Abstract

Ghana is a multilingual country with an average Ghanaian being exposed to at least more than one language. This linguistic situation often impacts language choices among bi/multi-lingual families where parents from different linguistic backgrounds face the reality of deciding which language(s) to expose their children to. This study investigates possible opportunities and challenges that the children of Ghanaian couples of different languages face in choosing the language(s) to speak with either parents or both parents at home using families in Techiman in the Bono East Region of Ghana as a case study. The study, therefore, sought to answer the key question, “What language(s) do children of couples of different languages speak at home with their parents?” Using the purposive sampling technique, the study collected data using questionnaires which were analysed using the bivariate data analysis procedure of Content Analysis (CA). The analyses of the data show that the children of couples of different languages spoke English and Twi/Bono as the major unmarked codes used at home. Some other languages such as Dagomba/Mampruli, Gonja, Sissala, and Hausa were also used at home by a minority of the respondents. The study further found that speaking multiple languages helped the children to make friends seamlessly and to participate in school, church, and mosque activities, and the languages play certain roles in those domains. The study also shows that the main domains where the children of Ghanaian couples of different languages choose a particular code or language are schools, churches, and markets. The outcome of the study contributes to studies on family language use and has implications for language maintenance.

Keywords

Family Language Policy, Ghanaian couples, Content analysis, Twi, English, Ghana,

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

  1. Afrifa, G.A., Anderson, J.A., and Ansah, G.N. (2019). The choice of English as a home language in urban Ghana. Current Issues in Language Planning, 20(4), 418-434. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2019.1582947
  2. Agbozo, G.E. (2015). Language choice in Ghanaian classroom: Linguistic realities and perceptions. Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Trondheim.
  3. Ahadzi, S., Ameka, F.K., Essegbey, J. (2015). Language use at home and performance in English composition in multilingual Ghana. AAeO, 2015(1), 1-21.
  4. Ansah, A.M. (2014). Language choice in multilingual communities: The case of Larteh, Ghana. Legon Journal of Humanities, 25, 37-57. https://doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v25i1.3
  5. David, M. (2006). Language policies – impact on language maintenance and teaching: Focus on Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. The Linguistics Journal, 2009, 155 – 191.
  6. Ferrer, C., Sankoff, D. (2004). The Valencian revival: Why usage lags behind competence. Language in Society, 33(1), 1 – 31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S004740450403101X
  7. Garcia, O. and Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Pivot, London
  8. Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language. 36(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(89)90048-5
  9. Grosjean, F. (2013). Bilingualism: A short introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 5-25.
  10. Heller, M. (1995). Language choice, social institutions and symbolic domination. Language in Society, 24(3), 373-405. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500018807
  11. Hudson, R.A. (2001). Sociolinguistics (2nd ed.). Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge University, Cambridge.
  12. Igboanusi, H. (2008). Changing trends in language choice in Nigeria. Sociolinguistic Studies, 2(2), 251-269.
  13. Kieswetter, A. (1997). Code-switching amongst African high school pupils. University of Witwatersrand Occassional Papers in African Linguistics, 1, 3-96.
  14. Mustafa, A. (2010). Research Methodology. Virender Kumar Aryan. India
  15. Myers-Scotton, C. (1993). Social motivations for codeswitching: Evidence from Africa. Clarendon Press. United Kingdom.
  16. Myers-Scotton, C. (1998). A theoretical introduction to the markedness model. Codes and consequences: Choosing linguistic varieties, Oxford University Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195115222.003.0002
  17. Rajend, M., Swann, J., Deumert, A., Leap, W.L. (2000). Introduction to sociolinguistics. University Press, Edinburgh.
  18. Romaine, S. (1994). Language in society: An introduction to sociolinguistics. OUP Oxford, United Kingdom.
  19. Wardhaugh, R. (1992). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Blackwell Publishers, United States.
  20. Yankson, S. (2018). Language contact and change in linguistically heterogeneous urban communities. The case of Akan in Accra. LOT, Utrecht.
  21. Yevudey, E., Agbozo, G.E. (2019). Teacher trainee sociolinguistic backgrounds and attitudes to language-in-education policy in Ghana: a preliminary survey. Current Issues in Language Planning, 20(4), 338–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2019.1585158
  22. Yevudey, E. (2013). The pedagogic relevance of codeswitching in the classroom: Insights from Ewe- English codeswitching in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 2(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v2i2.1