Graduate School of Social Science MSc Cultural and Social Anthropology

Pursuing A Better Tomorrow In A Multilingual Landscape: Analysing the language choice of middle-class parents in urban .

Edna Ofori Gyamfi Student ID: 5940583 E-mail: [email protected] Supervisor: dr. Rachel Spronk Second reader: dr. Vincent de Rooij Third reader: dr. Marleen de Witte Date: 08 -01-2016 Place of submission: Amsterdam

Table of Contents Introduction ...... 1

Language, Culture and Identity ...... 3

Ghanaian Languages, a Cultural Heritage ...... 3

English, a Hegemonic Language ...... 5

Language, Identity and Agency ...... 7

Methods ...... 9

Reflection: Challenges of the Outsider “Indigenous” Ethnographer ...... 11

Structure of the Thesis ...... 13 Chapter 1: Negotiating Modernity and Cultural Heritage ...... 15

Gold Coast, the Mercantile period:15th – 19th century ...... 15

From Exclusive Education to Missionary Schools ...... 17

Under the British Rule in the Colonial period: 1901-1957 ...... 18

Achimota College: The best of “both” worlds ...... 19

Decolonizing the Country and the Minds in Post-Colonial Ghana from 1957 ...... 20

Sankofaism ...... 21

One , One Language ...... 23

Conclusion ...... 24 Chapter 2: Acting Brofo Sem and being “too” Local ...... 26

Ethnic Rivalries in Urban Multilingual ...... 27

Multilingualism in a Bus ...... 28

The Multilingual Market Women ...... 30

Debating Tradition and Modernity ...... 32

Conclusion ...... 36 Chapter 3: Acquiring a Cosmopolitan Identity from Home ...... 37

Aspirational Vision ...... 42

Identity Transformation ...... 43

Conclusion ...... 45 Conclusion ...... 47

Bibliography ...... 49

The chameleon changes color to match the earth, the earth doesn’t change colors to match the chameleon. ~ Senegalese Proverb ~

Abstract

Ever since Ghana gained independence in 1957 and introduced English as the official language, it has attracted a lot of criticism from a section of academics, politicians, educators, traditional rulers, and the general populace. The debates are mainly centred around this key question: what is the true definition of a Ghanaian? What does it mean to be Ghanaian and what practices are considered to be Ghanaian? In this thesis I explore the relation between language choice and identity formation of middle-class well-educated parents in urban, multilingual Ghana. Interviews, participant observation and field notes were conducted to collect local narratives on identity and its role with language. Qualitative analysis of the results revealed that the practice of English as first language in Ghanaian households which looked seemed as an act of culture betrayal, appears to be an act of aspiration desire in transmitting a cosmopolitan awareness and identity into the child.

Pursuing A Better Tomorrow In A Multilingual Landscape

Introduction

Can you imagine Ghanaians speaking English all over? It’s not our culture. We are losing our culture! … If we continue on this path for the coming years, we are likely to lose our culture. Most of our culture is embedded in our language and language is a key factor in our culture. Even the drumming songs and so and so forth. They are all done in the local language. I can’t see how all our songs are going to be translated in English. (…) We are losing our focus. Any country that abandons its culture is likely to be something else.

-Paa Kow, 12 June 20151

I had the opportunity to interview Paa Kow Ackon, a freelance columnist. In his e-article titled Stop Confusing the Ghanaian Child he discusses the growing trends of households where parents teach their children to use English as their first language. 2 He argues that parents that are performing these practices are putting the Ghanaian cultural heritage at stake. He writes:

It is true that globalization has placed an importance on the learning of English at every level of society. However, I have observed a seemingly dangerous sub-culture occurring in Ghana, which I am convinced, is an affront to our culture. It is very normal now to see a sizeable number of parents who have developed the proclivity of always speaking English with their children at the expense of the local language; just with the hope that their children will become better English speakers (...) One can comfortably say that parents have the choice of deciding which language they would want to teach their children so why the bother. The plain truth is that we all have the responsibility as a society to promote our culture. The Ghanaian culture which includes our local languages plays a central role in shaping the principles of our lives. Our culture shapes our personality and gives us unique identity. Why do we want to be what we are not?”

1 Besides Paa Kow, all other names in this thesis are pseudonyms. Though my informants gave me their consent to use their quotes, I preferred to keep their identities anonyms. 2 Article is retrieved on 18th of April via http://www.modernghana.com/news/602058/1/stop-confusing-the-ghanaian- child.html 1 | Page

Pursuing A Better Tomorrow In A Multilingual Landscape

Paa Kow’s opinion summarizes the current ongoing debate about the role of the in the Ghanaian culture. Ever since Ghana gained independence in 1957 and introduced English as the official language, it has attracted a lot of criticism from a section of academics, politicians, educators, traditional rulers, and the general populace. The debates are mainly centred around this key question: what is the true definition of a Ghanaian? What does it mean to be Ghanaian and what practices are considered to be Ghanaian? In today’s globalized world questions concerning the role of African identities and languages are also intensively discussed on diverse social platforms by various groups and individuals in and outside the continent (Spronk 2014).

Like most post-colonial African countries, Ghana too has adopted the language of the former colonial power as their official language. Dr , the first Ghanaian president, saw language as an essential tool to lead the country to economic and social development. Before the independence, Ghana was inhabited by multiple ethnic groups that all had their own and language (Edu-Buandoh 2006; McLaughlin & Owusu-Ansah 1994). However, notions of the local language serving as a key marker to index a speaker’s ‘natural’ belonging to an ethnic group caused Nkrumah not to select a particular local language as an official language. Instead, English, as a non-ethnic language, was given a symbolic status of creating a unifying identity as it leads the country to economic and social development.

In today’s Ghana, English is used in the official domains of power such as government and education. However in a nation where the daily language practices of the local people are mostly done in local languages, tension emerges within the linguistic field where the official language becomes an object of oppression and a means of discrimination towards the other languages (Blommaert & Verschueren, 1998a in Blackledge 2000:30). In the introduction of the book The Languages in Urban , McLaughin (2009) makes claims that official non-African languages contribute to the development of a language-based system of social stratification that favours a small, educated African elite and limits access to economic advancement for the majority of the African population. In this stratification model, English serves as a formal medium which is conceived to be an essential communication tool for power and economic advancement for a selected group. In this sense, the English language is considered to be an instrumental language that stimulates economic and social progress for those who have access to it. On the other hand, the Ghanaian languages are accessible to people from all social classes and is translated as merely languages of solidarity amongst the natives, outside formal contexts. More important in this field of tension is the question: to what extend does the use of the English

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language contribute to the reproduction of the “Ghanaian” identity? The majority of the local’s argue that the language does not help to establish and maintain notions of what is perceived as the Ghanaian identity; for it is not a Ghanaian language that expresses the history or the culture of . However to those that practice English as their first language believe that their practice is embedded in notions of a modern Ghanaian identity. For this group of people their notion of identity is not a fixed concept belonging to a single geographical space, but rather having the desire to belong to a global community. In this thesis I discuss the self-identifications of this minority group who haven’t been given the opportunity to speak and explain their motivations, reasons and beliefs for using the English language as their first language in their household.

Language, Culture and Identity

The study of linguistic anthropology explores the relation between language and identity while looking at the role of language in the process of culture production (Schieffelin & Ochs 1986, 1994; Bucholtz & Hall 2004; Duranti et al. 2005). The general understanding of language is that it mirrors one’s culture and identity (Kropp-Dakubu 2014). However, Bucholzt & Hall argue that ‘…identity is not simply the source of culture but the outcome of culture: in other words, it is a cultural effect. And language, as a fundamental resource for cultural production, is hence also a fundamental resource for identity production’ (2004:382). This description emphasizes that identity, culture and language are not to be treated as three separate domains, for they are intertwined with each other. In this section I review existing literatures that focuses on the relation between language, culture and identity in a general context. My goal for this section is to situate this thesis in the general context of linguistic anthropological studies and then move the thesis to the specific context of multilingualism and kin-relations in Ghana.

Ghanain languages, a Culture Heritage

Our social lives obtains meaning through the use of language. A broad definition of language in this context is that language is an essential instrument human use to express, transmit and adapt their cultural reality. It is the symbolic representation of a group, community; including their historical backgrounds, as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking (Nolan & Lenski 2008). Brown (1994 in Jiang 2000) explains the relation between language and culture as follows: 'A language is a part of a culture and a culture is a part of a language; the two

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are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture’ (2000:328). In other words, language and culture are so interconnected that without language culture cannot be completely acquired nor can it be effectively expressed and transmitted; and without culture, language cannot exist.

Another approach on the relation of language and culture is the language socialization theory of Ochs & Schieffelin (1986, 1994). Their theory suggests that the processes of linguistic and cultural development are interlinked and vary across cultural contexts. The main argument is that in the early years of socialization, the linguistic and cultural symbolic systems in which an individual is raised plays an instrumental role in socializing an individual, shaping his perceptions and his identity. Thus, language can be translated as an instrument that is used to form the individual in becoming a competent member of community, group to which they belong. In order to understand the process of language socialization, close attention must be paid to the structure of discourse in families and school settings (1994). In the Ghanaian context, family functions as a social and cultural institution that serves at the centre of Ghanaian social organization. Through series of kinship networks and marriages, the family is acknowledged as the bedrock of all social life. It provides upcoming members with a cultural framework through which they view the world, their life as well as their personality. After gaining independence in 1957, Ghana experienced processes of rapid demographic and socio-economic changes caused by urbanization and modernization. These developments also led to transformations in the society’s orientation, the social system, patterns of family formation and family life, especially in the urban cities (Ansah 2014; Bengtson 2001; Edu-Buandoh and Otchere 2012; Edu-Buandoh 2006; Kropp-Dakubu 2000). Kin-relations in the new urban cities transformed from functioning as an cultural institution that educated children to become future custodians of societal values and traditions; to a socioeconomic institution in which the biological parents equip their children with resources that are needed to become part of the modern community that pursuits after prestige’s and economic advancements (Bengtson 2001). In other words, notions of reproducing the importance of social cohesion and sociocultural values and traditions are downplayed while awareness of individualism and the pursuit of social and economic success are emphasized. However, this does not mean that urban kin-relations have neglected the use of their native languages, as suggested by Paa Kow.

Swanepoel discusses in his article African Languages and identity question in the 21th century that the language of parents functions as a distinct marker on the identity of the child. He argues that the use of African languages is essential in the reproduction of African identities. Identity in the African context denotes ‘being’, or ‘belonging to’ and/or ‘acceptance of’ (2013:20). He argues

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that African languages in Africa symbolize the cultural heritage of the people as it reveals their history, culture and their physical and geographical space. The use of the local languages also implies an act of faith: ‘an assertion of African identity and an instrument to subvert colonial imperialism, one that will be difficult to replace with any other tongue not rooted in Africa and not acquired at home’ (2013:24). The symbolic status of African languages is that the use of it denotes resistance from anti-African notions from the colonial past, which is believed to be essential for the decolonisation of the African minds (2013:26). What is important here is that the author makes a clear distinction between African languages as the language of the local people and English as a foreign language whose root is geographically located elsewhere. Local languages in this context are described as ‘heritage languages’3 that mirrors the sociohistorical and sociocultural background of the natives. Language is therefore perceived as something natural and antique that belongs only to the local people.

Another important factor that Swanepoel highlight is the link between the use of local language and pride. This relation emphasizes the authenticity of the native people. Many postcolonial studies in the African context suggest that the use of local languages above foreign languages is form of resistance that emerged to oppose the colonial rulers that rejected the culture of the local people. In the case of Ghana, even though the English language is adopted as the official language, the majority of the local people reject this. To locals, the use of the English language as a Ghanaian links them back to the colonial past where they were ruled by the British and demanded to reject their authentic culture. Swanepoel’s framework helps to get a better understanding of the sentimental critics given by the natives on the use of English language in informal domains. However, it does not give any explanation on why a small group of parents choose to use only English in the socialization process of their children.

