THE CASE OF GHANA. by
Paul Kofi Agbedor B.A., University of Ghana, 1986 M.Fhil., Cambridge University, 1989
A C C E P T E D
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
F f t C U L T /,O F GRAB
STUDIES DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Linguistics
accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard
Dr.,Barbara P. Hams, Stmervisor (De Linguistics)
Dr. Johnny Esling, Departmental Member (l[e^artment of Linguistics)
Dr. G. N. O'Grady, Departmenta (Department of Linguistics)
Dr. M. J. Prince, Outside M e tr i^ department of Human & Social Development)
Dr. Carol Eastman, External Examiner (University of Washington)
© PAUL KOFI AGBEDOR, 1994 University of Victoria
All rights reserved. Dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without the permission of the author.
( C e r i
N a m e _ ______ ______________ ________________
Diiseiiation Abstracts International is a r r a n g e d b y b r o a d , g e n e r a l s u b j e c t c a t e g o r i e s . P l e a s e s e l e c t t h e o n e s u b j e c t w h i c h m o s t n e a r l y d e s c r i b e s t h e c o n t e n t o f y o u r d i s s e r t a t i o n . E n t e r t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g f o u r - d i g i t c o d e in t h e s p a c e s p r o v i d e d .
SUBJECT TERM SUBJECT CODE
IE U-Mi
S u b j e c t C a t e g o r i e s
T H E H U M A N I T I E S A N D S O C I A L S C I E N C E S COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS
A rc h ile c tu re ... 0 7 2 9 Art H isto ry ... 0 3 7 7 C in e m a ... 0 9 0 0 D o n e e ...0 3 7 8 Fine A r t s ...,...0 3 5 7 Inform ation S c ie n c e ... 0 7 2 3 Jo u rn o lis m ... 03 9 1 Librory S c ie n c e ...0 3 9 9 M ass C o m m u n ica tio n s... 0 7 0 8 M u sic ... 0 4 1 3 S p eech C o m m u n ic a tio n ... 0 4 5 9 T neater ... 0 4 6 5 EDUCATION G ô iie r o i... 0 5 1 5 A dm iniitrotion ... 0 5 1 4 A dult o n d C o n tin u in g ...0 5 1 6 A g ric u itu fo !... 0 5 1 7 A r t... 0 2 7 3 Bilingual a n d M ulticultural ...0 2 8 2 B u s in e s s ...0 6 8 8 Com m unity C o lle g e ...0 2 7 5 Curriculum o n d In stru ctio n 0 7 2 7 Early C h ild h o o d ... 051 8 E le m e n to ry ...0 5 2 4 F in a n c e ...,0 2 7 7 G u id o n ce a n d C o u n s e lin g 0 5 1 9 H e a l th ...0 6 8 0 H ig h e r ...0 7 4 5 History o f ... 0 5 2 0 H om e E c o n o m ic s ...0 2 7 8 In d u s tria l... 0 5 2 1 L o n g u ag e a n d L iteratu re...0 2 7 9 M olTicm otics...0 2 8 0 M u s ic ... 0 5 2 2 Philosophy o f ...0 9 9 8 P h y sical... 0 5 2 3 P sy c h o lo g y ...0 5 2 5 R e o d in g ...0 5 3 5 R e lig io u s ... 0 5 2 7 S c ie n c e s ... 0 7 1 4 S e c o n d a ry ...0 5 3 3 Sociol S c ie n c e s ...0 5 3 4 S ociology o f ...0 3 4 0 S p e c ia l... 0 5 2 9 T eacher T ra in in g ... 0 5 3 0 T e ch n o lo g y ...0 7 1 0 Vests o n cT M easu rem en ts...0 2 8 8 V ocotional ... 0 7 4 7 LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND Lli^GUISTICS lo n g u o g ir ^ n e r o l ... 0 6 7 9 A n c ie n t... 0 2 8 9 L inguistics... 0 2 9 0 M o d e r n ... 029 1 Literature G e n e r a l ... 04 0 1 C la s s ic a l...0 2 9 4 C o m p o ro tiv e ... 0 2 9 5 M e d ie v a l... 0 2 9 7 M odern ... 0 2 9 8 A f r ic o n ... 0 3 1 6 A m e ric a n ...0 5 9 1 A s i a n ... 0 3 0 5 C a n a d ia n (E n g lish )... 0 3 5 2 C a n a d ia n (French) ... 0 3 5 5 E n g lis h ...0 5 9 3 G e r m o n i c ... 0 3 1 1 Latin A m e ric a n ... 0 3 1 2 M iddle E a s te r n ... 0 3 1 5 R o m a n c e ... 0 3 1 3 Slavic a n d East E u r o p e a n 0 3 1 4
PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION AND THEOLOGY P h ilo so p h y ... 0 4 2 2 Religion O e n e r o l ... 0 3 1 8 Biblical S tu d ie s ... 0 3 2 1 C le r g y ... 0 3 1 9 H istory o f ...0 3 2 0 Pfiilosophy o f ...0 3 2 2 T h e o lo g y ...0 4 6 9 SOGAL SCIENCES A m erican S tu d ie s ... 0 3 2 3 A nth ro p o lo g y A r c h a e o lo g y ...0 3 2 4 C u ltu r a l...0 3 2 6 P h y s ic a l ...0 3 2 7 Business A dm inistration G e n e r a l ...0 3 1 0 A c c o u n tin g ...0 2 7 2 B a n k in g ... 0 7 7 0 M a n a g e m e n t... 0 4 5 4 M a r k e tin g ...0 3 3 8 C a n a d io n S tu d ie s ...0 3 8 5 Economics G e n e r a l ... 0 5 0 1 A g ricu ltu ral...0 5 0 3 C o m m erce-B u sin ess... 0 5 0 5 F i n a n c e ... 0 5 0 8 H isto ry ... 0 5 0 9 L a b o r ...0 5 1 0 T h e o ry ... 051 1 F o lk lo re... 0 3 5 8 G e o g r a p h y ...0 3 6 6 G e r o n to lo g y ... 0 351 History G e n e r a l ... 0 5 7 8 A n c ie n t...0 5 7 9 M edieval ...0 5 8 1 M o d e r n ... 0 5 8 2 B la c k ...0 3 2 8 A f r ic a n ... 033 1 A sia, A u stralia a n d O c e o n ia 0 3 3 2 C a n a d i a n ... 0 3 3 4 E u r o p e a n ...0 3 3 5 Latin A m e r ic a n ...0336 M iddle E a s te r n ... 0 3 3 3 U nited S ta t e s ... 0 3 3 7 H istory of S c ie n c e ...0 5 8 5 L aw ... 0 3 9 8 Politicol Science G e n e r a l ...0 6 1 5 International Law a n d R elatio n s... 0 6 1 6 Public A d m in istra tio n ... 0 6 1 7 R e c re a tio n ... 0 8 1 4 Social W o r k ... 0 4 5 2 S ociology
G e n e r a l ...0 6 2 6 C rim inology a n d Penology ...0 6 2 7 D e m o g ra p h y ... 0 9 3 8 Ethnic a n d (<acial S tu d ie s 0 6 3 1 Individual o n d Family S tu d ie s ...0 6 2 8 Incustriol o n d Labor R elatio n s... 0 6 2 9 Public a n d S ocial W e lf a r e . . . . 0 6 3 0 Social Structure a n d D ev elo p m en t... 0 7 0 0 Theory o n d M e th o d s ...0 3 4 4 T r a n s p o r ta tio n ... 0 7 0 9 U rb an a n d R egional P lanning .,..0 9 9 9 W o m e n 's S tu d ie s ... 0 4 5 3 T H E S C I E N C E S A N D E N G I N E E R I N G BIOIOGICAL SCIENCES A griculture G e n e r a l ... 0 4 7 3 A g r o n o m y ... 0 2 8 5 A nimol C ulture a n d N u tritio n ...0 4 7 5 Anim al P ath o lo g y ... 0 4 7 6 Fo o d S cience o n d T e c h n o lo g y ...0 3 5 9 Forestry a n d W ild lif e ... 0 4 7 8 Plant C u ltu r e ... 0 4 7 9 Plant P o tlîo lo g y ... 0 4 8 0 Plant P h y sio lo g y ...0 8 1 7 R an g e M a n a g e m e n t... 0 7 7 7 W o ^ T e c h n o lo g y ... 0 7 4 6 Bioli ... 0 3 0 6 A n a to m y ...0 2 8 7 B io sto tistics... 0 3 0 8 B o fo n y ...0 3 0 9 C o ll ... 0 3 7 9 E c o lo g y ... 0 3 2 9 E n to m o lo g y ... 0 3 5 3 G e n e t ic s ...0 3 6 9 L im n o lo g y ... 0 7 9 3 M ic ro b io lo g y ...0 4 1 0 M o le c u la r ... 0 3 0 7 N e u ro s c ie n c e ...0 3 1 7 O c e o n o g r o p h y ... 0 4 1 6 P h y sio lo g y ... 0 4 3 3 R o d io tio n ...082 1 V eterin ary S c ie n c e...0 7 7 8 Z o o lo g y ... 0 4 7 2 Biophysics G e n e r a l ... 0 7 8 6 M e d ic o ! ...0 7 6 0 EARTH SCIENCES B iogeochem istry ...0 4 2 5 G e o c h e m is tr y ... 0 9 9 6 G e o d e s y ...0 3 7 0 G e o lo g y ... 0 3 7 2 G eo p h y sics ... 0 3 7 3 H y d ro lo g y ... 0 3 8 8 M in e ra lo g y ... 0411 P a le o b o ta n y ... 0 3 4 5 P o le o e c o lo g y ...0 4 2 6 P o leo n to lo g y ... 0 4 1 8 P a le o z o o lo g y ...0 9 8 5 P a ly n o lo q y ...0 4 2 7 Physicol G e o g r a p h y ...0 3 6 8 Physical O c e o n o g r o p h y ...0 4 1 5 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES E nvironm enlal S c ie n c e s ... 0 7 6 8 H ealth Sciences G e n e r a l ... 0 5 6 6 A u d io lo a y ... 0 3 0 0 C h em o tF iera p y ... 0 9 9 2 D e n tistry ... 0 5 6 7 E d u c a tio n ... 0 3 5 0 H ospital M a n a g e m e n t... 0 7 6 9 H um an D e v e lo p m e n t...0 7 5 8 Im m u n o lo g y ...0 9 8 2 M edicine e n d S u r g e r y ... 0 5 6 4 M enlo! H e a l th ...0 3 4 7 N u r s i n g ... 0 5 6 9 N u tritio n ... 0 5 7 0 O b stetrics a n d G y n eco lo g y . . 0 3 8 0 C ccupQ tioncl Heolth oncT
