This paper examined the language of persuasion and negotiation in the Ghanaian market context using a local community market (Agartha Market) in Koforidua as a case study. It investigates how the language of persuasion and negotiation is couched in the context of the market by both traders and customers. The theoretical framework within which this study is hinged is the stylistic theory of Leech and Short [1]. Specifically, the grammatical and figure-of-speech prong of the theory have been used. While observation and audio recordings were used to collect the data, the content descriptive method was used in the description and analysis of the data. The findings revealed that, relative to sentence complexity, persuasion and negotiation made adequate use of compound sentences than simple sentence structures. While simple sentence structures are used by traders to attract customers’ attention and arouse their psychological interest and curiosity, customers used them in negotiations for mainly interrogative and position-shift purposes. Compound and complex structures were used by traders for elaborative purposes in order to espouse the good qualities that are inherent in their products in order to convince their customers to buy their wares. Figuratively, repetition, hyperbole, and suspense are the key tropes used. These tropes are dominant in persuasion than in negotiation. Again, while the language of persuasion is monologue that of negotiation is dialogue. Code-mixing is also common characteristic in the language of negotiation and persuasion. The dominant local language (Twi) and the official language (English) are usually used in the communication process. This research thus has implication for research and pedagogy as it extends the literature and can also influence the restructuring of educational polices especially those related to language since society and school (education) are intricately related.

Language usage is a triadic behaviour which includes the speaker, the hearer, and the entities (concepts and objects) being talked about in a particular context or discourse. This triadic nature of language implies that the interlocutors usually understand each other as “mental or intentional agents”, whose aim is to impact the state of mind of the other [2]. In order to communicate, speaker and hearer must realize that the communicative partner has mental representations and that she views the situation from a different perspective which is desirable. In other words, language use presupposes a theory-of-mind that enables or influences the language users to adopt the perspective of another person about an idea or entity [2, 3]. Since creation, human communication is the only form of communication that involves an understanding of the mind and as such indicates one’s ability to structure the cognition of the other through language usage in order to attain a desired result or perspective of an entity. In a language intense context such as the market (a local large open space was buying and selling of items take place), negotiation and persuasion are the main linguistic strategies employed by the interlocutors about an entity (service or thing).

In every facet of life, one has to either negotiate or persuade someone to have something done for them covertly or overtly. Negotiations thus form a crucial part of the interpersonal communication both in our daily and professional lives. Yet, negotiating in a persuading manner is one of the greatest challenges but vital part of the interpersonal communication which is ingrained in our societal set up [4]. This implies that in the society, for any communication to be effective, these two related terms must be executed strategically. For though these two terms are dependent on each other, they are not the same. Negotiation is the process of one or more interactions between at least two parties with the aim of achieving a constructive balance between different preferences, interests, positions, or needs, while Persuasion, on the other hand, is a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behavior regarding an issue through the transmission of a message, in an atmosphere of free choice [5, 6]. Negotiation and persuasion relate in the sense that, in negotiation persuasion is needed since in negotiation, there must be movement or sifting of interest among two parties which is usually possible only when one of the parties is convinced or persuaded enough to move their interest or position about an entity. Implicitly therefore, persuasion is subsumed in negotiation. However, we wish to consider these two terms separately in this paper considering the context (market) in which they buying and selling are ……. being analysed. The ability to negotiate or persuade effectively however depends on how language through specific linguistic expressions is deployed within a specific context for a particular purpose, Language is used in different contexts for different purposes [7]. This study is therefore set out to find out how or the style of language operates or functions during negotiation and persuasion in the market context and their implications.