English, a Hegemonic Language

In debates concerning the role of English in a global context and how that influences and/or endangers local languages, Antonio Gramsci and his concept of hegemony are often applied for better understanding. The Italian communist and political theorist Antonio Gramsci is known to be one of the first to discover a relation between language and power. To him, because language affects how people think it is therefore a political instrument. Gramsci was most certainly interested in analysing the role of language in education and how that leads to the development

3 The term heritage language (HL) is used by Weiyung (in Duranti et al 2012). He used it to refer to an immigrant, indigenous, or ancestral language with which the speaker feels personal attached to (2012:587). 5 | Page

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of hegemony (Gramsci in Ives 2009). The relation between hegemony and language education rejects the idea of individuals freely choose what language to learn, and therefore shift to learning a ‘common language’. Instead Gramsci argues that the complex reasons why individuals, families, community groups, regional territories, and states foster the teaching of English (or any other language) is intimately tied to education, culture, ideology and politics.

In the article Global English, Hegemony and Education: Lessons from Gramsci, political scholar Ives (2009) uses Gramsci’s notion of language hegemony to examine the hegemonic role of English. For some, the spread of English is taken to be beneficial as for its speakers as for the world. Even Philippe Van Parijs who is more concerned on the injustices created by the spread of English also notes on the benefits of acquiring the English language. He states: ‘If we want all sorts of workers’, women’s, young people’s, old people’s, sick people’s, poor people’s associations to organise on the ever higher scale required for effective action, we must equip them with the means of talking to one another without the need for interpreting boxes and the highly skilled and paid professionals who go in them’ (Van Parijs, 2004:118 in Ives 2009: 662).

Others, who disagree, argue that the spread of English is strongly linked with imperialism and domination whether economic, cultural or political. Scholars like Pennycook argue that the perception that people have of English as being beneficial and/or as the language of advantage, threatens other languages. For them, English acts as a gatekeeper to positions of wealth and prestige both within and between . It is also the language through which much of the unequal distribution of wealth, resources, and knowledge operates’ (1995:55 in Ives 2009:662).

Gramsci was in favour for the spread of a ‘standard’ national language in a country. To him the absence of a ‘standard’ national language was seen as an obstacle to a country in becoming a successful, modern nation-state. Implementing a ‘common language’ provides many benefits for individuals and social groups but also for the society as a whole, in terms of increased possibilities of communication and solidarity. However, he was also concerned with the political inequalities that came with these ‘benefits’. For Gramsci, and his followers, it is crucial to explore how English as a ‘common language’ is created or selected, and how it is spread.

Studies concerning the role of language policy in the Ghanaian education often argue that the language policy tends to neglect the multi-ethnic and multilingual character of the country and its people, by selecting a non-native language as medium of instruction which that does not represent the identity of the local people (Rosekrans, Sherris & Chatry-Komarek 2012; Blackledge 2000, 2005; Davis & Agbenyega 2012). Owi-Esi (2006) goes even further, accusing the State’s implementation of the English-only policy for committing the crime of “linguistic

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genocide” (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000 in 2006: 79); taking away the rights of children to be taught and use their native language(s). Instead a bilingual program should be designed and introduced in the Ghanaian educational system.

In the article, "Speak English!" A Prescription or Choice of English as a Lingua Franca in Ghanaian Schools, Edu-Buandoh and Otchere (2012) explore whether the language behaviour of Ghanaian students are structured by hegemony or choice. It important to note that the term hegemony is not mentioned in their work. Yet, their approach on this issue questions whether language behaviour is constructed by choice or by political policies which is implemented by the state to control the linguistic situation in the country. In 2002 Ghana promulgated a law, which mandates the use of English language as the medium of instruction from primary one also known as grade one. Local languages were now to be studied as a compulsory subject up to the Senior Secondary (Senoir High) School (Owi-Esi 2006; Ansah 2014). Students are now required to speak and write English at all times whenever they are in school. The speech of students is controlled by threats of sanctions. Students who do not abide by the language regulation are punished. The punishments include washing dining-hall plates, weeding, scrubbing, writing lines and wearing labels that say “I will not speak vernacular in school again” (Edu-Buandoh & Otchere 2012).

Based on the focus of this thesis the study of Edu-Buandoh and Otchere (2012) stands out because it is one of the very few studies that de-emphasizes the relation between language and ideologies and emphasizing the role of personal motivations. Their findings showed that the students preferred to speak English as an instrumental language whereby the students are ruled by the notion that the acquisition of English means to possess the “passport to prestige and success”. At the same time it also functions as a political instrument that enables speakers to distinct themselves from the mass and to identify themselves with a target community they wish to be a part of. Local languages, however, are primarily used whenever students wanted to express their ethnolinguistic identities. Edu-Buandoh and Otchere theoretical framework provides a good starting point for this thesis when it comes to language use as a choice.

Language, Identity and Agency

In the article English in Ghana: Growth, Tensions, and Trends, Adika (2012) concludes with the argument that ‘English should not be perceived as displacing the local languages, but rather complementing the Ghanaian languages and constituting an inherent “part of the local language ecology”; they are neither mutually exclusive nor do they necessarily ‘create tensions’ (2014:163).

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A minority of the population agrees with Adika’s statement that English is part of the Ghanaian history and should therefore be treated as such. One of the supporters of this statement is the well-known and one of the most respected ‘celebrity-pastor’ Mensa Otabil. He is one of the few public figures that pleads for cultural transformation in his sermon, challenging and criticizing the common distinction between African and foreign. In his interview with De Witte (2008) he says:

You see, the world, there is a blurring of cultures all over the world. The headfast west- east, African-Europe, all those duals are crumbling. For example, a lot of Ghanaian children are growing up and their first language is English, it is a reality. Now if we say that English is a foreign language, than what are we saying? English is not a foreign language, not anymore, it is a Ghanaian language. It is the official language, it is the language we conduct business in and for a lot of young Ghanaians it is their first language (2008: 109).

He states that Africa’s status as being undeveloped is due to the fact that African people are unable to modify their so called authentic African culture. There is this dominant assumption that by transforming the African culture one becomes ‘Western’ and therefore loses their ‘African identity’. To be able to partake in the world and also be successful as an individual and as continent, Africans should transform their culture (Otabil in De Witte 2011). His argument highlights two aspects concerning the role of English in the Ghanaian context. First, the English language was selected as official language not by the British but by Ghanaian rulers that re- interpreted it as a part of the Ghanaian identity that leads to modernity. Secondly, in this modern time of globalization, English has become the language of global relations and trade. This means Ghanaians have an advantage on the global market, placing them higher than countries that have not adopted English as their official language.

Blackledge (2005) argues that within a multilingual context the choice of language at any particular time reflects how speakers want listeners to perceive them. In each speech environment speakers can choose a particular language to mark identity, social control, or both at the same time. Ahearn (2001) highlights the importance of studying agency when discussing issues concerning language. Thus, inspired by Ahearn I employ language as a form of social action, a cultural resource and a set of sociocultural practices that reproduces or transforms the socio-economic identity of an individual. In this thesis I argue that people in multilingual context

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tend to choose a language that fits with the identity which they desire to acquire. I stand alongside Norton (1997) arguing that identity is not a fixed concept which is passively received but rather a fluid concept whereby speaker actively re-construct their identity as their social and economic relations changes. Norton’s notion is embedded in West’s conceptual framework which relates identity to desire: -the desire for recognition, the desire for affiliation, and the desire for security and safety. West (1992 in 1997: 410) argues that the realisation of such desires is intertwined with the distribution of material resources in society. The amount of access people have to material resources determines their desire. In this thesis I also argue that the choice of parents to speak English with their children is embedded in their subjectivities, a concept borrowed from Ortner (2005). Subjectivity in Ortner’s framework refers to humans as partially knowing subjects who are aware of their self and are reflexive of their decisions and practices (2005:45). In the context of subjectivity, the language choice of Ghanaian parents is one the one hand influenced by aspirational thought, desires, fear, and on the other hand by political and cultural discourses. In this thesis I intend to explore the motives of Ghanaian parents to teach their childeren to use English as their first language and how that influences the formation of their identity in local speech spheres. The term speech sphere in this thesis is used to describe the implementation of un-official language regualtion in informal domains in which speakers are silently demanded to speak the dominant local language provided by the informal domain.

Methods

I conducted most of my three month ethnographic field work in Pokuase, a traditional homeland and suburb of the Ga people in Accra. It is a mixture of high-end developing residential areas, gated community of ACP Estates; and lively retail shopping areas, with local stores, bars or 'drinking spots', bus/taxi stations; and a local market. The majority of the people that reside there have their own enterprises. I categorize them as entrepreneurs. A lot of them owned a little supermarket store at the porch of their house, a food kiosk alongside the road. Some men were taxi drivers of their own car and the sales women that sell their own goods at the local market or at the bigger markets, like Makola in the city. I managed to establish social relations with a lot of these area entrepreneurs, like Esther and Maa Janet who were both sales women and also lived in the house in which I resided. These relations were of significant means for it was through them that I gained a better understanding on the roles of Ghanaian languages, including the English language, in daily lives of the locals.

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I used different methods to collect data depending on the progress of the . At first, I conducted the method participant observation to get familiar with the daily course of life of the locals and to explore ‘the complexity of the multilingual situation’ in Pokuase and in Accra city as discussed by Kropp-Dakubu works on the multilingual character in Accra (1997, 2000). Most of my observations were carried out in Pokuase and during moments when I was on the local public transport, also known as the tro-tro. The tro-tro is a minibus that can seat a total of 10 to 15 people. My trips with the tro-tro’s and shared taxis were of great benefit to me, since it gave me a chance to experience the daily language practices of the local people.

I also conducted a semi-structured interview with six well-educated young professionals between the ages 25 and 35. One of them grew up in an English speaking household. Another one had chosen to have an English speaking household for their children. The rest of them just wanted to share their opinion on this issue. The questions in the interview were designed to explore the narratives that are held by young professionals on the use of English and Ghanaian languages in informal spheres, such as the household. The aim of the interviews was to discover the motives parents (could) have to using English as the first language of communication in their household. The questions were all open-ended and provided the participants the opportunity to express their views. I recorded the interviews using a digital audio recorder and transcribed it for analysis. These interviews were held with: a business executive, a freelancer columnist, a junior attorney, a first degree holder in agriculture, and a jobless graduate. All of them are eloquent in English speech, except for James, who was introduced to me by his girlfriend Sarah that describes him as being too “local”.

At the end of each interview I would ask the informants if they could connect me to other people in their social environments that would also like to talk to me on this matter. Unfortunately, this snowball method did not seem to work for me. I think that the fact that I originate from Ghana played a part. Anytime people asked me of my mission in Ghana, I always answered: ‘I am a master student in Anthropology and I am here to do research’. I received a lot of funny, surprised faces that asked me why I choose to do my research in Ghana, why did I want to study my own people, what was I going to do with all that data and so on. At some point I concluded that in order to gather more data, it would be best if I did not mention my reason for being in Ghana. I then changed my method to conversational interviews. A conversational interview is best described as a ‘natural’ conversational ethnographic interview where I, the ethnographer, become a participant in a conversation (Whitehead 2005:16). I discovered that this method helped me enormously in collecting data on the ideas the locals have when it comes to language issues and language choice in urban Ghana. As these informal conversations came up, I

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was always alert when issues related to the research emerged. I would then ask my informants questions to further explore the issue of interest. Since these conversations occurred unannounced, I was required to make field notes; writing the context in which these conversations took place and also making notes of the interesting and funny stories my informants told me that I considered relevant for this thesis.