t h e r a p y ... 0 3 5 4 O p h th a lm o lo g y ...03 8 1 P a th o lo g y ... 05 7 1 p h a rm a c o lo g y ...0 4 1 9 P h o r m o c y ... 0 5 7 2 Physical t h e r a p y ... 0 3 8 2 Public H e a lth ... 0 5 7 3 R a d io lo g y ... 0 5 7 4 R e c r e a tio n ... 0 5 7 5 S peech P a th o lo g y ... 0 4 6 0 to x i c o lo g y ...0 3 8 3 H om e Economics ...0 3 8 6 PHYSICAL SCIENCES P u r e S c ie n c e s C hem istry G e n e r a l ...0 4 8 5 A g ricu ltu ral...0 7 4 9 A n a ly tic a l...0 4 8 6 B io c h e m istry ... 0 4 8 7 I n o r g a n ic ...0 4 8 8 N u c le a r ...0 7 3 8 O r g a n ic ... 0 4 9 0 P h o rm ac eu tical... 0491 P h y sic a l...0 4 9 4 P o ly m e r...r ..,.0 4 9 5 R o d io tio n ...0 7 5 4 M o th e m o fic s ... 0 4 0 5 Physics G e n e r a l ... 0 6 0 5 A c o u s tic s ...0 9 8 6 A stronom y o n d A stro p h y sics...0 6 0 6 A tm ospheric S c ie n c e ... 0 6 0 8 A to m i c ... 0 7 4 8 Electronics o n d E lectricity 0 6 0 7 Elem entory Particles a n d
High E n e rg y ...0 7 9 8 FluicTond P la s m a ... 0 7 5 9 M o le c u lo r...0 6 0 9 N u c le a r ...0 6 1 0 O ptics ... 0 7 5 2 R a d ia tio n ... 0 7 5 6 S olid S t a t e ... 0 6 1 1 S ta tis tic s ... 0 4 6 3 A p p l i e d S c ie n c e s A p p lied M echonics ...0 3 4 6 C o m p u ter S c ie n c e ...0 9 8 4 Engineering G e n e r a l...0 5 3 7 A e r o s p a c e ... 0 5 3 8 A g ricu ltu ral...0 5 3 9 A utom otive ...0 5 4 0 B io m ed ical... 0 5 4 1 C h e m ic a l...0 5 4 2 C iv il... 0 5 4 3 Electronics a n d E lectrical 0 5 4 4 H eat a n d T h e rm o d y n am ics... 0 3 4 8 H y d rau lic... 0 5 4 5 I n d u s tr ie l... 0 5 4 6 M a r i n e ...0 5 4 7 M ateriols S c ie n c e ... 0 7 9 4 M e c h a n ic a l...0 5 4 8 M e to llu rg y ... 0 7 4 3 M ining ...0 5 5 1 N u c le a r ...0 5 5 2 P ack a g in g ... 0 5 4 9 P e tr o le u m ...0 7 6 5 S an itary e n d M unicipol ... 0 5 5 4 System S c ie n c e ... ,0 7 9 0 G e o te c h n o lo g y ... 0 4 2 8 O p e ra tio n s R e s e a rc h ... 0 7 9 6 Plastics T e c h n o lo g y ...0 7 9 5 Textile T e ch n o lo g y ...0 9 9 4 PSYCHOLOGY G e n e r o l ... 0 6 2 1 B e h o v io ra l... 0 3 8 4 C lin ic a l...0 6 2 2 D e v e lo p m e n ta l ... 0 6 2 0 E x p e rim e n ta l... 0 6 2 3 In d u s tria l ... 0 6 2 4 P erso n ality ... 0 6 2 5 P h y sio lo g ic a l... 0 9 8 9 P s y c h o b io lo g y ... 0 3 4 9 P sy c h o m e tric s...0 6 3 2 Social ... 0 4 5 1
ABSTRACT
Studies by Fishman (1968a) and Pool (1971) show some correlation between economic development and multilingualism. In other words, countries that are multilingual tend to be less economically developed. This kind of investigation is not easy or straightforward. Pool mentions three difficulties associated with such a study. The first is what to measure and how to measure it; the second is unreliability in sources of statistical information, and the third, and probably most dangerous, is the risk of making erroneous causal inferences.
While it is necessary to keep these cautions in mind, it is nevertheless appropriate to give these studies some thought. For example, why does multilingualism correlate with poor economic growth? Are there any inherent problems in societal multilingualism that have adverse effects on economic performance of certain countries? Are there any ways that this effect can be minimized?
This smdy of language planning in Ghana’s economic development is an exploratory study of language use in the educational system of Ghana, its relation to the general sociolinguistic and demographic profile of the country, and the potential for greater roles for the indigenous Ghanaian languages in the pursuit of economic progress. The study attempts to contextualize the case study of Ghana within the larger framework of multilingualism and multilingual education, by analyzing the factors which, in the past, determined and continue to determine the language education policies of the developing nations in the former British Colonial Africa. The study has three components; the descriptive, the empirical and the programmatic.