The market is a very rich environment where persuasion and negation take place vigorously through various linguistic choices and language strategies. It is a place where people go with predetermined aims and objectives of either selling or buying a product. How language is couched in the persuasion and negotiation process determines how one’s wares are bought or gets value for their money. In this regard, different linguistic and language styles and expressions are employed by both customers and traders. While traders persuade customers to buy their wares, customers also negotiate with traders to get enough wares within their limited financial resources. In this actively intense intricate linguistic environment, language usage is highly strategic and intentional. In the literature, there have been an avalanche of studies on persuasion and negotiation [8, 9, 10]. However very minimal studies have been done relative to negotiation and persuasion strategies in the market especially in the Ghanaian context. It is in this regard that the Agartha market which is a major market in the Koforidua municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana was used as a case study for this paper. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Koforidua, the Agartha market is multilingual by nature. Though there are different languages used in the market including English Language, the indigenous language of the natives is Ashanti Twi so the medium of communication in the market is largely Twi. It is within this linguistic environment that this work seeks to find out how language is being manipulated and strategized in the negotiation and persuasion process among traders in the Agartha Market of Koforidua.

The relevance of persuasion and negotiation in discourse cannot be overemphasized as many works have looked at it from different perspectives [8, 9, 10]. Most of these works concentrate on only the strategies that are used in negotiation and persuasion in various context but failed to look at how language and linguistic choices and expressions are used in the deployment of these strategies. These expressions are crucial because they are the crust of these strategies in any communication form or strategy especially in the market were the language and culture are very diverse. When different languages or cultures are involved in an interaction there is bound to be expression challenge [11]. So, for them, no matter how one’s communication skills are good, communication problems can still arise due to linguistic choices and context. This buttresses the importance of style in the use of language especially for negotiation and persuasion purposes especially in a multilingual set up such as a market. For it is within this context that language is styled variously to convince customers via any medium. It for this reason that, this paper does a stylistic study of the language of negotiation and persuasion in the market to expand the literature in this direction since previous studies on stylistics have largely been on diverse discourses with very minimal attention on persuasion and negotiation [12, 13, 14, 15, 16]. Conducting stylistic analysis into the realm of commerce will therefore be a novelty, since very minimal work has been done in this area. It will also have some pedagogical implications when concluded because the use of language in one context can be transferred to other settings such as the school since the curriculum of the school is largely influenced by what goes on in the community which subsumes the mark the context of our discussion. The purpose of this study was to examine language of persuasion and negotiation in Agartha Market in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study was guided by these research questions – (1) What are the grammatical categories and figurative devices used in the language of persuasion and negotiation in the market? (2). What are the communicative implications of the grammatical categories and figurative devices used in the language of persuasion and negotiation in the market?

1.1. Persuasion

It is an attempt to change the beliefs, emotions, behaviours and decisions of someone by another through the use of language in one form or the other [17]. In persuasion, there are two main routes through which people can be influenced differently and efficiently. One is through the content of the communication or information and the other is how or the style a person says something or manipulates the language of the information under certain circumstances. It is for this reason that, researchers posit that Persuasion is a basically a socio-psychological phenomenon which occurs in most context through the manipulation of language and strategies [18]. In the process of persuasion, the awareness of one’s decision for or against a certain alternative is already a factor in the sustainability of one’s attitude in the communication process especially in the market space where people usually make most choices based on what they hear or are told than what they have experienced about a product or a service. The results of effective persuasion therefore are usually to change a cognitive or emotional viewpoints or evaluations of an experience or a product, which ultimately have an influence on future behaviors or choices. Persuasive language in the market therefore targets the cognitive and emotional domains of hearers or clients. Based on how persuasive a trader may be, a customer or buyer may decide to purchase an item or make plans to buy such a ware to authenticate the qualities of the item espoused in the persuasive language used.

1.2. Negotiation

Negotiation is a process of combining conflicting positions into a common position, under a decision rule of unanimity or mutual interest [19]. It is also regarded as events of diplomatic artistry of contextual power and weighted interactions between personalities in a rational decision-making process within a context. In negotiation, both parties agree in at least one fundamental respect which is the belief that their respective purposes or goals will be better served by entering into a negotiation with the other party. Implicitly then, in a context such as the market, negotiating parties (seller and buyer) at least for a moment, believe that their individual goals or concerns are more favourably or advantageous to them by coming to an agreement with the other person than by attempting to meet their goals or concerns unilaterally or taking an uncompromising stand [19]. It is this mutual perception of common interest and mutual dependence that usually begins the negotiation process especially in the market.