Reflection: Challenges of the Outsider “Insider” Ethnographer

The following is an extract from the fieldnotes that I collected when I arrived in the field on june 6th 2015:

“We wish you a happy stay in Ghana”, the pilot said from his cockpit. My heart was doing a happy dance whilst my mind was hoping and planning on doing a good research. I waited anxiously in the line to hand my passport to the immigration department. My flight had delayed for an hour and a half. I was nervous, irritated and anxious all at the same time, yet I tried to stay calm. Then it was my turn to go to the officer. He reached out for my passport and I gave it to him. As he inspected the content of my passport he looked up at me: “Edna Ofori Gyamfi, welcome to Ghana or is it welcome home?”, he asked. I looked at him surprised for I did not expect this question. “Uhmm… Actually both, I guess?!” I responded. I was overwhelmed with mixed feeling. In a way it is ‘welcome home’, because it is the motherland of my parents. Both of my parents were born in Ghana and many of my relatives are located there. To phrase it differently, my cultural identity as a young adult of African descent is rooted in Ghana on the soils of the African continent. In this view, yes it is a welcome home for me. However, at the same time it is also ‘welcome to Ghana’ for it is the motherland of my parents and not mine. Differently from my parents, I was born and grew up in the . Therefore, I have no history or any knowledge of how the locals’ people live their daily lives. After questioning me on how long I was going to stay and where I was going to stay, the officer stamped my passport that symbolizes that I was approved of entering Ghana. Before handing me my passport he looked up at me again and asked me: “Wo ti [Do you understand/can you speak Twi]? Me pa wo kyɛw, aane, me tumi ka Twi [Yes please, I can speak Twi]”, I responded with a smile. Immediately his face lit up and he gave me a warm and welcoming smile while handing me my passport. I walked to the baggage hall and

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reflected what I had just experienced. Had my ability to speak Akan-Twi, a local language, verified my ethnic identity as Ghanaian and made me gain acceptance of the natives? Does this then imply that a Ghanaian identity is only significant if a person can speak his/her (local) mother tongue? What then does this mean for those who are born in Ghana but are brought up in an English-only speaking household and are who unable to speak their mother tongue? With all these questions going through my mind I saw my luggage on the belt. It was time for me to prepare myself to enter into the country.

This vignette sums up my three months of expierence as an ethnographer in the field. I consider my biggest challenge to be the complex relation I had with myself as an insider and outsider, at the same time. To the locals I was considered as one of them because of my ability to speak Twi well and also my knowledge of the so called Ghanaian culture4. Although I was born in the Netherlands, I grew up in a Ghanaian household. My mom tried to transmit, the Ghanaian cultural framework and Akan-Twi as a form of cultual heritage that links me to my cultural roots. Twi, which is a dailect in the Akan langage, is also one of the most spoken language in the southern part of Ghana. One of the greatest benefits of being an insider ethnographer, is that my ability to speak one of the most used Ghanaian language gave me full access to the daily lives of locals and granted me with multiple oppertunities to interact with them. However, at the same time, the downfall of being an insider ethnographer is that I was having difficulties in finding people to interview. As I mentioned earlier in the method section, I think that to a certain extent my position as an insider also worked against me; creating forms of tension between me and my informants. I noticed that my informants upheld a suspecions behaviour towards me, especially when I told people that I came to Ghana to do an independant research. When I did managed to find someone who wanted to partake in the interview, I had to reassure them that I was not going to ask any personal questions before they agreed in doing the interview. I think that some of the locals I spoke to had a different profile of how an ethnographer lookes like: a white ‘Western’ female. Instead they were approached by one of their owns; a young “aburokyire nyi” [foreign] woman from Ghanaian descents that studies anthropology and “returns home” to Ghana conduct research amongst her “own” people. Nonetheless, at the same time, I also received a lot of praise of people; saying that they admired my interest in studying my own culture, which they translated as me being proud of my cultural identity as a Ghanaian; a black and proud African woman.

4 Culture in this context refers to cloths, popular music (, , gospel) and cuisine (eating like the locals, like eating with my hands) 12 | Page

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Though I very much enjoyed operating as an insider ethnographer, I noticed that I did find it challenging to shift to the “neutral and rational” identity of an outsider ethnographer. During my moments of observations and data collection I actually felt like a spy that was selling out her “own” people. To some point I even felt bad towards some people with whom I became very close. Most of these people referred to me as their friend, sister or daughter. Before these relationships became personal, I considered these people as my informants or gatekeepers. However, as my relationship with them became closer, guilt emotions increased. As a solution to decrease my guilt feelings, I discovered the importance of having a journal to write down experiences, thoughts, concerns and so on. I can’t say that by writing everything down I was freed from my guilt and spy feelings, but it did help a little as the journals ended up having a liberating effect on me. Besides writing, my room also became the place where I often made that shift of being an outsider ethnographer. This was the space where I could think and analyse all the events that occurred around me.

In spite of all the challenges, I must say that it was an enlighten experience. The experience gave me the opportunity to get to know Ghana for myself. Not only did I gain a better understanding of the natives on how they view and live their lives. I also gained a better understanding of my mother who as a Ghanaian mother has worked so hard to provide for me and my sisters, pushing us and motivating us to do our best at school in order for us to have a better and prosperous life. All in the name of aspirations.

Structure of the Thesis

The central question of this thesis is: Why do some local middle-class Ghanaian parents choose to have English as their first language in their households? The aim of this thesis is to explore the relation between language choice and (re)production of identity. The outline of the thesis is based on how the research evolved itself in the three months that I was in the field. Chapter one starts with an historical overview on how English entered the country as a foreign language and ended up being adopted as the national language of the nation. In chapter two I explore the narritives held by the locals concering the status and function of English language in the daily course of the local lives. I then explore, in chapter three, how these narritves on the status and the use of English and Ghanaian languages influences the kind of socialization process parents conduct to establish the identity they want for their child(ren). Finally, in the last chapter all the pieces will be brought together and used to reflect the relation between language choice and the (re)production of identity.

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Chapter 1

Negotiating Modernity and Cultural Heritage

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In this chapter I briefly discuss the historical development of Ghana’s language policy. To understand the language choice of speaking parents, it is important to look at how English, a foreign language, transformed into a symbolic language of progress and unification amongst the Ghanaian people and nation. I distinct three periods: the mercantile period, the colonial era and the postcolonial period. With each period I will discuss the historical events that took place and how these events led to the establishment of schools as cultural institutions that was (and still is) assigned to transmit the hegemonic frameworks of the ruling party.

Gold Coast, the Mercantile period: 15th – 19th century

Before the first Europeans arrived in the late fifteenth century, many inhabitants of the Gold Coast area were striving to enhance their newly acquired territories as they settled into a secure and permanent environment. By the end of the sixteenth century, most of these ethnic groups which constituting the modern Ghanaian population, had settled in their present locations. Unfortunately, little is known of the small African kingdoms in the region between the Tano and Volta rivers until the arrival of Europeans in the fifteenth century. Archaeological studies suggest that the area, now known as Ghana, had been inhabited since the early Bronze Age (ca. 4000 B.C.). However, there is no evidence indicating that these early inhabitants were the ancestors of the current peoples of the country. Oral history and other sources say that the ancestors of some of Ghana's residents entered the country at least as early as the tenth century A.D. migrating from the north and east continued thereafter.

Ancient Ghana derived its power and wealth from gold during trans-Saharan trade, resulting that the majority on the knowledge of Ghana came from Arab writers. Al-Hamdani, for example, described Ghana as a country with the richest gold mines on earth.5 The trade stimulated the establishment of early Akan states located in the forest zone of the south. The forest itself was not yet populated. The Akan-speaking peoples began to move into it towards the end of the fifteenth century with the arrival of crops, such as sorghum, bananas, and cassava, from Southeast Asia and the New World that could be adapted to forest conditions.

5 Retrieved on 15th of December 2015 via http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter1.shtml 15 | Page

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The first Europeans to arrive in the Gold Coast area, were the Portuguese in 1471, under the patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator. After their arrival, the Portuguese named the region Gold Coast. The name was later adopted by the English colonisers. The initial interest of the Portuguese was to trade gold, ivory, and slaves. They established their commercial mecca where they traded weapons and slaves from other parts of Africa for gold dust. Competition with 's monopoly in the gold trade soon came from other European traders, such as the Spanish, Italian, and British. In 1482 the Portuguese build their first permanent trading post in a coastal village they named Elmina.6 The fortress was constructed to protect their commercial interests from other European competitors and hostile Africans. The Portuguese managed to maintain their monopoly position on the Gold Coast for a century.

During the 1500s, European plantations in the New World were introduced, demanding slaves in the Americas. This contributed to rise of the slave trade, which overshadowed gold as the principal export. The Gold Coast, and other surrounding coastal countries had now become the principal source of slaves for the New World. The seemingly ravenous market and the substantial profits to be gained from the slave trade attracted adventurers from all over Europe; first the Dutch and later the English, Danish, and Swedish. In the following two centuries, other European competitors established their fortified trading stations on the Gold Coast as they challenged the monopoly position of the Portuguese. In 1637 the Dutch invaded and took over the Portuguese fortress at Elmina causing the Portuguese to leave the Gold Coast permanently. Afterwards, a century of aggressiveness emerged for control of trade between European groups on the coast and also between competing African kingdoms, mainly the Asante’s (or also known as ). European powers struggled to establish and maintain their position of dominance in the profitable trade of the Gold Coastal cities. Forts were built, abandoned, attacked, captured, sold, and exchanged. Many sites were selected at one time or another for fortified positions by contending European nations.

In the mid of the nineteenth century the power of the British expanded globally through the Industrial Revolution. Their also gained more power in Ghana through with coastal regions. These alliances were formed to prevent the Asante kingdom from gaining dominance over the whole southern area of the Gold Coast. In 1844 the coastal Fante states signed a political agreement with the British, also known as the Bond of 1844. In this agreement it was stated that the British would extend protection to the signatory states in return of a degree of

6 Elmina is the Portuguese translation for “the mine” (La Verle et al. 1994).

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authority over them. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, other coastal and interior states followed the Fante’s states by signing the Bond. As a result the majority of the coastal regions came under the authority of the British government. In 1850 the British Government bought all of 's Gold Coast territory and later the Dutch fort at Elmina in 1872. With these purchases, the British became the only European power left on the Gold Coast. Two years later the British proclaimed the coastal territories as British colony under the name Gold Coast and moved their administrative centre from to Accra. After three decades of warfare against the Asante kingdom, the British accomplished in having total control over the whole of Ghana after seizing the Asante and the Northern Territories from the Gold Coast Colony.

From Exclusive Education to Missionary Schools

The earliest form of western-type of formal school started in the fifteenth century by the European traders in the form of Castle Schools. These schools were established in the Forts of the European merchants.7 The schools were established to provide formal education to mulatto children or children of African wives. The British Cape Coast Castle School was also open to children of important chiefs and wealthy merchants. The students were taught how to speak, write and read the mother tongue of the country that ruled in the fort. By doing so they managed to preserve their language and culture while being far from home.

During the second phase of the mercantile period, the main goal of education in Ghana was into to transforming the pagan lifestyle and thinking of the local people. The people were educated to become agents of civilization and Christianity. Mission Schools followed the Castle Schools with the arrival of Christian Missionaries in the country. The aim of the missionaries was to spread the word of God and convert the natives to Christianity. The missionaries realized that to convert the native souls from paganism to the Christian religion, the local people had to be schooled in their own native language on how to read and understand the bible. Also, these schools educated the some locals to take on positions as clerks and teachers to teach and also convert their fellow people to Christianity. Others were trained to become interpreters and help the colonial government in the export-trading firms. The three most influent missionary schools were the Basel and Breman mission school from the , and the Wesleyan mission school from the British. Each school conducted their own language policy. For instance, the Wesleyan

7 The Danish in the Christianborg Castle Accra, the Portuguese then the Dutch in the Elmina Castle and the British in the Cape Coast Castle (La Verle et al. 1994). 17 | Page

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missionaries advocated for a greater use of English, whilst the Basel and the Breman missionaries encouraged the use of vernacular. Besides the use of vernacular, students from the Breman missionaries. The students from Basel schools, on the other hand, were only permitted to speak German and no other European language like English.

