dagbani is a Mabia language spoken in the northern region of Ghana. Dance is an important aspect of the culture of Ghanaians (Africans). The study is focused on three different dances of the Dagbamba people namely: Baamaaya, Jɛra, and Kambɔn-waa. A qualitative method was used in this study to assist in collecting data. The primary data were collected via participant observation whereas the secondary data were collected from books, journals, articles, etc. Twelve people were interviewed in all. The study also made use of visual semiotic theory by (Ferdinand de Saussure) and the cultural-linguistic framework by Sharifian (2017, 2015, and 2011). Visual semiotics deals with the interpretation of signs. The relationship between a sign and a referent can be indexical, iconic, or symbolic (Sharp 2011). Cultural linguistic theory on the other hand deals with how people communicate their culture, religion, perceptions, and environment, among other things, through language (Sharifian 2017). The study also looked at the semiotics of costumes of Baamaaya dance, Jɛra dance, and Kambɔn-waa. The study looked at the drum language of the Dagbamba dance. The findings revealed that Dagbamba sounds serve as a powerful tool for communication such as giving information and announcement, panegyric, invocation and proverbs. This study also looks at the literary devices employed in Dagbamba dance songs. Literary devices such as repetition, parallelism, proverbs, exclamation, hyperbole, rhetorical question, alliteration, and assonance were identified in the songs.