Communicatively negotiation is a process of social exchange in which parties exchange views on variables being negotiated while they are presenting their positions, interests, and reasoning [20]. In the market, these variables include items such as yams, needles, cloths, sandals and many other food and non-food items. In the Agartha market these kinds of variables or items are many and devised. For one to get value for their money, they must present their positions and interest very cogently and strategically through their choice of words and general modulation of language. It is for this reason that a study revealed that the use of various linguistic strategies in transacting meaning in any situation or context such as the market [21]. How language is styled or couched to meet the needs of both parties (buyer and seller) in the market during persuasion and negotiation is of utmost importance to anyone who has role to play in the market.

1.3. The Language of Commerce /marketing

Language is a very vital tool in every human communication and interaction depending on how and where it is used. Language is a medium to express human thoughts and emotions that are varied and complex. Language is a means of sending and receiving information between two people [7]. Functionally, language is both interactional and transactional [22]. The interactional function has to do with using language for the social and emotional needs of people such as conversations and expression of human feelings [23]. The transactional function however is the use of linguistic resources to communicate skillfully, knowledge and information in specific context and for specific purposes. In the market, both functions of language play very vital roles. While the language of persuasion is more of transactional, that of negotiation is more of transactional and informal. As a tool for communication, language is either oral or written in form. In the market setting, a researcher postulates that it is the oral language that is usually used, for this is the basic form of human language for communication [24]. The use of Language to fulfill human needs therefore largely depends on a specific communication context.

In this communicative context of the market, the main purpose of language usage is to inform, persuade, negotiate and remind customers of available services and wares. In this communicative process, marketers or traders need to select communication tools, strategies and linguistic expressions that are most suitable for Consumers to change their behavior towards certain goods and services. To make an efficient and effective communicative and linguistic choice in this context, Marketers must fully understand the reality and trend of consumer behavior which is normally influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors. The act of communication that goes on in the market is basically dialogue between the participants (traders and customers) which is liaised by these factors of the participants and community at large. it is for this reason that studies say Marketing Communication tools and linguistic choices are important because they help to create powerful images and a sense of credibility, confidence, and reassurance in the eyes of the public about a product [25, 26].

1.4. Theoretical framework

Style is general regarded as the way something is done. It is therefore a daily phenomenon in every society. In language however, “style is almost synonymous with variety; it refers in a simple way to the manner of expression, which differs according to the various contexts” [1, 27]. For Leech and Short it is a selection from a total linguistic repertoire of a language be it spoken or written to construct a text. The scientific way of doing this linguistic selection for contextual usage is often regarded as stylistics [1, 28]. There are many approaches to the study of stylistics. For this study, we choose to adopt the stylistic approach by Leech and Short, which was first developed in 1981 [1].

Researchers define stylistics as the study of ‘the way in which language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a given purpose’ [1]. It investigates language usage and supplies adequate information regarding the encoded communicative implications of such usage in a particular context. To examine the style of a text, stylistic devices are used. Stylistic devices are linguistic devices or resources used to project the message of a text. These devices are vital because they encode latent communicative implications that unearth deeper meanings. Aside boosting the meaning of a text, stylistic devices also elevate the aesthetics or beauty of a text. The theory holistically stratifies stylistic devices into four main categories namely the lexical, grammatical, figures of speech, and cohesion and context categories. This framework has been chosen because it enables linguistic researchers to gather data on a fairly systematic basis since the linguistic resources of language has been stratified in it. Also, the framework presents a resourceful checklist of stylistic devices which cut across all the levels of language usage in context. The table 1 details what is in linguistic checklist of the various categories.

