The choice of English as a home language in urban Ghana
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12677463 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Grace Ampomaa Afrifa (Department of English, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana), Jemima Asabea Anderson (0000-0001-9956-5885, Department of English, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, corresponding author), Gladys Nyarko Ansah (0000-0001-6431-7822, Department of English, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 418-434 |
| Publication date | 2019-03-05 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Current Issues in Language Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1466-4208 • E-ISSN: 1747-7506 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14664208.2019.1582947 |
| OpenAlex | W2922372379 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 15 |
| References cited | 9 |
In this paper, we investigate the choice of English as a home language in Ghana, a multilingual nation where 81 languages are spoken by a population of about 27 million people. In the past, while English was reserved as the de facto language of official domains, e.g., government business and education, Ghanaian languages were used in informal domains such as homes, markets and churches. Recent research and observations show a gradual shift from the use of indigenous languages in some informal domains to the use of the English language, especially in urban centres. This study uses audio-recordings, questionnaires and observations to gather data from 20 homes from 2 geographically and socio-economically distinct urban communities in Accra. The findings of the study show that economic status, age, inter-ethnic marriages and educational background are the main factors influencing the choice of English as a home language in urban Ghana. Other factors, such as the media, the language in education policies and the use of the internet, also play a role in the use of English in Ghanaian homes
Economic growth · Ethnic group · First language · Geography · Government (linguistics · Indigenous · Indigenous language · Language policy · Linguistics · Medium of instruction · Multilingualism · Official language · Pedagogy · Political science · Population · Sociology · Demography · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Multilingual Education and Policy
An examination of the placement of adverbials in the academic writing of fresh undergraduate students in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana
The morphology-vocabulary- reading mechanism and its effect on students’ academic achievement in an English L2 context
“English on a pedestal”
Interactive associations of maternal and paternal parenting and adolescents’ anxiety
Educational language policy in an African country
On Critical Linguistic Landscape in Motion
Language dynamics in Sindhi families
Cumulative contextual risk, mothers' and fathers' parenting, and adolescents' psychosocial problems in Ghana
Patterns of cognitive and social-emotional parental stimulation practices among Ghanaian kindergarteners
Cultural conceptualisations and spatial cognition in Ghanaian English
The role of home environments in children’s literacy skills in Ghana
Integrating marginalised students in Ghanaian schools
Multilingualism at church
Designing for financial inclusion in developing countries
Moving Cross-Language Transfer from Hypothesis to Causal Evidence
| Citations per year | 2.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |