The conflict of perception he raised, the dictionary meaning and the reality from the Ghanaian point of view



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Ex-President John Dramani Mahama speaking on Techiman-based Akina FM on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, as part of his thank you tour, said he had learned lessons from the 2021 election; therefore, the 2024 elections are a “do or die” at the polls. This comment from Mahama drew a lot of criticism against him.

In a quick response, Mahama told Moonlite Fm that the dictionary phrase “do or die” means a critical mission you have and must do or perish.

He added: “Maybe the NDC will pick another flag bearer who is ready to go to court after the 2024 election, but if I am the candidate I will not go to court. We will settle everything at the polling station. “.

Gallant NDC cadres like Asiedu Nketiah rushed to his defense. You can consult the dictionary if you still do not understand the English “Do or Die” of Mahama – Asiedu Nketiah.

However, part of the population has different opinions on the declaration.

According to some schools of thought, in the context of African elections? Context is everything. Say again. Let us be impartial. “Do or die?” said in the context of reviews is not as alarming as in the context of an (African) election. The context is the question, not the idiom. Idioms have denotative and connotative meanings. If Kotoko says this match is a do-or-die affair, from a certain point of view, that means they’ll be making frantic efforts to win the match. Could it also mean that they win or that they lose but injure some of the opponent’s players? You cannot be explicit in determining the meaning of idioms. For them, Mahama should enhance the essence of the context. And not to present his illustrations as simplistic as they are, but he should better know that none of these statements made regarding an African election can be simply ignored.

Other schools of thought also say that “Mahama will live to regret his defense of this unfortunate statement. In politics and in public speaking, one thing you need to be aware of is ambiguity.

You don’t tell me what you mean, I decode what you say. ”It’s quite a shame that Mahama wants to teach semantics.

Much meaning has been learned from Mahama’s statement. Nana Poku Frefre understands the statement because it is either Mahama is declared the winner in 2024 in case he challenges, or he plunges the country into chaos as he is not ready to go to court, hence the beating of the drums. of war and the use of fear to do whatever he wants. return to power.

“I heard you explain that what you said was an idiomatic expression. You are a communicator, and I know that you are well aware that the words we speak have denotative and connotative meaning. For the average angry and desperate party fanatic on Election Day, a make-or-die charge at the polling station is a vague and deadly war song. Your idiomatic expression could be heard as a silly expression and translated into violence. John Mahama, elections shouldn’t be a do-or-die affair. John Mahama, you don’t need violence to win the next election. You and the NDC need only tell you the bitter truth. The NDC was negligent (if not stupid) in the 2016 and 2020 elections. You could not account for your votes “- Manasseh Azure.

The relevant question is why part of the Ghanaian people have attached violence to the phrase “do or die”. The answer is simple, perception. In the Ghanaian context, anything with death content is not simplistic. This resulted in a conflict of perception among Ghanaians. For example, if you come across a group of people crying and parading in front of a coffin, what will your impression be?

The evolution of conflict in many communities is the result of a perceived and objective incompatibility by a person or persons or a group of persons over interests, values, needs, data and relationships, which can destroy an opponent or oneself.

This is why many Ghanaians, including Dr Brakoh, professor of political science at the University of Education, Winneba, called on the ex-president to retract instead of using defensive mechanisms. He called the comment inappropriate and spurious, a comment he said tends to threaten Ghana’s security ahead of the 2024 general election.

Decode the meanings from the dictionary below and ask yourself if it means the same about the meaning of the decision.

Said when you are in a situation where you have to take a big risk to avoid failure.

From or involving a specific person and sometimes a reckless effort to succeed

Involving a life-threatening crisis or critical emergency.

Words are very powerful and what we speak means different things to different people in different environments. What can be considered normal in one’s cultural environment can mean different things to people in different cultural environments.

As the rulers of the country, it is advised that they choose healthy words, and not those that tend to cause trouble.

Curses, like chickens, come home to roost. And the danger of creating a monster is that one day it will turn against its master. The “do or die” has become a monster.

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