Volume 4, 1 (Special Issue on African Cultures and Languages) , March 2016, , Pages 34-44
Abstract
Research related to colonialism and post colonialism shows how the identities of indigenous people were constructed and how these identities are reconstructed in our contemporary world. The thrust of this paper is that colonialism brought a shift in the linguistic structure of Ghana with the introduction ...
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Research related to colonialism and post colonialism shows how the identities of indigenous people were constructed and how these identities are reconstructed in our contemporary world. The thrust of this paper is that colonialism brought a shift in the linguistic structure of Ghana with the introduction of the use of English among Ghanaians. The coexistence of both Ghanaian languages and English after colonialism has introduced a hybrid linguistic situation that is engineered by the presence or absence of literacy among the people of Ghana. The paper asserts that language and formal literacy, which have been closely linked to the English language, have informed the construction and reconstruction of identities of elitism and subjectivities and subsequently led to the representation of such identities in different pragmatic contexts. The paper advocates a reconsideration of language policies in mainly post-colonial contexts to bring indigenous language to coexist equally with former colonial languages in education and other related contexts.
Volume 1, Issue 2 , September 2013, , Pages 104-116
Abstract
Drawing largely on Aidoo’s (1970) play, Anowa, as well as lived experiences, I argue on the philosophical flaws of Ashcroft’s (2009) claim that there is no inherent link between language and culture. This essay subsequently explores the implication of my argument on some transformational ...
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Drawing largely on Aidoo’s (1970) play, Anowa, as well as lived experiences, I argue on the philosophical flaws of Ashcroft’s (2009) claim that there is no inherent link between language and culture. This essay subsequently explores the implication of my argument on some transformational domains of English in particular though it has obvious applicability to the role of colonial languages in general. As one of the foremost postcolonial theorists, Ashcroft’s seeming departure from the postcolonial agenda he has pursued in his academic practice is striking to read. I consider as philosophically frail his claim in Caliban’s Voice that language has no intrinsic connections to the way of life of its speakers. Consequently, I find his succeeding position on the transformational value of English, in the postcolonial context, as equally requiring reassessment.