Once again, the aim of these missionary schools were to socialize the natives to civilization through Christianity. However the natives reinterpreted these schools as an instrument for upward social and economic mobility. It created opportunities for them to work in the colonial service or commercial sectors. Being fluent in the language of the colonial ruler meant non-manual employment, “modernity,” and “progress.” (La Verle et al. 1994; Coe 2005). According to historians the main problem of the British mission school and their education program was: their extensive use of the English language at the expenses of the local language. The second problem was that all three mission school forced the banning of expression and appreciation of African culture as it was associated with paganism.

Under the British Rule in the Colonial period: 1901-19578

The British ruled over Gold Coast for 56 years. The gradual emergence of centralized colonial government brought about unified control over local services, although the actual administration of these services was still delegated to local authorities. The role of the traditional states in local administration was clarified. This period is noted to be the era in which the country experienced significant progress in social, economic, and educational development (La Verle et al. 1994). These improvements were attributed under the authority of Governor Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, from 1919 to 1927. At the beginning of his governorship of the Gold Coast, Guggisberg presented a ten-year development program to the Legislative Council. His program has been described as the most ambitious ever proposed in up to that time (1994; Coe 2002, 2005). In order of priority, he first suggested the improvement of transportation, followed by the water supply, drainage, hydroelectric projects, public buildings, town improvements, schools, hospitals, prisons, communication lines, and other services. Developments on education was given special attention in the governor's ten-year development plan. His educational policy, written in 1919, stated:

8 Retrieved on 15th of December 2015 via http://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Cultural-life#toc214121 18 | Page

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Our aim is not to denationalise [the people of the Gold Coast], but to graft skillfully on to their national characteristics the best attributes of modern civilisation. For without preserving his national characteristics and his sympathy and touch with the great illiterate masses of his own people, no man can ever become a leader in progress, whatever other sort of leader he may become (Quoted in Coe 2002: 27,28).

His education policy stressed the need for improved teacher training, equal education for girls, a greater emphasis on vocational training, and the establishment of secondary schools. One of his main goals was to replace various work positions done by European with educated Africans in many administrative positions within the country. This contributed to the establishment of the Achimota School in 1927. The school was the first designed to train the natives of the Gold Coast Colony for the lower levels of civil services. Conversely, the means of formal education was once again reinterpreted by the locals as a virtual guarantee of acquiring white- collar jobs and wage-earning positions, creating economic and social advantages for them and their families.

Achimota College: The best of “both” worlds

Coe describes the Achimota college as a hegemonic project designed by idealistic people aiming to bring together “the best” of African and European culture through progressive modes of education (2005:25). During the colonial period, colonial rulers in Africa viewed education as an essential instrument to control the future of the country by influencing the cultural framework through which natives give meaning to themselves and their social reality (Foucault 1979 in Coe 2005; Yamana 2005). The education system of Achimota college was designed to be the “model of all education” forms in Gold Coast (Annual General Report 1925−1926:46 in Coe 2005). The programs in the school were intended to educate the students to become Ghana’s next leaders.

Achimota hopes to produce a type of student who is “Western” in his intellectual attitudes towards life, with a respect for science and capacity for systematic thought, but who remains African in sympathy and desirous of preserving and developing what is deserving of respect in tribal life, custom, rule and law (Achimota College Report 1932:14 in Coe 2005:29).

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Although the school used English as their main medium of instruction, great attention was paid to notions of the African culture and customs. For the founders of the school, it was crucial that educated Africans did not fall in the trap of alienating themselves from their social and cultural backgrounds as well as the tribal system that dictated the social and political life of the locals (Yamada 2005). The school initially admitted children from matrilineal societies, like the Akan’s, that were in line to become chiefs themselves and run the local councils in the future (Coe 2005). To the British, ‘culture’ was purely a form of entertainment. As a result, the promotion of African culture in Achimota included arts, especially music and dance, performed during extracurricular and celebrative times within the schools schedule. Students were taught about cultural customs by chiefs and community members. In sum, the Achimota project promoted a hegemonic framework that created ties between modernization with Western and traditional with African. In other words, the students of the Achimota College were formed to embodied notions of modernization and tradition.

Decolonizing the country and the minds in Post-Colonial Ghana from 1957 On the 6th of March 1957, Gold Coast became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independency from their British colonial rulers. Shortly after, the area Gold Coast was renamed as Ghana. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, an old student at Achimota College, became the country’s first president. He is described as an ambitious man with socialist goals and high hopes.9 His ultimate goal was to liberate the entire African continent from the hands of the Europeans. His policy for Ghana was to lead the nation to economic growth and modernity in the context of a new “liberated” Africa (Botwe-Asamoah 2005). Nkrumah used the term ‘modernity’ as a critique to the assumptions implanted by the British which claimed that modernization could only occur within “Western” standards. He disapproved of the notion that modern civilization could only be established if Africans would trade their African culture for Western culture and world view. In addition, he argues that modernity and socio-economic transformations in Africa can be establish once the African personality is revived and appreciated and celebrated by the people. He argued that during the colonial period, the African identity had been dehumanized and attacked by the European merchants, Christian missionaries, tourist and anthropologists. With their Western view and educational system they promoted Eurocentric social thoughts and cultural hegemony

9 Retrieved on 15th of December 2015 via http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/ghana/history/independent_ghana/nkrumah's_regime.htm 20 | Page

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(2005). Nkrumah believed that the African identity symbolized interdependence, interrelationship, and collective responsibility. Nkrumah viewed education as ‘the academic focus of national life, reflecting the social, economic, political and cultural aspirations of the people’ (2005:35). The educational system was redesigned became an with the aim to revive the African personality. As a result his educational policy led to the establishment of mass education which ‘educated’ Africans about “their” culture. School had now turned into a cultural institution where natives are transformed to regain their dignity and agency as they are schooled to become “modern” Africans (2005:8).

Sankofaism

After the 6th of march, the government was challenged to create an unifying identity amongst the people. The Ghanaian population has always been made up by different ethnic group, each with their own cultural heritage10: history, language, and origin. The hundreds of subgroups are divided in five major ethnic and linguistic groups which include: the Akan, Ewe, Mole-Dagbane, Guan, and Ga-Adangbe (La Verle et al. 1994). The presence of ethnic tension has always been part of the country due to ethnic rivalries of the precolonial era, variance in the impact of colonialism upon different regions of the country. Thus, to create an awareness of unification amongst the people, the state developed a cultural policy that would re-asses and re-interpret the African history and culture and at the same time also recognize cultural diversity within a national identity, that transcends ethnic and religious boundaries (Botwe-Asamoah 2005).

The nationalist framework of ‘Sankofaism’ was implemented. This ideology referred to the recovery of the ‘authentic’ African selfhood lost in alienation by returning, in a mode of self- retrieval, to the cultural heritage that colonialism taught Africans to forget or reject (De Witte & Meyer 2012:46).11 Nkrumah’s government was convinced that the best way to undo the alienation of colonialism and restore the African identity was through education (Coe 2006: 57 ff. in De Witte & Meyer 2012: 48). Besides his policy on Africanization of the curriculum of the

10 I used De Witte & Meyer’s translation of the concept heritage. In the Ghanaian context, the concept heritage refers to ‘an expression of a true national culture backed by spiritual powers and rooted in the past, or as some kind of folklore’ (De Witte & Meyer 2012:48).

11 This nationalizing project took shape around the Akan symbol of Sankofa, a bird looking back and walking forward. The symbol refers to the Twi proverb ‘worefi na wosankɔfa a, yenkyi’ – it is not a taboo to go back and fetch what you have forgotten. Simply put, it means that ‘one can always undo past mistakes.’ In the framework of post-colonial identity politics, the Sankofa symbol was used to by the state to express the need for cultural heritage in moving ahead as a people (De Witte & Meyer 2012:46)

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educational system in the country, Nkrumah also established various cultural institutions ‘for the discovery, interpretation, evaluation, preservation and development of the African heritage,’ (Quoted Hagan in Botwe-Asamoah 2005:31). For example, the African Studies department of national universities were funded to conduct research on Ghanaian traditions and were assigned to teach students the cultures and traditions of Ghana’s various ethnic groups in school curricula and books. Cultural institutes like the Bureau of Ghana Languages was established to preserve, promote and teach the selected nine Ghanaian languages and other cultural aspects through pragmatic strategies.12 The selected languages are: Akan13, Dagaare/Wale, Dangbe, Dagbane, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema. These languages are based on the major ethnic groups in Ghana, mentioned earlier on. Furthermore, traditional cultural festivals were discovered and revived as well. According to Ghanaweb.com14 these cultural festivals “historically, religiously, socially, economically, culturally, morally and politically [celebrates] the lives of Ghanaians”, to “forge close bondage with their ancestors and ask for their protection [and lastly] to purify the whole state so that people can enter the New Year with confidence and hope”. In other words, these festivals functions as social instrumental events that stimulates community solidarities as it celebrates the life experiences of the people (Botwe-Asamoah 2005). Lastly, media productions were also stimulated to promote Ghana’s ‘rich and colourful heritage’. Nkrumah was convinced that the media also played a significant role as it stimulates national unity. The primary use of media to educate the ‘people, enlightening them on their national responsibilities and the need for development,’ (Quoted Ansah 1991:95 in 2005: 138).

As I mentioned earlier on, the legacy of ethnic rivalries during the colonial era influenced the inter- and intra-ethnic relations in the country. The Akan’s, which includes about twenty sub- groups, constitute about half of the Ghanaian population, making them the largest ethnic group in Ghana. Their overall dominance is present in the public sector; and in the economic and social life of Ghanaians as they overshadow other non-Akan ethnic groups. Consequently, one of the major critics on the Sankofaism framework on cultural heritage was that other non-Akan ethnic groups accused Nkrumah and his government of implementing a form of Akan hegemony to ‘Akanize’ the nation that ignores the minority ethnic groups (De Witte & Meyer 2012; Simpson 2003). Nkrumah explained his interest in the Akan culture during the inaugurating of his theatre

12 Retrieved on 18th of May 2015 via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Ghana_Languages

13 Akan includes: Asante, Fante, Akuapem, , and Kwahu. However as .com states, Asante- Twi and Fante are most widely-spoken Akan dialects in Ghana. Retrieved via 18th of May 2015 http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/tribes/languages.php

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group, “Osagyefo Players” on January 24, 1965. He argued that although the Akan people had not written their history nor culture they were one of the few ethnic groups that were able to maintain their culture in its pure state through traditional cultural expression that include music, dance, art, designs, names, signs and symbols, performances, ceremonies, architectural forms, handicrafts, and narratives, or many other artistic or cultural expressions15 (De Witte & Meyer 2012; Botwe-Asamoah 2005:65).16 Nkrumah reinterpreted culture as a lived experience of Ghanaians. To him, the culture of African people was embedded in interdependence, interrelationship, and collective responsibility (Botwe-Asamoah 2005).

One Nation, One Language The second mission of the was to decrease any notion of ethnic consciousness in attempts to create national unity and harmonious inter-, and intra-ethnic relations. Various projects were established to stimulate this process. For example, the boarding school system served to bring educated elites from different ethnic backgrounds to interact across ethnic differences as they shared their experiences. Promoting rural-urban migration and the growth of towns also served to improve the social interaction between people from different ethnic background and to downplay existing ethnic animosities and rivalries. In the context of national unity, these projects were established to influence notions locals held towards national and cultural identity. It was Nkrumah’s desire that locals would first define themselves as Ghanaians and then followed by the ethnic group they are a member of (Botwe-Asamoah 2005:121). Another strategy to stimulate national unity and economic development was the implementation of a national language, a language that would support the country to be a competitor in the global . Led by the political framework ‘‘one nation, one language’’, Nkrumah’s Government promulgated English as the official nation language, lingua franca and medium of instruction in education. The English language symbolized as a neutral non-ethnic language that transcended ethnic differences and stimulated unification amongst the different cultural groups. Although the State supported the use of local languages as a form of expressing cultural pride, at the same time it also served as an ethnic marker. Selecting a local language as the

15 Cultural expression or "expressions of folklore" are categorized under the term Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs). This term was first introduced in 1985 by UNICEF in their rapport on the national laws of the protection of expressions of folklore.

