Apology: a repair mechanism in Akan social interaction

Abstract

This article addresses apology among the Akan of Ghana. An apology is a redressive speech mechanism that pays attention to the face needs of interlocutors during social interaction. Among the Akan, apology forms an integral part of the communicative competence of the individual and denotes humility and a sense of honesty and integrity. This article discusses apology under the speech act of expressives. An apology is one of the speech acts that gives information about the Akan social values of speech and social interaction. This article will look at the functions, forms and major features of apology. It will discuss the communicative and ethnographic situations that trigger the use of apologies in the Akan language. It will also look at the use of apology in ntam, a statutory verbal taboo among the Akan.