In applying this framework to a text, Leech & Short are of the opinion that researchers are at liberty to choose linguistic resources from different categories that will enable them meet the objectives of a research since various stylistic devices may overlap [1]. The framework is therefore used in identifying and analysing the stylistic devices used to project various contextual meanings. Since this study aims at analysing the linguistics of the language of persuasion and negotiation in the market, the grammatical and figures of speech categories are those that will be given attention. While the grammatical categories will specifically focus on sentences (types and complexity), the figure of speech category will look at the lexical and grammatical schemes. The grammatical categories refer to the how the structure of the language obeys the rules of the language especially at the sentential level both structurally(complexity) and functionally (types). Figurative language is a departure from what the competent users of language apprehend as the standard meaning or order of words, in order to achieve some special meaning or effect [29]. Some of these figurative languages include literary devices such as metaphor, simile, idiom, repetition, hyperbole, personification and alliteration. This study will thus explore the grammatical structures and some of these figurative language in the language of persuasion and negotiation and their communicative implication. These linguistic devices will be explored diachronically in the language of negotiation and persuasion in the market so as to see how each of these linguistic categories impact the marketing discourse.

This paper used observation and recordings as instruments for collecting data in this qualitative study. Qualitative research as inductive approach to generating novel insights into phenomena that are difficult to quantify [30]. Another study also posits that it involves data collection procedure that results primarily in open ended, non-statistical methods such as recordings and observation [31]. The content analysis design is thus used to analysis the observed and transcribed recordings from selected sections of the Agartha market. Researchers observe for instance to collect data on status of subjects, by watching them, listening and recording what they observe rather than asking questions about them. In view of that, the daily activities of the traders were observed in order to find out how they interact with their customers via their use of language during persuasion and negotiation. It was also to find out their use of language to achieve their objectives of each day. The coder and recorder strategy were used in the transcription of the recordings done by the lead researcher. The other researchers also transcribed the same data. The recordings were than over a period of consecutive market days. The recordings were done on three different days in order to identify some level of consistency. The recordings were to authenticate the observation made earlier. The recordings made it possible for the researcher us to listen to the same proceedings repeatedly in order to analyze the language of negotiation and persuasion used in the market. The population of the research includes all traders and customers in the Agartha market. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the sections and individuals to be sampled. Recordings and observations were done purposively at various sections especially where language usage is intense.

After the data had been ordinarily transcribed, it was subjected to strict linguistic identification and description by using some linguistic elements from the grammatical and figure of speech prongs of Leech and Short concept of stylistic [1]. They were used simultaneously in the analysis of the language of persuasion and negotiations in the market context. The specific elements examined under the grammatical category are sentence complexity and phrases (nouns and verbs) while the figure of speech looked at the dominant devices in the texts.

3.1. Persuasive language in the market

After the transcription of the audio recordings of language usage in the market, 52 instances of persuasive language were identified. While most of them were in the form of songs, others were just expressions that were strung together with the main aim of drawing the attention of customers to the wares or services being advertised. Persuasion in the market is largely done by the traders or sellers either through their voices or prerecorded jingles which were played through the use of loud speakers placed on vehicles, which were moving or stationary. Indeed, there is high competition of persuasion to the extent that, the environment was just a cacophony of voices trying to out-do each other. The following are instances of persuasive language in the market and how it has been styled:

This is the persuasive language of hawker hawking her wares at the top of her voice in the market. The goods hawked with this sort of persuasive language include soap, cakes of soap, packs of salt, boxes of matches, needle, paper, pencils, erasers, pens, etc. They are usually the things one cannot do without in their homes relative to the education of their wards, preparation of their meals or the general up keep their homes.