16 La Verle et al. (1994) writes that the Akan culture is one of the purest West African cultures that still exist. The Akan people managed to protect themselves from outsiders’ influences as they preserved the core fundamentals of their culture. For instance, the Akan’s rejected the Islamization process that took place in sub- Saharan Africa between the 9th and 14th centuries

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official language could be interpreted by the local people as an act of ethnic preference which could lead to more division instead of stimulating unity amongst the people. Today, the English language is used for all formal, status-full and specialized domains like government affairs17, large-scale business transactions, as well as legal, administrative and official procedures and documents. It is also the standard language for all formal professions, as educational instruction and in national radio and television broadcasts. In contrast to the local languages which is mainly used for cultural affairs within cultural domains, such as chieftaincy18 (pre-colonial institution of governance with judicial, legislative, and executive powers), kinship relations and in daily lives of the locals. According to La Verle et al. the distinction between English as formal language and local languages as informal is to ‘minimize internal divisiveness’ in order to establish notions of unification in the whole of urban Ghana (1994:46).

Conclusion The focus of this chapter was to explore the political context in which the English language and the Ghanaian languages functions. The historical events in this chapter illustrated the relation between language and hegemonic ideologies, in which cultural institutions such as schools plays a significant role in transmitting political and culturally loaded hegemonies to the people. English in the Ghanaian political context has always enjoyed the status of being the instrumental language for social and economic developments. In the last two periods we saw that the value of the English language was redefined as the language for modernity which lead to not only economic and social upwardly mobilisation but also upward motions on cultural level. In both periods notions of modern identity were extremely highlighted. However the difference between the two periods is that the modern identity in the Achimota college framework referred to the exclusion of traditional Ghanaian culture and its influences on the thought and the behaviour of the speaker. In Nkrumah’s framework modernity is established in the Ghanaian, African culture. The English language serves to stimulate national unification and symbolizes as an important key to the global world, whereas the local languages serves to promote solidarity and symbolizes cultural heritage, In other words, the English language functions as an essential instrumental language

17 Moreover, during the Constitution of 1969 all members of the parliament were required to speak, read, and understand English. This policy was put to an end by the Consultative Assembly in 1992.

18 After independence, Nkrumah’s government aimed to reduce the political significance of chieftaincy and to subordinate it to the authority of the modernizing state. Yet, the chiefs managed to obtain their degree of influence over the political life of the country’ and their ethnic members. In today’s modern and urban Ghana, postcolonial chiefs continue to derive power from acting as intermediaries between the spheres of the state and tradition (Willis 2013:218).

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that causes social and economic advancements for the nation as it obtains a modern identity and the local language as a medium that preserves the cultural lived experiences of the locals.

Chapter 2

Acting Brofo Sem and Being too Local

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The three historical events discussed in chapter one, have contributed to the complex sociolinguistic situation in Ghana. Ghana is located at the centre of the West African coast and is bordered by three French-speaking nations of Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Togo to the east, and Burkina Faso (Burkina, formerly Upper Volta) to the north. Towards the south are the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ghana is best described as a multilingual landscape with a total population of about 26 million people (Undesa in Lewis et al. 2015). The population can be divided in the five major ethnic- and linguistic groups I mentioned in the previous chapter. Researchers have presented different numbers on the amount of languages spoken in Ghana. However, this thesis uses the numbers as listed by Ethnologue.com because Ethnologue catalogues all the languages it identifies. The number of languages recorded in Ghana are a total of 81 living local languages. Out of the several languages and many dialects, Nkrumah’s government selected eleven major local languages as government-sponsered languages that are being funded by the government and used in literacy programs schools and in the (electronic) media (see chapter one).

Some theorists argue that the political framework “one nation one language” is not applicable in African countries because of their multi-ethnic and –linguistic character. In the book Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World, Blackledge (2005) further indicates that language policies in multilingual heterogeneous societies claim to have a tolerant identity, which imposes to emphasize pride for the linguistic diversity, but in reality tend to undervalue or ignore the multilingual character of the country because of their focus on unifying and modernizing the nation. Phrased differently, the argument is that the language policy of Ghana does not reflect the social reality of the country, where local languages plays a very important role in the daily lives of the locals. Questions concerning the role of the English language oppose to the preservation of cultural heritage, cultural identity and promoting social transformation bring with them a field of tension and contradictions. This field of tension is dominated by two discourses that were introduced by Nkrumah’s government after Independence: emphasizing the preservation of cultural heritage and pursuing modern identity. In this chapter I argue that in non-formal speech domains these discourses, which were allegedly assigned to complement each other as they were embodied by the locals, tend to conflict with each other.

Ethnic rivalries in urban multilingual Accra

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Studies on language variation in Ghana have shown that Ghanaians lead their daily lives in their Ghanaian languages (Kropp-Dakubu 2014). In an earlier work on the multilingual character of urban Accra, Kropp-Dakubu argues that, ‘All languages of Accra can express solidarity or aid mobility and also index social or economic status, depending on the domain, the community and the variety used’ (1997:166). In a multilingual urban city like Accra, language either functions as an institutional instrument to establish (formal) economic relations; or as a local instrument that stimulates solidarity and equality. I discovered this pattern as I conducted this research in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Accra is also one of the most ethnically mixed city where one can find all members of the major ethnic groups in the whole of Ghana. Besides English, the city of Accra has four local languages that are used for wider communication between different ethnic groups. These languages are: Akan, Ga, and Hausa. Although none of these languages have been given any official status, yet they are used for important communicative purposes. For Ouedraogo (2000), these local languages facilitate horizontal integration. The Ghanaian Pidgin English is used as a lingua franca in multilingual contexts, but most primarily as an in-group language among males in secondary schools and universities with the purpose of expressing group solidarity. This is also the case with Hausa, which serves as the lingua franca and in-group language of in West-Africa. The , particularly the Twi dialect, functions as de facto national working language and is mostly used between members of the Akan communities and others, rather than among non-Akans (Kropp-Dakubu 2000; Lewis et al 2015).

Other ethnic groups, like the Ga’s (the natives of Accra city) the Ewe’s and the Fante’s, share the perception of an Akan-Asante hegemony (Botwe-Asamoah 2005; Simpson 2003; De Witte & Meyer 2012; La Verle et al. 1994). Many of my informants that were from a non-Asante ethnic group, were convinced that the Asante’s wanted to revive their dominance in the country, by forcing everyone to speak Akan-Twi, which is their native language. As noted earlier in chapter one, ethnic rivalries of the precolonial era and variance in the impact of colonialism upon different regions have contributed to ethnic tensions in the country. Virtually each of Ghana’s ethnic group has one negative stereotype or the other. Yet the most complains are towards the Asante, sub-group of the major ethnic group Akan. The Asante’s are known for their prideful attitude and behaviour which is rooted in their cultural history of power and success on the battlefield, as well as their strong entrepreneurial spirit. (Asante & Gyimah-Boadi 2004). Other ethnic groups complain that Asante ethnic group are rather arrogant. My visit to the University of Legon led me to a conversation I ended up having with a staff member at the University of Legon. We discussed on the negative thoughts non-Akan people held towards Akan-Twi and its

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ethnic group Asante. As our conversation progressed he told me that he was a Fante, part of the meta-ethnic group Akan, and that he too had negative experiences with a person who was an Asante. When he was younger he encountered an interaction between a young Asante man who was a tro-tro mate and his customer which was an elder Ga woman. What had happened was that older woman approached the mate in Ga. According to him, the mate replied very rude telling her that if she did not speak Akan-Twi he would not help her. Like the general non-Asante public, he too referred to the Asante people as being too proud and arrogant. I was also told multiple times that Asante people often refuse to neither learn nor speak any other local language except their own. He further expressed his irritation accusing the Asante people of wanting to dominate the whole of Ghana by demanding everyone to speak their Akan-Twi, even in the capital city where the natives speak Ga.

This means that a majority of the locals still tends to associate local language to ethnic groups. In context of ethnic rivalries, non-Akan locals reinterpret Akan-Twi as the dominant everyday language in Accra. To speak Akan-Twi is seen by them as a form of submission to the dominance of the Asante ethnic group. Therefore non-Akan’s tend to hold on to their own local mother tongue and use Akan-Twi only when the linguistic situation demands it (Kropp-Dakubu 2000).

Multilingualism in a Bus

A great place to experience the multilingual character of urban Accra is in the tro-tro. The tro-tro is an efficient transportation system of minibuses that can seat a total of 10 to 15 people. This bus permits travellers to get to any location within Accra cheaply and quickly. While being in the field I decided to make use of the tro-tro primarily for its affordability. Of all the previous years that I visited Ghana, I never liked taking the tro-tro because I did not like the idea of being stuffed in a crowded minibus. This time was different, I was here to work, to discover and to partake of the daily routines in the lives of the local people in Accra. At the end, the tro-tro became my main form of transportation. I became very fond of the tro-tro transport system for it provided me the opportunity to know the whole city cheaply, but most importantly it brought me in contact with the locals.

The ’s Consultative Citizen’s Report Card for the City of Accra (2010) stated that in 2001, 70 percent of the Accraians made use of the tro-tro transportation network to go to

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their work or to go shopping.19 My previous assumption was that the tro-tro was only used by people from low social class who could not afford any other form of transportation. Yet in the field I came to discovery that the tro-tro is a national transportation network that is mostly used by middle class people; students, young professionals (office workers) and entrepreneurs (market and sales women).

What makes the tro-tro an interesting observation field is the high incidence of speech activities that takes place in these buses. What I also discovered was that each bus had its own speech sphere that was dominated by specific local language. The speech sphere was determined by the course of the bus. In most buses the speech sphere was Akan-Twi. However there were also some buses in which the speech sphere was either Ga (language of the native ethnic groups of Accra, Ga) or Hausa. For example, if you take the bus to downtown Accra, the speech sphere is Ga, whereas the bus to Nima has a Hausa speech sphere. However it is important to note that this does not indicate that everyone in the tro-tro speaks the dominate language in the bus. It is rather normal to hear three or four conversations in different languages. Like that one time when I took the tro-tro to go to the Nima market. Grace, who also lived in the same house as I, and I sat in the front row next to the driver. Behind us were two Muslima’s, the mate and behind them were some other ladies and men. In the car I heard three conversation, all in a different language. The ladies behind me were speaking Hausa. While they were talking one of them bumped with her hand to my head rest. As I turned around to see if the head rest of my seat was in good state, she apologized to me in Akan-Twi saying: “Oh maame mi yɛ sorry [sorry my lady]”. I smiled to her and she continued her conversation with her friend in Hausa. The driver and the mate were also speaking in a language that sounded like Ga. Interestingly, at every stop the mate would say something in Akan-Twi or in Hausa to the people who were waiting for the bus. I found this to be very interesting. As I stated earlier on, the use of local languages is translated as a medium that contributes to solidarity amongst locals. I figured that this is what Kropp-Dakubu meant when she pointed out that all languages in Ghana are considered important to the local people. However the language choice, its meaning and function is determined by the relationship speakers have with each other. As for the Muslima’s I met in the Nima tro-tro car, because they were both Muslims, their language of choice was therefore Hausa. Hausa to them is a medium that connects them together as they share similar religion identities. When she apologized to me she switched to Akan-Twi, since it is the most dominant language spoken in Ghana, or maybe because she overheard me speaking Twi with Grace. Whatever the case may be, her choice for

19 To read more on this report visit: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:- YmoWh742nwJ:https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2883/551170ESW0P1131Citize ns0Report0Card.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1+&cd=1&hl=nl&ct=clnk&gl=nl 29 | Page

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Twi could be translated that I was not part of her religious community to whom she could speak Hausa. However, I was a part her community on a national level. We shared similarities in the fact that we were both Ghanaians. Akan-Twi served as our medium of communication to define our social relationships. Yet, her choice of speaking Akan-Twi with me and Hausa with her friends does not reflect which relation is considered more valuable. Instead, it emphasizes the relation between the speakers as it also emphasizes social equality and solidarity. In sum, the speech events in the tro-tro buses illustrated that although English is positioned as the official language, this does not mean that use of local languages is not valued. On the contrary the local languages plays a significant role in the daily lives of the locals for it defines the social relations between the participant speakers. These relations are based on social equality and solidarity.

