The Representation of Ghanaian Celebrities on Twitter: A computer-mediated discourse analysis

Abstract

The primary objective of the study was to investigate the various ways Ghanaian celebrities are represented on Twitter by a)exploring the dominant linguistic features that characterise the tweets of Ghanaian celebrities, b)ascertaining the different ways by which Ghanaian celebrities are representing themselves, and c) examining how gender variation influences the tweets. The study touches on how celebrities creatively bypass the imposed 140 character limit to enhance expressivity and communicative competence. Qualitative research paradigm was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling method was used to select 50 Ghanaian celebrities with Twitter accounts. Goffman‘s (1959) theoretical perspective of selfrepresentation and Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA), as an analytical framework, were adopted to provide answers to the research questions of the study. Findings of the study revealed that Ghanaian celebrities employed adverbials, pronouns, abbreviated forms, modal/semi-modal forms tense, and aspect markers to project a good impression to their fans. The study again found out that Ghanaian celebrities employed creativity, salutation, ingratiation, damage control, and self–promotion to represent themselves on twitter. Finally, the study discovered that gender variations influence the tweets of Ghanaian celebrities although there are situations where male or female celebrities construct opposite gender identities with the view of impressing fans.