The descriptive component examined the socio-historical factors that shaped language policies in the past and continue to influence present-day policies. Ghana was bom out of an amalgamation of several otherwise independent and powerful kingdoms. This was the result of colonial intervention. This amalagamation brought with it a complex linguistic problem. In order to promote unity among the different ethnic groups that have come under the new nation, and to pursue their economic and political agenda, the colonial government set into motion a language policy which gave English a sole official language status, which has remained ever since. With this language policy in the midst of such linguistic diveristy as Ghana's, it is expected that problems would be experienced by persons who are not proficient in the official language, and by persons who are illiterate. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to assess the language-related and literacy-related problems that occur in social, economic and political experiences of the people. It was necessary to evaluate the success or failure of this policy, and that is what the second component of the study sought to investigate.
The empirical component comprised a sociolinguistic survey, conducted with the aim of evaluating the present language policies in a small way, and with a view to finding out what went wrong and why. The survey sought to find out the reW language situation in Ghana and the level of individual multilingualism or bilingualism in three sample populations, which were assumed to represent the different types of communities found in Ghana; (a) rural homogeneous, (b) rural heterogeneous and (c) urban. It also sought to find out how successfully the ideologies behind the present language policies have been fulfilled. Ifa short, the survey tried to find out the role
-played by the various languages used in Ghana in the social, economic and political lives of the people, and how the languages stand in relation to one another as far as their functions are concerned. As part of the empirical component, an English proficiency test was conducted in six Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the three districts involved in the survey (two schools from each district). This was to find out to what extent the results would reflect the emphasis placed on the learning and use of English as the official language of Ghana. The following summarize some of the findings;
1. the majority of the people use the indigenous languages more than English, including the elite; English serves only an instrumental role;
2. most of the people are engaged in occupations that do not require English;
3. the emphasis on English prevents the larger masses of the population from having access to vital information on matters that could otherwise promote the economic, social and political well-being of the people;
4. the school drop-out rate is high, and most children drop out at a stage where they have no firm grip on literacy in either English or a Ghanaian language;
5. learning through a second language implies knowing that language, and the conditions for learning English in Ghana are not favorable (lack of native speakers, lack of qualified teachers and textbooks, etc.); the result is that after 9 years of schooling, most children can neither speak nor read and write in English;
6. the results of the proficiency test showed that most of the students in the final year of Junior Secondary (JSS) (the stage which happens to be the terminal point for a majority of the students) have such a low level of literacy in English that they carmot communicate in it in any meaningful way.