The Multilingual Market Women

In Ghana women tend to be in charge of most of the commercial activities, such as trading. In the field I discovered that market women embody the multilingual character of Ghana. Because of their work at the market, they are frequently exposed to people from different ethnic backgrounds and their languages. As a result these market and sales women train themselves in becoming proficient speakers of multiple local languages (Ouedraogo 2000). As I was in the field I managed to establish a good relation with Esther, who also lived in the house in which I resided.

Esther is married and has two children. She works as a market women. In one of our first conversation, she proudly told me that she could speak about four or five local languages, including the major language Akan, Hausa, Ga and some minority languages. Esther had only experienced and therefore has very little knowledge of the English language. Her use of the English language fits best under the category Ghanaian Pidgin English whereby the English language is mixed with local languages. Each time when she tried to speak English, members of the house, who were more schooled in the English language, would laugh and correct her. As a result, she would often remind them that English is not her language: “English is not my language, I am not an English person. I am a Ghana person, so I speak Ghana English. English the way I understand it!”. In another conversation she told me about an experience she had with a customer that refused to speak a local language with her. She told me that this lady wanted to buy something from her at the market. Instead of speaking Akan or any of the other major local languages, this lady approached her in English. As she looked at her outward appearance, she could see that the lady was not from abroad but, in her own words, “from the

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same Ghana as me”. When the woman asked for the price of one of her products she doubled the price. The lady instantly responded in Twi arguing that it was too expensive. I then asked her why she did that. She replied: “If you come do brofo sem herh, I will charge you double. We are in Ghana, how come you speak English with me?”

Esther’s story demonstrates a part of the general debate on the role of the English language in local speech spheres. There reigns a general assumption that as a Ghanaian living in Accra, one is aware of the use of local languages in non-formal domains. Ouedraogo (2000) argues that within these setting the use of local languages symbolizes solidarity and social equality between the speakers. For the locals in the local setting such as the market, the use of a local language emphasizes a sense of belonging and equality between the trader and the customer. The local languages stimulates notions of a Ghanaian identity that eliminates ethnic and class differences. Using a non-local language in these local contexts is treated as an expression of deviant behaviour. People like Esther tend to make a clear distinction between English as the formal language used in formal speech spheres between the educated elites; and the local languages as the language of locals in local speech spheres. Speaking English in a local setting is perceived as irrelevant in some cases translated by the local receiver as insulting, as Esther’s reaction showed. From Esther’s perspective, the English-speaking woman implicitly insulted her by speaking the language of the elite, a language she does not understand. In order to restore their position as proud local speakers, locals criticize Ghanaian English speakers for acting brofo sem. Acting brofo sem refers to natives that act as an English man. English man in this context implies to a foreign person who is unaware of the local customs of a country. Phrased differently, the notion of acting brofo sem implies that one is acting like a foreigner in his/her own country, unaware of the local practices in his/her own country.

From a social anthropological viewpoint I discovered that in local settings, local languages holds multiple functions besides creating a sense of cultural heritage. It also stimulates a sense of solidarity as well as overshadowing class differences and creating a sense of social equality amongst its speakers. English, as a non-local language interrupts this harmony between the locals as it functions as a class determinant separating the educated elite from the uneducated locals.

Debating Tradition and Modernity

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One afternoon I went out to visit the workplace of my cousin, which is a law firm. When I arrived there I met Sarah, a young women who had just graduated from university and is now working as a lawyer for less than a year. Shortly after our first meeting I arranged an interviewed with her. During our interview, I got to know her as a very ambitious and international oriented young woman. She told me that she loved to watch reality shows from America, soap series from and South-Korea. She also told me about her love for the South-Korean culture and language and that she had even downloaded a Korean speech app that will help her to be proficient in the Korean language. She also told me that all her siblings stayed abroad and whom she often visited. Yet she herself had decided to stay in Ghana. Although she does not define herself as such, her profile fully corresponds to what has become known as Afropolitans, a term that refers to young people of African descent that are internationally mobile and highly educated (Spronk 2014a).

People like Sarah are categorized as an elite group of privileged middle-class young adults that enjoy the best education and finest lifestyles as they live in and travel between different global cosmopolitan places (2014a: 213). To her language functions as follow:

I see language to be a key to understanding other people. That is what my definition of it is, it’s a key, and clearly it is a communication tool. But I want to get more romantic about the idea. I see it as a way to connect to a person in a way that you previously you hadn’t been able to connect to the person. [It helps] to unlock that persons door of communication. One thing is that when a person’s door of communication opens, a whole new world [opens up]. The other thing with language is that it goes hand in hand with culture. You can learn so much from a person who speaks a different language. They might have different things perspective of live. But it might even be the same, but you wouldn’t know if you can’t speak their language and they will not be able to tell you. So the number one advantage is the fact that so much access is given when that key of language is used. You have access to the person, you can share ideas with the person, you can learn more about the person, you can have a new friend, create some new relationships, you know with a person. So yeah that’s why I see language as a key, I see it as a major key.

– Sarah, 6 July, 2015-

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For most of my informants who like Sarah fit under the profile of Afropolitan, the English language is more than an instrumental language that stimulates upwardly social mobility. It enlightens its speakers of new cultural insights as it guides them to the world of globalization. In her studies on the self-perception of Africanness under young professionals in Nairobi, Spronk (2014) explains that young professionals in Kenya perceive themselves to be carries of modernity oppose to the traditional people that criticized the liberal attitude the young professionals hold towards their social life. I discovered this distinction also amongst other Afropolitans like Sarah. To them, locals that tend to hold firmly on their own local language are considered traditional or as “too local”. After my interview with Sarah, she suggested that I should interview her “very local” boyfriend. She told me that she and her boyfriend had opposite views on the use of the English language and locals languages in the Ghanaian context, which often leads to heated discussion between them. Her boyfriend, James, grew up in an Akan-Twi speaking household in a village, in contrast to Sarah who grew up in an English-only speaking household in the city. On the question which language is more important in Ghana, James advocated that the most important language is Akan, particularly Twi. Sarah, on the other hand, advocated that English is the most important language in Ghana when placed in a global context. The discussion between this couples went as follow:

[Sarah enters into the living room, I invite her to partake in the conversation between James and me]

Edna: So Sarah is the English speaker and you are more like the local speaker?

James: yeah local.

Edna: I can imagine that it causes some friction.

Sarah & James: Yeah, For sure.

Edna: Why is the local language that important to you?

James: Because I live in my country. I don’t live in someone else’s country, my sister. If you go to a white man’s country, what language do you speak? He can’t speak your language. So why must I force myself? Why should I bother myself in making his language more important than my own language?!

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[Because mi ti mi Krom! Min ti obiaa Krom, me nua. Mi ti mi Krom. Se kwesibroni no wo ko ni Krom aa kasa beng na wo ka? Wo tumi enka wo kasaa. Adenti na eye se mi ha mi whoa se me ma ono kasaa no aye more important than mimi dye no?!]

Sarah: Okay so this is where I come in. [As you have already noticed] we have a lot of these communication problems and it makes you want to ask yourself like, okay so what is now the best language, you know, to speak? Personally, I feel like it is English, honestly. I feel like it is English! And he feels like it is Twi. But why am I saying it is English. It is true that we are in our country and [that] we have our own language(s) here. That is the [Akan-]Twi, the Ga and so on and so forth. But remember when I told you when you interviewed me, I told you that when people speak one language there is homogeneity, a one-ness is created. And when that one-ness is created more is achieved. Honestly, I was telling you that I think that one of the things Africa cannot become united is because so many different languages are spoken in this one small continent, I told you. So for me, I feel like it is very global to be able to express yourself very well in the English language. Because one of the global giants of the world that is America and then the , and even countries that are not know to be typically English speaking are still learning how to speak English because they know that, that is where it is going. That is where all the businesses are. That is where all the globalization is at. You can’t go and speak Twi on a global stage. No!

James: Really?!

Sarah: It depends on your scoop! If you are going to stay in this country forever, Fine! You know you can be like all about Twi, Twi, and Twi. And be like Twi is this and Twi is that. But then if you know that there is a possibility for you to sort of cross boundaries, transcend this nation and move into other spheres on this earth that we call a globe, the world that we live on. You will not limit yourself thinking this [local] language is the most important language. So me personally, I like English more. Because I feel like it opens newer and broader enlightens unto me than to just know Twi. [However] if they (refers to the government) are [going] be serious about it, they’re [going to] push Twi to become one of those international known languages, Fine! Then I [will] also put Twi on the pedestal next to English. Otherwise I am not going to put Twi anywhere near it. It is good to know Twi, but Twi is so limited as far as I am concerned and there is no way I would consider Twi to be more important to me than English. Is just as simple as that.

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The discussion between Sarah and James embodies the general debate I discussed earlier in the introduction. It reflects a field of tensions and ambivalence concerning the definition of the ‘Ghanaian’ identity and the role of English in this context. There are two groups in this discussion that criticize each other by giving the other a sarcastic name. People like Sarah that say that they can express themselves better in the English language are called by others, like Esther and James for are acting “brofo sem”. In this context, Ghanaian English speakers are accused by others of wanting to be Western. Their actions are translated as a form of disconnecting themselves from their cultural heritage, their roots. In turn, people like Sarah refer to their criticizers as being traditional “too locals”. The verb local refers to having a rural worldview that is seen as ‘backward’ or ‘traditional’ (Spronk 2014a: 222). It implies that locals are people that tend to reject any means of modernity and global transformations by holding firmly to traditions and culture.

The quotations presented in this chapter displays several narratives locals hold on the notion of being a Ghanaian. There are two discourses I would like to highlight. The first one is the discourse of cultural authenticity, where language is associated with culture and ethnicity. The majority of the Ghanaians share the notion that a Ghanaian is a “real” Ghanaian when his/her first language is a local language. Admiration is given to those that can also speak the tongue of their parents next to the major language(s). The mother tongue which links the speaker to an ethnic group, gives the speaker a significant identity that tells a story about his cultural background and reflects the cultural history and cultural heritage of the ethnic group (Swanepoel 2013). The English language, on the other hand, has no history, except that it was introduced by the British that ruled over the country and its people. In this context where language is linked to ethnicity and geographic space, English is referred to as an un-Ghanaian language. It is a language that has no roots in the Ghanaian soil, therefore it should be treated as a pragmatic instrumental medium and not as a medium that stimulates solidarity.

The second discourse is modernity. People that fall into the category of Afropolitans tend to detangle themselves from normative notions on Ghanaianess (Spronk 2014). Identity as a concept is approached in a flexible way. Their definition of being a Ghanaian is embedded in Nkrumah’s paradigm of “modern African culture” (see chapter one). To them, being a Ghanaian in modern days, means being proud of your Ghanaian descent as you aim to be successful in life through good education and being international oriented. In this framework, establishing relations that transcend ethnic boundaries is emphasized. Local languages tend to prevent the establishment of this process because of its limitation of being association with ethnicity and locality. English as the so called global language, gives speakers access to engage in global affairs

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and opportunities to interact with other people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result English has been interpreted as a practical medium that stimulates this trans-connection with people in general whilst the use of local languages relates the speaker to just one ethnic group.

