The academic space has witnessed in recent times, a plethora of research works on child soldiering. However, the majority of these works are often viewed from a non-literary perspective. Using textual analysis which is purely qualitative in nature, this paper, from a literary perspective, focused on examining the representation of the child soldier figure in Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation by paying particular attention to the characterization of the child soldier as an individual who transitions from a victim of war to a victimizer. With the help of the trauma theory, the paper discussed and provided an understanding of the physiological factors and reactions that necessitate this transition. Based on Bloom’s concepts of trauma and the general theory of trauma, the paper finds that the child soldier transitions from a victim of war to a victimizer is a result of the fear that overwhelms him. Again, the child soldier undergoes this transition in order to survive the war – anarchetypal mammalian survival response. This study is significant as it has contributed to the existing literature on child soldier narratives in Africa and provided an understanding of the child soldier’s reactions and responses to the devastating trauma that accompanies war.

Music is a part of life in Ghana. Studying a people’s music brings one closer to understanding them since music and reality are intertwined. Despite this reality, the contribution of popular music to national discourse has not received adequate research  attention in Ghana. This paper sets out to study the lyrics of one of the songs of Ebony Reigns (Opoku-Kwarteng Priscilla), a Ghanaian musician who died few years ago. Using the womanist theory, the paper investigates how the tenets of this theory are inscribed in the song, the problems that womanism addresses in the song and their implications to the Ghanaian youth. The researchers conclude from the analysis in the paper that the youth have to use social media with caution; they need to listen to advice from the elderly in choosing life partners and the African woman needs to fight for self-expression and liberation through positive cultural means.

Abbreviations are intended to facilitate expeditious writing and make use of reduced space either on paper, the computer or the phone. Abbreviations have been used for quite a prolonged period and are putative wherever their use is effected. Nevertheless, over a period of time, some unconventional abbreviations seemed to be slithering into the literatures of students of Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi, Ghana where the study was conducted. This article has been aggravated by my incessant observance of the frequency at which unconventional abbreviations are used by Kumasi Technical University students in their Short Message Service (SMS) texts to others. Consequently, this paper strives to unearth the varieties of unconventional abbreviations used by these students and analyze them linguistically and phonologically. A corpus of 300 SMS texts was then assembled from five departments but 200 were purposively sampled for the analysis; and with Anjaneyulu’s (2003) five methods of generating shortened words in SMS as the basis of the analysis, the results revealed a preponderance of unconventional abbreviations constituting 60%of the data compiled. The most frequently striking category of abbreviations involved maximum use of letters, symbols, or figures to produce the appropriate phonetic sound, adhoc abbreviations and a negligible or barest use of alphanumeric or hybrid method. These arguably connote an appreciation of phonology where the sounds of the words are what the students use to structure their abbreviations.

Haffali Mulla are traditional marriage songs among the Pasaalas of the Sisasali speaking ethnic group in Ghana. Like many oral compositions, haffali mulla are literary in nature and can be analysed from that perspective. The institution of marriage, in the rural set up, is not only strong and old, but it is replete with tradition and processes leading up to the union. This paper traces the mores and the processes of traditional marriage among the Pasaalas and critically examines the verbal aesthetics as well as the utilitarian aspects of haffali mulla. Analysis from this paper, using the theory of ethnopoetics, reveals that haffali mulla are compositions which embed verbal art and useful messages that can be used to improve social cohesion and to strengthen the institution of marriage. The traditional processes of marriage are also sound sources of lessons that the present generation can draw on.

Myths constitute an important part of human development. Life enduring values are embedded in these myths and the adaptation of some of these archetypal myths from culture to culture ensures shared virtues and opinions on human experience. This paper investigates, using the theories of myth and deconstruction, the relationship between Euripedes’ Alcestis myth and the Edufa myth written by Afua Sutherland. A comparative analysis of the two myths indicates that Sutherland adapted the Greek myth to the Ghanaian context. However, due to the fluid and unstable nature of language and meaning in general and due to same qualities of the discourse in Edufa, a deconstructionist approach has been used in this paper to derive a powerful message on the responsibility of the mother cum wife. The findings reveal that Sutherland does not endorse the kind of love exhibited by Ampoma; rather, she proscribes it. The dramatist’s adept use of language and the text’s leaning on lessons from the African concept of marriage is what makes this deconstructionist’s reading possible.