Semiotics Analysis of the Ghanaian Coat of Arms: Decoding the History, Language, Ideology, Denotation, and Connotation Behind the Coat of Arms

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences

Year: 2024

DOI:

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Semiotics Analysis of the Ghanaian Coat of Arms: Decoding the History, Language, Ideology, Denotation, and Connotation Behind the Coat of Arms

Daniel Gyekye

 

ABSTRACT:

This paper analyzes the significance of the Coat of Arms of Ghana to Semiotics study by  examining how language, symbols, color, and text serve as reminders of history, from the  pre-colonial through to the post-colonial eras to the present day. Consequently, this work  takes a semiotic approach by analyzing the image of the Coat of Arms of Ghana,  encapsulating how the system of signs helps people to understand the ideology behind the  creations and designing of the Ghana Coat of Arm, as well as how the ideology has evolved in capturing the essence of colonial ideas in post-colonialism, through the use of the  semiotics of denotation and connotation of the image (Coat of Arms of Ghana).

keywords: Semiotics – Ghana – History – Language – Postcolonialism – Coat of Arms – West Africa