7. the unity that English was supposed to bring about seemed to be better served by the indigenous languages. In the luban and linguistically heterogeneous mral communities, the people are more united by the fact that the minority groups are able to learn the language of the majority group without losing their own languages; these major Ghanaian languages feature most in inter-ethnic communication.
The programmatic component is a proposal for a national language policy and a consequent proposal of a framework for language of education in Ghana. The proposal was based on the findings of the survey and other theoretical and pragmatic facts, some of which include the fact that:
1. bilingual education is vital and necessary for Ghanaian children;
2. research into second language acquisition supports the positive role of LI in L2 acquisition;
3. concept formation is important in the early part of a child's education, and the language that can more efficiently transmit knowledge to the schoolchildren at the early stages of schooling is the mother tongue or LI.
-informed participation in the social, economic and political programs of the nation; (b) equalization of access to information - for example, information regarding workplace health and safety, global problems of population growth, resource consumption and the enviroiunent, and how to help deal widi the problems. The present policy makes it possible for only a small proportion of the population to become fluent in English and have access to higher education. This situation denies a majority of the population access to information, because they are not literate in the official language in which most of the relevant information is encoded.
The framework proposed gives equal emphasis to English and the Ghanaian languages, and ensures that children who drop out of school early are able to read and write at least a major Ghanaian language. It is also acknowledged that literacy in a Ghanaian language can play positive roles in the lives of the literates by way of acquisition of knowledge and the opportunity to participate better in nation-building.
Examiners:
Barbara P. H ^s^^^u jK r^^ ^(D ^rtraen t of Linguistics)
Dr. John If! Eslkg, Depayùnental Member (D«ia|rtment of Linguistics)
Dr. G. N. O’Grady, Departmental Memb|P3®epartment of Linguistics)
________________
Dr. M. J. Prince, Outside Menibef (Department of Hiunan & Social Development)
Dr. Carol Eastman, External Examiner (University of Washington)
CONTENTS A b str a c t... ii Contents ... v Tables ... viü Figures ... xi Acknowledgements ... xiii Dedication ...xiv Chapter L INTRODUCTION ...1
1.1 N a tu re a n d Purpose of the S tud y ... 4
1.2 Components of the S tudy... 10
1.3 R ationale for th e S tu d y ... 12
1.4 C onceptual F ra m e w o rk ... 16
1.5 The L anguage S itu atio n in G h an a ... 17
Chapter IL MULTILINGUALISM AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION...25
2.1 The Concept of M ultilingualism ... 25
2.1.1 Co-existence W ith M inim al C ontact ... 27
2.1.2 Co-existence W ith Socially Prescribed C ontact ... 29
2.1.3 Co-existence W ith A cculturation ... 31
2.2 B ilingualism ... 38
2.2.1 B ilingualism a n d Cognitive D evelopm ent ... 39
2.3 B ilingual E ducation ... 44
2.3.1 Definitions of B ilingual E ducation ... 44
2.3.2 Types of B ilingual E d u catio n ... 46
2.3.2.1 Mackey’s Typology... 47
2.3.2.2 F ish m an ’s Typology... 49
2.3.2.3 Mikes M eliane’s Typology ... 50
2.3.2.4 S um m ary ... 52
2.3.3 The Case for M other Tongue E d u catio n ... 55
2.4 E ducation an d L ite r a c y ... 65
-3.1 Confusing T erm in o lo g ies... 73
3.2 Definitions of LP ... 74
3.3 The "Big 5" of Language P lan n in g ... 76
3.3.1 Who U ndertakes L P ? ... 76
3.3.2 Types of L P ... 79
3.3.3 Language P la n n in g for W H O M ?... 84
3.3.4 The HOW of L anguage P lan n in g ... 85
