Clause Complexing in Ghanaian Newspaper Language: A Case Study of Daily Graphic Editorials in Ghana

Abstract

This work is a diachronic study which examines the variations in newspaper editorials in Ghana as far as choices in clause complexing are concerned. Using the logical function of systemic functional grammar (SFG), the study investigates how clause combinations have been strategically achieved in the newspaper editorials and the variations that have occurred during the period of the study. Therefore, the overall aim of the study was to examine how language change has occurred in newspaper editorials from the Daily Graphic since Ghana’s independence (from 1957 – 2018). The study used a quantitative approach to account for the variations that have occurred over the stipulated period. The findings indicate that the language of the editorials has consistently remained complex in the sense that the hypotactic clause complex was overwhelmingly used across the years. Besides, the findings of the logico semantic relations also revealed that expansion was overwhelmingly used. The subtypes of expansion indicated that enhancement was the highest, followed by elaboration and extension. Even though there is consistent complexity, there are variations in the internal distribution of hypotactic and logico-semantic clause complex types across the years. It was noted that the pattern of distribution of these clause complex types kept on rising and falling across the years. Therefore, it is difficult to point out that the language has changed or not changed because of the nature of the patterns of distributions. It appears there is no specific pattern of variation in the clauses that were identified in the editorials. This study has given a bigger experience on grammar in discourse and clause complexing occurring diachronically; and the relationship between choices in clause complexing in the editorial genre. It is recommended that a comparative study be done on both public and private newspaper editorials to see the variations in transitivity, nominal group, adverbial group, vocabulary, or sentence patterns.