In terms of sentence complexity, the sentence structure of the sentence is compound by nature. This is because it is a combination of two ideas i.e. the necessity of the product (you will surely need it) and the cost of the product (…One Ghana). The choice of this sentence structure is deliberate because it affords the speaker or the hawker the ability not just to combine similar ideas, and compare and contrast them but it also enables them to elaborate and extend ideas, and, convey cause and effects (Andersen, 2014). It thus offers the potential customer maximum information about the product in order to make an informed decision about it. Figuratively, the deployment of repetition is exact and purposive because it helps enables the seller the opportunity to emphasis and draw attention of customers to the relevance and affordability of the product. Repetition also warns customers of the necessity of the item by adding the stress marker woo to the repeated structures. Ellipses is dominantly used to avoid repetition of the same sentence element in the construction of the two ideas. In the same vein, the extract below exhibits certain linguistic qualities:

In terms sentence complexity, the sentences are simple in nature since they each contain only single ideas. While Beree (plenty) talks about the quantity of the product, while one/two looks at the cost of the item being sold. It is also not worthy that, closed or content class of words have been used to represents whole sentences in persuasion. This is finding emphasis …. Who posits that, closed class of words usually represents whole sentences and not functional categories. Figuratively, the expressions are hyperbolic in nature as the word Beree (plenty) for instance connotes limitless and innumerable. However, this is not true. Juxtaposing one/two Ghana cedis with Beberee is oxymoronic because, plenty (limitless) items cannot just cost one or two Ghana cedis which is finite and definite. The main purpose of these figurative language is to psychologically stimulate the minds of customer toward the said item for negotiation to begin.

Also, in persuasive language in the market, adjectives which belong to the open class of words are dominant linguistic category that are used. The following are excerpts of adjectives in the data.

The adjective used in the excerpts are fresh and unbreakable and pure. While fresh is used to describe edibles, unbreakable is used to describe glass, plastic and wood items. Communicatively, the use of fresh indicates that psychologically people are more concern about their health than the price of what they eat therefore the adjective fresh will be more appealing to the customer since health experts advise people to consume fresh products. It is not suppressing therefore that, the adjective fresh, describes only perishables such as vegetables and meat. Pure in D also connotes lack of impurities which usually make one sick. Pure is so important that, it is synonymous to the item it describes (sachet water). The use of adjectives indicates that, people are more concern about the quality of item than its price. Linguistic choices are therefore deliberate and purposive in the market context.

Here, the sentence complexity is simple. This is because though ellipted, they each emphasised only the quality of the items being sold and not their prices. Simple sentences express single ideas but adjectives give theses ideals fullness and completeness of thought. Figuratively, irony is used in persuasive language explicitly in the market as the qualities of they exopause through adjectives do not in reality reflect or show these qualities ascribed to them. some these food items actually look stale, old and shrank due to the negative effects of the sun and whether on them. Some items may actually have crakes on them as against the strong and unbreakable qualities associated to them. There essence of irony in the market is therefore to lure customers to their stalls for negotiations to begin on the items relation to quantity and price. Choice of words are thus used to just gain the attention of customers not just the reality of items being sold. Figuratively also, the use of ellipted simple sentences also gives rise to the use of suspense in the language of persuasion in the market. For instance, in excerpt A, we are not told what is fresh or what is unbreakable in excerpt C. Again, pure is also used without a noun in excerpt D. Suspense is thus created in the minds of the customer who out of curiosity may get attracted to the item to confirm the attributes espoused and may end up buying or getting more information about the product which enable them make inform decision about their next visit to the market. Suspense is thus relevant in the market space because it enables sellers or traders to attract curious customers to their wares for negotiations to begin.

3.2. The style of the language of negotiation in the market.

Negotiation also known as bargaining in the market setting is usually a two-way affair. It involves a trader and a customer. It usually starts after the customer has been attracted to an item or product through persuasion by the trader or the product. In negotiation, language is used in a particular way to get the customer to purchase a product. In the excerpts below, the following are some of the ways language has been styled. The sentence complexity is usually made of phrases, simple and compound sentences. While the simple sentences are employed by the customer interrogatively to solicit for further information about a product or a service, the trader, uses compound sentences to provide the information solicited for. Traders use compound sentences because they need to convince the buyer about the quality, usefulness and price of the product. The excerpts below confirm these assertions.

Another except below is a trader trying to convince a customer to buy her ‘substance,’ made of groundnut and some other ingredients. It is called ‘dzowoe’ in Ewe, and ‘nkatebolo’ in Twi.