3.3.5 WHY Language P la n n in g ? ... 87
3.4 Approaches to Language P lan n in g T h e o ry ... 88
3.4.1 Economic Conceptions of L anguage ... 89
3.4.2 O ther Approaches to LP T h e o r y ... 91
3.4.2.1 Rustow's Typology... 92
3.4.2.2 Kloss’ T y p o lo g y ... 94
3.4.2.3 F ishm an’s Typology ... 97
3.5 O rientations in Language P l a n n in g ... 101 3.5.1 L an g u ag e-as-P ro b lem ... 102 3.5.2 L a n g u a g e -a s-R ig h t... 103 3.5.3 Language-as-Resource ... 104 3.6 U nderlying Ideologies of L P ... 105 3.7 N ationalism vs. N a tio n is m ... 106
3.8 The Language P lan n in g Process ... 107
3.8.1 Fact-finding ... 108
3.8.2 Policy f o r m u la tio n ... 109
3.8.3 Im p le m e n ta tio n ... 110
3.8.4 E valu atio n ... 112
3.9 L anguage P lan n in g and N a tio n al D e v elo p m e n t... 115
3.10 Some Case Studies of LP C h o ic e s ... 122
3.10.1 Zam bian L anguage Policy ... 122
3.10.2 Botsw ana L anguage P o lic y ... 125
3.10.3 T an zan ia’s L anguage P o lic y ... 127
3.10.4 Som alia’s Language P o lic y ... 128
3.11 LP, Education and N atio n al D e v e lo p m e n t... 132
Chapter IV: A SHORT HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN G H A N A ... 134
4.1 The C astle Schools ... 135
4.2 A rrival of M issionary G roups ... 137
4.3 Some Effects of M issionary E ducation ... 139
4.4 A N a tio n alist Reaction ... 140
4.5 The G erm an M issionaries - Ewe, G3 an d Twi ... 141
4.6 S ep aratio n of C ultures ... 142
4.7 The Re-emergence of the C atholic M i s s i o n ... 142
4.8 A C entralized System ... 143
4.9 Guggisberg and E ducation in G h a n a ... 146
4.10 The Accelerated D evelopm ent P la n - 1 9 5 1 ... 150
4.11 Post-Independence E ducatio n al Policies ... 152
4.11.1 The New E ducatio n al R e fo rm ... 154
4.11.2 S u m m a r y ... 157
Chapter V: THE STUDY: DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS ... 158
5.1 The D a ta ... 158
5.2 The Sam ple Universe ... 159
5.3 M ethod of D ata C o lle c tio n ... 161
5.3.1 O th er D ata ... 165
5.4 A n a ly s is ... 166
Chapter VL RESULTS AND D ISC U SSIO N ... 173
6.1 The Sociolinguistic D a t a ... 173
6.1.1 The C o m m u n ity ... 174
6.1.2 The S tu d e n ts’ D a ta ... 177
6.2 L anguage Use ... 182
6.3 The Proficiency T est ... 189
6.4 L anguage of In stru ctio n ... 202
6.4.1 The T e a c h e r s ... 207
6.5 O ther S ta tistic s ... 208
Chapter VH: A LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION FRAMEWORK FOR GHANA ... 213
7.1 E nglish vs. G h an aian L anguages; A dm inistrative and Economic Issues ... 215
7.2 E nglish vs. G h a n aia n Languages: Sociopolitical I s s u e s ... 219
7.3 E nglish vs. G h a n aia n L anguages: The Sociocultural Issues... 221
7.4 The M edium of In stru c tio n D ile m m a ... 224
7.5 Evidence From R e s e a r c h ... 227
7.6 E m pirical E v id e n c e ... 233
7.7 Tow ards a N atio n al L anguage P o lic y ... 238
7.8 Tow ards a Fram ew ork for L anguage of E ducation in G h a n a 253 7.8.1 Im plications of the F ra m e w o rk ... 264
7.8.1.1 Pedagogical Im p lic a tio n s ... 265
7.8.1.2 Linguistic I m p lic a tio n s ... 265
7.8.1.3 E ducational Im plications ... 267
Chapter V n t CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...269
BibU*%raphy ... 291
-Appendix B: Students’ Q uestionnaire... 316
Appendix C: Students’ RmGciency T e s t... 321
Appendix D: Sample Compositions o f S tu d en ts* ... 328
-TABLES
1. Macro a n d Micro Levels of L P ... 77
2. G h a n a ’s E d u catio n al System Prior to 1987 ... 152
3. O utline of G h a n a ’s New E d u catio n al System ... 156
4. D istrib u tio n of Q uestionnaire and Interview s ... 174
5. L anguage D istrib u tio n in Population T ... 175
6. L anguage D istrib u tio n in Population M... 176
7. L anguage D istrib u tio n in Population S ... 176
8. D istrib u tio n of S tu d en ts by Com m unities ... 177
