Akan Focused Questions and Relative Clauses in Discourse

Abstract

This research explores the usage of Akan wh-questions and relative clauses in discourse, employing a combination of data exploration and linguistic analysis. The study investigates the function of focused questions in illocutionary metonymy and the discourse role of relative clauses in conjunction with the particle na.  A key aspect of this investigation is the examination of the particle’s role in signaling narrative structure and discourse frame. The research methodology is inductive, initially focusing on identifying patterns through corpus linguistic investigation before proceeding with data extraction and curation. To ensure data quality, a representative dataset was prepared and subsequently utilized in a small survey conducted as part of the study. The findings are examined within the context of current linguistic perspectives, with the aim to elucidate their potential theoretical implications.