Figuratively, the dominant figures of speech used are exaggeration and dialogue, while the exaggerations are used to welcome customers for negotiations to begin, polite dialogue is used to engage with the customer. In the exaggerations are used by addressing people with fanciful titles. This is relevant because it makes the customers feel welcome and special. The titles are given based on one’s age and appearance or dressing. For instance, when one appears older, daddy, mummy, my son, my daughter is used for them while a well-dressed man or woman may be addressed as Sir, Boss or Madam respectively. These are exaggerated because in realty they are not what the titles portrays them to be. All these are geared towards not just to get the attention of customers but enables them feel appreciated, welcome and tolerated. The use of dialogue allows customers and traders to express their views about a particular product. It also allows both traders and customers to arrive at a particular price and quantity of product.

Apart from sentence complexity and tropes discussed, code mixing is another feature of the language of persuasion and negotiation in the market. Twi, which is a dominant Ghanaian language is used alongside with English which is the official language of the country (Ghana). In expressions such as ‘Sister, try hwε kεkε la’, ‘Bebree, one’, ‘Ebe hia woo, one Ghana’ and ‘Aɖᴐɖe fresh’, it will be realised that words such as Sister, try, fresh, and one, Ghana which are English language words are used alongside Ghanaian language words (Twi) words such as, hwε, kεkε, Bebree, Ebe, hia, and Aɖᴐɖe. The use of code mixing indicates the cosmopolitan nature of the Ghanaian society which traders incorporate in the couching of their language of persuasion and negotiation. It also indicates that, the market is a place for both the formally educated and the illiterates. communicatively, apart from catering for the language needs of both the trader and the customer, it also indicates close social proximity and acceptance of varied language users. Traders mostly code mix in persuasion than in negotiation in other to attract varied customers by making efforts to bridge any language gap which may exist between them and their potential customers.

This paper analyses the language of persuasion and negotiation in a local Ghanaian market (Agartha) and how it is couched by traders and customers in their daily interactions. The findings reveal that the language of persuasion is used by only traders to draw attention to their wares, the language of negotiation is used by both traders and customers. While traders in negotiation try to convince customers about their products and price, customers aimed at interrogating qualities and seeking position-shift in precise of products in their language usage.

To be able to achieve their purpose, both traders and customers couched their language variously through sentence complexity and figurative language. In terms of sentence complexity, there language of persuasion was dominated by ellipted compound sentences which usually espouse the qualities of products and services as well as their prices. In the language of negotiation, while traders used compound sentences customers use simple interrogative sentences seeking for further information about the products.

Figurative, the repetition, hyperbole, irony and suspense where the most dominantly used topes. In persuasion, these are used to draw attention, warn, and lure customers while in negotiation, they are used to elaborate and exaggerate product qualities in order to convince customers. Due to the language rich environment of this study, code-mixing is another feature of the language of negotiation and persuasion that was noticed. Code mixing is used as a force of inclusivity and acceptability of customers of all walks of life into the market environment. It serves as glue that binds people as well as bridges the gaps of communication in the market

Theoretically, this study expands literature on the concept of negotiation and persuasion which are relevant in every facet of human endeavor yet attention is usually given to only their strategies and not the style language in these strategies.

Pedagogically the findings of this study will help teachers, students and curriculum designers relative to the relevance of the language of negotiation and persuasion in the society and how they are couched contextually through linguistic choices and frames.

A comparative study can therefore be carried out to ascertain whether context is a major determinant factor in the construing of the language of persuasion and negotiation.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; methodology, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; validation, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; formal analysis, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; investigation, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK.; resources, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK.; data curation, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; writing—original draft preparation, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; writing—review and editing, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; visualization, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; supervision, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK.; project administration, SAK, JKT, VSO, and CKK; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: “This research received no external funding”

Data Availability Statement: Data is available on request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments: we acknowledge the participants in this study.

Conflicts of Interest: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.” “No funders had any role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results”.