Conclusion

The focus of this chapter was to explore the narratives locals hold when it comes to the use of English in non-formal domains. This chapter illustrated the tension on the role of English in the local speech environments. The debates on whether English is part of the local life experience of Ghanaians is held between two groups, each having their own interpretation on the role of language within the Ghanaian context. Their conceptual framework is situated in either the discourse of language as a cultural heritage or the discourse of language as a pragmatic instrumental medium. These two discourses were initially introduced by Nkrumah to complement each other. However, in practice these discourses tend to conflict with each other. The majority of the population perceive the use of local language as an expression of solidarity amongst the locals. In this view, English is translated as an un-Ghanaian language that has no historical affective relation with the local people of Ghana. On the contrary, the use of English within this discourse implies English as a determinant for social stratification, like in the colonial period where Western practices implied social and economic developments. The people positioned in this discourse tend to criticize English speaking Ghanaians of performing un- Ghanaian practices that does not appreciate and celebrate the cultural heritage and the cultural daily lives of Ghanaians. Language within their framework is described as an affective instrument that binds the speaker with an ethnic group or community. In contrast, Afropolitans perceive the rejection of using English in non-formal domains as form of resisting any form of sociocultural transformation. To them English is part of the Ghanaian history, therefore a Ghanaian language in the context of modern Ghanaian identity. In their conceptual framework, language is an essential pragmatic instrumental medium that is used to establish relations beyond ethnic and territorial boundaries. In this view notions of modernity implies that one’s modes of perception that influences our behaviour, is not bounded to ethnic identification but to a cosmopolitan ethos that positions the identity of the speaker in the context of globalism.

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Chapter 3

Acquiring a Cosmopolitan Identity from Home

Paa Kow: If you give birth, what language will you use at home with your child?

Navica: my local [native] language.

Paa Kow: What if your husband insists that you should use the English language?

Navica: He may insist but he must understand why you choose not to do so.

Paa Kow: Do you know any families that speak English with their children at home?

Navica: A lot of them. Most of them think that it is modern to let your children speak English.

Paa Kow: It’s a new trend. They don’t want their children to be seen as backward.

Navica: Ooh. Where I live the children in the house don’t speak the local language, they speak English. But as long as I am staying there, I make sure they speak the local language, because they don’t understand it. Sometimes I have to speak English to tell them what I mean. But they are picking it small small.

Paa Kow: As she rightly said, here [in Ghana], if your child does not speak English it means that you are backward. People are forced to speak English with their children, whether their English is good or bad.

Navica: I am surprised that you [Edna] are surprised. This practice is so common nowadays.

“Well, I think it [teaching English at home] should be done because if we think that building character and socialisation begins from home, and language is part of our socialisation and uhm…the earlier a child picks up a language, it has the tendency to make it more efficient as (s)he grows, rather than picking it up later along the line. So yes, we should speak English at homes. (…)”

– Mark, 11 June, 2015 -

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Garrett (2010) argues in his introduction in the book Attitudes of Languages, that language attitudes of people are first introduced by the state and then reproduced and maintained by human socialization. Studies on language acquisition in non-Western communities describe socialization as the process in which kin-relations install cultural values into children in order for them to become competent members of their social (ethnic) groups (Ochs & Schieffelin 1986, 1994; Kulick & Schieffelin 2005; Duranti et al. 2011). The focus is placed on the dynamic relation between subjectivities, stances and positions and how that defines the socialization process. Subjectivities implies notions of affect; desires and fears that influences the language choice and language behaviour of the speaker. These affective stances play an important role in the process of becoming a recognisable subject in any social group (Hymes 1974 in Kulick & Schieffelin 2005: 353). It suggest that language socialization processes are contextually determined by the fears and desires of the parents.

The vignettes presented at the beginning of this chapter reflects the affects locals have about the use of English in the Ghanaian household. This discourse of Ghanaianess carries a nostalgic character, postulating Ghanaian in opposition to Western and tradition to modernity (Spronk 2014a). In the discourse of the Ghanaian language socialization, the use of English as the first language in the up bring of a child is criticized as being an un-Ghanaian practice, an act that betrays the Ghanaian culture and its heritage. For “traditional” locals this so called modern practices socialize children in becoming Western and denying them their cultural heritage.

The more English you become, it affects your value. It affects your personality. You want to behave in a certain way. In homes where English is spoken it is assumed that the children become more enlightened, they will be able to compete internationally, they will be able to behave like certain peoples certain white people and so on so forth. It has to do with the language.

– Paa Kow, 12 June 2015-

The rejection of the mass on the use of English can be linked to the fear of losing cultural authenticity and being re-colonized in the mind with the believes that the Ghanaian culture has no value when it comes to social and economic transformation (Botwe-Asamoah 2005). In this chapter I intend to focus on the motivations of parents that chooses to speak only English to their child. This elite group which I refer to as Afropolitan are highly educated and internationally

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oriented. Their identity and daily practices are embedded in notions of ‘cosmopolitanization’ which indicates of an awareness of increasing global interconnections (Spronk 2014a:212). I argue that the motivation of Afropolitan parents of having an English-only speaking household is rooted in their subjectivity of aspirational desires.

Goa & Park (2012) argued in their study on the language attitude of Korean-Chinese parents, that the language choice of parents are heavily influenced by their relational position in socio-political and economic environments. In a more recent study on language attitudes of parents, Chao, Xue and Xu (2014), analysed that East-Asian parents holding a professional socioeconomic status, prefer to teach their children English instead of their mother tongue for the purposes of national modernization, school entrance examinations, career promotions, and interactions with the global world. For these parents, English operates as a symbol lic capital and is associated with upwardly socioeconomic mobility. In Ghana, English has always been viewed by the people as a pragmatic instrumental language for socio-economic advantages (see chapter one). However, this is not the case for the language choice of Afropolitans parents when placed in the context of modernity and globalisation. In this view, I argue that the homes of Afropolitans functions as a sociocultural institution where parents are led with desires to socialize their child to be recognized as a competent member of a modern and global community. In Afropolitan homes, English is perceived as the most appropriate language to realise this notion of future aspirations. I analyse the motives of parents through the experiences and subjectivities of Sarah and Mark. Sarah’s language behaviour is the end result of an English-speaking household and Mark is a father who has started practicing English as the household language since the birth of his first child. But before I do so I would like to present an excerpt from my field notes that I recorded during my observation in the house in which I resided for three months20. In this house communication was performed in two languages: English and Akan-Twi. However a distinction was made to whom one spoke English or Akan-Twi. It goes as follows:

The six year old Kofi lives with his grandma Abena and her Canadian ‘obrini’ husband, I always called Sir. Jack21. His grandparents are gold miners and own a big mansion of three floors and thirteen bedrooms (each with their own bathroom). The majority of the people

20 I recorded this observation after my first month of being in the field

21 Sir Jack has lived in Ghana for more than twenty years but is incapable of speaking a local language, not even Akan-Twi. I asked him how it was possible for someone like him to live in Ghana for so long and not be able to speak a local language. He told me that his social and economic environment did not require him to speak any local language, so there was no need for him to learn how to speak any local language. 39 | Page

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living in this house are relatives of his grandma Abena. I was told that from the very first day Kofi came to live in the house, his grandparents spoke only English with him. This practices was noticed and adopted by the rest of the household. Now, everybody in the house speaks only English with him and he also answers them in English. However, because not everybody in the house had the opportunity to further their education, the English spoken in the house is not what one would call very eloquent. It is rather English with a Ghanaian touch, meaning not Standard British English, but English with some Ghanaian accents like aah and ooh at the end of a sentence and also sentences like: When I have my own, I no go give you oo, Kofi told Blessing (the daughter of Esther) while playing. Thus, all the members of the house used English to approach Kofi and Sir. Jack. Amongst themselves, the rest of the household would use Akan-Twi as their medium of communication.

My first impression was that Kofi could not speak nor understand any local language at all. However, half way the first week of my stay, I heard some children playing in front of my room and speaking Akan-Twi. When I opened my curtains I saw that it was Kofi who was playing and speaking well fluent Akan-Twi with the children of Esther (chapter two). However I observed that he did not speak Twi whenever he was in the presence of adults. Esther’s children on the other hand, used Akan-Twi as their medium of communicate with their mother and the rest of the household. Kofi’s grandparents both told me that English has always been the first language of Caleb and that he schooled in an English-only school (I was later on told that it was an expensive and prestigious school for children from wealthy and prestigious families). Jack told me on the afternoon he and I took a walk through the neighbourhood, that Kofi did not learn how to speak vernacular from home because they, meaning the whole household, did not teach him how to speak it. “He must have learned it during playtime”, he said “because all his courses are held in English”. His grandma told me a different story saying that she never thought that Kofi would be able to speak Akan-Twi, because nobody spoke Akan-Twi with him at home or at school. She on the other hand, thinks that he picked up the Akan- Twi language trough the interaction he has with Esther’s children and other children from the neighbourhood with whom he often plays.

On one evening, Esther’s youngest son of two years old, Kwabena was banging on Jennifer’s door yelling “Bobi [he was referring to Kofi] make I come”. I was sitting in the

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living room with Grace, Maa Janet and his sister Blessing when this happened. We all started to laugh when we heard what Kwabena was saying. Grace than said: “This little boy is too funny, he knows that when he is playing with Kofi he should speak English and to the rest of us Twi”. I asked her how it was possible for him to know the difference at such a young age. “Because we all speak Twi to him, and he hears us speaking English to Kofi, that’s why”, she answered. The next morning we went out to buy some porridge. As we were walking home I recalled what Kwabena did the night before. We laughed again and she gave me the same explanation: she and the rest of the household speak Akan-Twi to Kofi and that Kwabena has noticed that and knows that he too must also speak only English with Kofi. She then explained that the reason why Kofi is brought up in English is because of his grandfather Eric (personally I believe that this is not the main reason). “But Kofi also speaks Twi right, I’ve heard him speak Twi”, I said. She then looked at me and shook her head saying “tweaaa Kofi, his Twi is not papaa [not good, not well formed, fluent] He tries but it is not papaa. When Kofi tries to speak Twi with Kofi, Kofi doesn’t understand him [because it is that bad?!] But when Kofi speaks English with him all of a sudden Kwabena then understand him.”

This vignette reflects the linguistic environment of a Ghanaian child that is being brought up speaking only English. Though this description does not apply to all houses, however the patterns are alike. What this scene highlight is that the selected language socialization process which only applies for a specific child, a child that belongs to Afropolitan (grand)parents that have high aspirational hopes for the child. Kofi’s grandparents have high expectations of him becoming a successful and prosperous person. Because of that, they have created an English speech sphere around their grandson by placing him in a restricted English-only speaking school and implicitly demanding everyone in his environment to speak only English with him. Although he has the ability to speak Akan-Twi, his environment reduces his interest of becoming a fluent speaker of Akan-Twi. Giving comments on his attempt to speak Akan-Twi and saying that his Twi is not good, implicitly forces him to speak only English. In other words, we see how the language behaviour of a non-native English speaker is partially formed by the subjectivities of his caregivers as well as the language regulation which is implemented at schools.

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Aspirational Vision

In my interview with Sarah, she told me that she grew up in a household where her parents interacted with each other in a local language and English with her and her siblings. I asked her if she knew the reason why her parents decided to distinct the speech event of child-parent and mother-father. She answered:

The reasons why, because number one, English is the official language of Ghana. So everything we do in Ghana that has to be formal we do it in English. We could do certain things with Twi, but Twi is not international.

So when going to school the language [the language of instruction] is English. My parents knew that our textbooks would be in English, they knew that [it would be of benefit] in the future. People actually get impressed sometimes when they notice that you are able to communicate well in English. It is not like people don’t generally know how to speak English in Ghana, but there is also another thing where, despite the English language, we are still attached to our local languages. Ghanaians are very attached to their local languages. If you observe very closely, we are very attached to it. I don’t know what happened to my parents [laughs]. They are just exceptions to that rule, but Ghanaians in general are very attached to their local languages. So you realise that people like to speak Twi in informal settings, they like to speak Twi at home, they like to speak Twi at church. I am just saying Twi as a local language example I am using. But it depends on the area. if you have Ga’s, they like to speak Ga at home, they would like to go to a Ga speaking church, they would like to read a Ga bible or Ga books or whatever. Ghanaians like their local languages. So I think the reason [why] my parents just didn’t place so much emphasizes on us learning the local languages was [that] he just wanted us to do well in the bigger picture, in the bigger world settings, you know. If you know how to speak English well, you can go anywhere because the language is wide spread.

–Sarah, 6 July, 2015-

Her quote highlights the relation between language and identity in cultural context. As discussed in the previous chapter, Ghanaians in general are very attached to their local languages which expresses their cultural identity. However for Sarah who grew up in a modern family with well- educated parents, this was not the case. The reason for not using a local language was of its

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association with ethnic identification. For aspirational Afropolitan parents like Sarah’s, notions of language as ethnic marker are rejected. Language is reinterpreted as flexible, pragmatic instrument that stimulates social transformation of identity. In addition, local languages forms a barrier in the realisation of new and open identities where individuals can work and live in cities around the globe ‘belonging to no single geography, but feeling home at many’ (Quoted Tuakli-Wosornu 2005 in Spronk 2014b: 166). Sarah’s parents had envisioned their children outside the ethnic, national boundaries. As a result, her two brothers and one sister had moved abroad to study and make a living there. Like her, they too are all well-educated, have a good job and a prosperous life.

Identity Transformation

In this section I discuss Mark’s story. Mark is a 36 year old business executive who holds an MBA in marketing and international communication and is a father to two boys and one girl. Unlike Sarah, Mark grew up in a household dominated by local languages. Mark’s language sphere embodied the multilingual character of Ghana. His parents communicated with each other in Ga, yet they were not of Ga descent. His father was an Akan and his mother was from the ethnic group Adagmbe. In his language socialization process his father communicated with him in Akan-Twi, whereas his mom used Adagmbe. It resulted that Mark is now able to speak five local languages plus English. Although he was brought up as having multiple local language as his first language(s), Mark argues that as he grew up this position of first language was taken by English. He says:

To me the first language is the language in our institution. In Ghana the first language is English. That is the language that is acceptable in terms of communication ... So I grew up speaking English from school and at home I would speak Twi, but that Twi is contaminated with a lot of English lines and terms and again my mind-set, I think in English and translate it in other languages. That’s why English is my first language.

– Mark, 11 June, 2015-

This quotation reflects the influences of the language policy in Ghanaian education system on the linguistic behaviour of some natives. In Ghana, students that are able to further their education

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are also demanded to make more use of the English language as they are schooled to become professionals. They are socialized to indirectly help the nation to social and economic developments.

His answer also displays the relation between language and identity within the discourse of agency. Mark’s shift of first language implies that the relation between language and identity is contextual and situational, depending on the position of the speaker. In Mark’s case, his social and economic transformation led to the change of his language identity. The choice of English as his first language compliments the self-perception he has of himself as a global person: “I see myself as part of a global movement and not as a local soul”. As a result, his identification with the global world determined his choice for English as the primary language in his household. The interview on this subject went as follow:

Edna: So would you say that by teaching your children English, you are making them part of a global community?

Mark: I want my children to be able to speak, read and write in English [which will] place them competitively in this global world. (…) Look, here in Ghana if [my son] wants to do something, he will have to write it in English. If he writes an application for a job, he has to write it in English. [Nonetheless,] the question is [are we responsible of] of preserving our local languages, because of that local identity? Culture, of which language is part, is dynamic, it evolves over the times. And so uhm.. If the evolution is said that adapting a certain language (…). I would always say, yes we have a responsibility to preserve our local languages. My question is, to what end? I see the issue of languages now showing up in sociological articles and it is more like academic purposes than rather having any political or economic benefits. There was a BBC publication about some of the languages that were almost in extinct. I then asked myself what economic value do these languages have, what profitable value does it have for the speakers? [One would say], well, sociological benefits. But does that provide? If it doesn’t, [then] it is only as good as having a cheap painting on your wall in your room. It only gives you some sense of beauty but you can sell it for any value [laughs]. So that’s the point I am making. It is very important to preserve it. But how is that going to impact the lives of the people who are trying to preserve it?

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The theme in this quotation is globalization and its role on identity and the language behaviour of people. In the introduction of the Language in late Capitalism: Pride and Profit, Duchene & Heller (2013) discuss how globalisation has led to a shift of how people perceive the use and function of language. According to them the discourse of language has shifted from being referred to as a national, cultural treasure which is tied to identity and territory; to the discourse of language as a technical skill that creates profits for its speaker. In the discourse of globalization, the relation between local language and identity is challenged. Once again it is emphasized that the use of local languages expresses local, ethnic identification whereas the use of English expresses global identification. Afropolitan parents like Mark, view the relation between language and identity not as something fixed and passively received by the speaker. Instead, the relation is translated as an ongoing process of identity formation in which the parents actively reproduce or transform their notions of identity (Ahearn 2001). For parents like Mark, English serves as a pragmatic instrument that helps to realize their notions of a cosmopolitan identity.

Also, due to global processes, such as the intensification of communication and trans- national interaction, English has become the primary language of the global commerce, the academic world, and the global media. Consequently, it also increases the desire and willingness of non-natives to learn English (Bhatt 2001). At the same time narratives of English being ‘the language of advantage’ implies that the use of English leads to social and economic advantages in the lives of non-native speakers making everyone to be associated with it (Collins 1990:211 in Held et al. 2004:63, Edu-Buandoh & Otchere 2012). In this context the effect of language on the social and economic lives of the speaker is emphasized. Thus, this means that Afropolitan parents with aspirational hopes for their child(ren) prefer installing their child(ren) with a language that will create benefits in their social and economic lives.

Conclusion

In Ghana, the role of kinship is emphasized in the socialization process of a Ghanaian child. As discussed in this chapter Ghanaian homes functions as cultural institutions in which kin-relations install cultural values into children in order for them to become competent members of their social groups. I approached this socialization process not as something fixed, where language is treated as a fixed unit that establishes the local identity and parents passively reproduces this. Instead I argue that the socialization process of Ghanaian children that are brought up in English-only speaking households, are contextually and situationally embedded in the aspirational subjectivity of their parents. I describe these group of Afropolitan parents as having a future

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orientated mind-set in which they associate English with notions of it being the “passport to prestige and success” and to integrate their children into the English-speaking society. They are also led by the notion that English is the only suitable language for expressing modern identity and socioeconomic development, along with the view that African languages are unsuitable for these purposes. Thus, I oppose myself of normative associations of English as a class determinant or a pragmatic instrument for upwardly social mobility in non-western societies. I associate the practice of English as an aspirational act of establishing a cosmopolitan identity in which the child is aware of the increasing global interconnection and the part they form in this network.

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Conclusion

The language choice of middle class parents in Ghana portrays the challenges parents in post- colonial, multilingual and urban societies face when selecting a first language for their child. Questions on the meaning of identity and the reproduction of it through language, dominates the debates in this country. Middle class Afropolitan parents that choose to teach and use English as the first language in their household, are criticized by the local majority for being un-Ghanaian and are perceived as betrayers of the Ghanaian identity. The majority of the Ghanaian population associates the English language with the colonial period; in which European rulers enforced doctrines of African inferiority in the educational system that eventually shaped the cultural consciousness of African.

As I discussed in chapter one, schools were used by the Europeans as an instrument to guide the “traditional” locals to modernity and civilisation. Modernity in this context meant the rejection of the African identity, culture and language and assimilation to Western discourse. This means that the locals were conditioned to think, talk and walk like their Western rulers. For the locals, on the other hand, school was perceived as a bridge to social and economic success. However, in the post-colonial period the value of the English language was redefined by the Ghanaian state as an aspirational pragmatic instrumental language that would lead Africans to modernity. Nkrumah’s awareness of the increasing global interconnection resulted in the establishment of mass education to create accessibility and equal opportunities for the people to gain knowledge of English, the language of the global community. The implementation of English as the national language was not to further demolish the personality of the natives, but to create a sense of unity amongst the people and to revive the African dignity and agency in the context of socio-economic. In this context, local languages were associated to ethnic identifications that would limit the nation and its people to socioeconomic transformation and also to participate in global affairs. Nkrumah’s desire to revive notions of Ghanaian identity in the context of modernity, led to the creation of the tradition and modernity discourses. These two discourses were allegedly assigned to work together, but in the reality conflicted with each other as illustrated in this thesis.

The traditional discourse associates language to ethnic identity and cultural heritage. In this view, identity is considered to be a fixed element and language serves as a marker. A majority of the population say that the use of the local language in non-formal speech environments

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expresses and emphasizes solidarity between speakers and to members of their ethnic group. On a larger scale, the expansion of the local language, Akan-Twi, unofficially links different ethnic groups and Ghanaians from the (like myself) to a unifying cultural identity called Ghanaian. Secondly, the locals tend to highly value natives who are able to express themselves fluently in their mother tongue. To them, it shows that the speaker is connected to his/her cultural background and carries his/her cultural identity with pride.

Next to the notion that English is a western practices, the traditional discourse also implies its function as a determinant instrument for social stratification. Because of its official status, English is seen by the locals as the language of the elite minority. For the locals, speaking English indicates that the speaker is well-educated and belongs to the small graduated minority. Using English in non-formal environments where local people live their lives in local languages, is reinterpreted by locals as an insult to their being. Accusations of acting brofo sem are made towards speakers that use English as their first language in these informal spheres. This small group of well-educated people are perceived by the locals as show-offs, fake and ignorant people that betray their cultural identity to be so called Western. Their notion of Western refers to practices that are not included in the Ghanaian culture or personality. For local language speakers, English speakers want to emphasize the fact that they are more educated, wealthier and prestigious then them. Yet my findings shows that this does not apply to the motives of the English speakers. On the contrary, the English speakers I spoke to explained that because of their educational and social background, they felt more secure in expressing themselves English than in a local language, which they are unable to speak fluently.

In contrast, the discourse of modernity defines identity as something fluid; it is multiple and contextual. Language serves as an instrument that stimulates social transformations. This view emphasized the role of agency. This study on language choice of Ghanaian parents has shown that we as human play an active role in the production of our own identity. As our perception of the cultural world is shaped by hegemonic ideologies, we also have the ability to reflect upon them, and make conscious choices which we believe to be most appropriate to our social, cultural and economic situation. In the case of Afropolitan, English speaking parents, their language choice for their child is embedded in their aspirational subjectivity. In the Ghanaian context, the modern discourse associate the use of English with socioeconomic transformation, development and progress, and the use of local languages to celebrate the past. However, putting too much emphasize on the use of local languages whilst rejecting English as a Ghanaian language is reinterpreted by them as staying stuck in the past; rejecting progress and transformation. This study has also shown that aspirational parents tend to choose the language

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that will help to realize their aspirational hopes for themselves, but most importantly for their children. Sarah’s and Mark’s story portrays a pattern whereby parents that are internationally oriented, transmit their awareness of global interconnections and their position in this network into their child. They tend to create a foundation of an international oriented, cosmopolitan identity for their child. An identity that will grant their children access to the global world as they pursuit social and economic success. Once again, I stand alongside Norton (1997) arguing that identity is not a fixed concept which is passively received but rather a fluid concept whereby speaker actively re-construct their identity as their social and economic relations changes.

The question in this thesis was: why do some local middle-class Ghanaian parents choose to have English as their first language in their households? I must say that before doing this study I had position myself in the traditional discourse assuming that this group of well-educated and economic stable and succesful parents practice the use of English as an axe medium to emphasize class differences as they seperated themselves from the low, local, cultural and traditional people. I had the assumption that they disvalued their cultural identity and heritage, which to me were both embedded in language. Yet in the field I came to the discovery that this was not the case. This study made me see the importance of local languages in modern, urban Ghana. I came to the realization that the language choice of Afropolitian parents is best understood in the discourse of modernity. The discourse helped me to understand that the homes of Afropolitan parents functions as a sociocultural institution where parents are led by desires to socialize their child(ren) to be recognized as competent member of a modern and global community. In these homes English is perceive to be the most appropriate language to realise this notion of future aspirations. In other words, the use of English in Ghana serves more than just stimulation social and economic mobility. It is about creating an awareness of being part of a global world where social, cultural and economic networks are established through the use of the English language.

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