9. L anguage D istrib u tio n Among S tu d en ts of Population M ... 178
10. L anguage D istrib u tio n Among S tu d en ts of Population S ... 178
11. D istrib u tion of L anguage Among S tud en ts (Population T ) ... 179
12. D istrib u tio n of R espondents ... 180
13. D istrib utio n of B ilinguals in the Populations Surveyed ... 180
14. D istrib utio n of B ilinguals by L a n g u a g e ... 181
15. D istribu tio n of Respondents by E ducational L e v e l... 182
16. E nglish and D om ains of U s e ... 185
17. Languages Used M ost by S tu d en ts in a D a y ... 186
18. M ean Scores for Population M ... 189
19. M ean Scores for P opulation S ... 190
20. M ean Scores for P opulation T ... 190
21. M ean Scores by P o p u la tio n ... 190
22. Scores of 50% a n d Above ... 191
23. A ggregate G rade D istrib u tio n of th e Three P o p u la tio n s ... 192
24. T-Test for Independent Sam ples of Group ... 193 i x
-26. T-Test for Independent Sample of G r o u p ... 194
27. T-Test for Independent Samples of P o p u la tio n ... 194
28. T-Test for Independent Samples of P o p u la tio n ... 195
29. T-Test for Independent Samples of P o p u la tio n ... 195
30. Ranks for Combined Scores for P opulation M ... 196
31. Combined R ank O rder Num bers for P opulation 8 ... 198
32. Combined R ank Scores for Population T ... 199
33. M ann-W hitney U -Test ( M vs. S ) ... 200
34. M ann-W hitney T est ( M vs. T) ... 200
35. M ann-W hitney T est ( S vs. T ) ... 201
36. S tu d en ts’ Response Regarding E n g lish -T au g h t Lessons . ... 202
37. S tu d en ts’ Perform ance in Reading... 206
38. GCE R esults in E nglish (1 9 8 1 -9 0 )... 209
39. GCE R esults in G h a n a ia n L anguages ( 1 9 9 0 ) ... 210
40. Proposal for N ational/R egional Languages for G h a n a ... 244
41. Proposed R e-Classification of G h a n a ’s L anguages ... 250
42. A Fram ew ork for L anguage of E ducation in A frica... 258
-FIGURES
1. Cognitive effects of different types of b ilin g u a lity ... 42
2. M ean Scores By Group And P o p u la tio n ... 203
3. M ean Scores By P o p u la tio n ... 204
4. Language M ap of G h a n a ... 242
-I am indebted to several individuals and organizations, whose efforts and help have, directly or indirectly made my studies, and for that matter, the preparation of this dissertation possible.
In the first place, my studies would not have been possible without financial support, and in that respect, I wish to sincerely thank the Faculty of Graduate Studies for the 3-year fellowship; the Knights of Columbus and Dr. Leslie Saxon, who have in various ways given me some finan cial support.
I also wish to thank Dr. Harris, my supervisor for her advice during the preparation of the dissertation, and for her conscientious editing. Other members of my committee, Drs. Esling, O'Grady and Prince also deserve my gratitude for their comments and suggestions. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Carol Eastman, Dean of the Graduate School of University of Washington, for kindly agreeing to be my external examiner.
I am also indebted to the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for allow ing me to conduct research in the schools; to the West African Examinations Coimcil (WAEC) for providing me with the results of examinations it has conducted on behalf of the GES, and to the statistical division of GES for relevant information regarding enrollment of students and the distribution of teachers in the Basic Education sector. I cannot forget my friends, Francis Asilevi, Yaw Danso and Ebenezer Marquaye, who were always ready to get me any information I needed. I really appreciate their friendship.
To me, this dissertation is an instantiation of only a small part of my learning experience in the Department of Linguistics, University of Victoria. I have had an enormous amotmt of learning during my 3-year stay in the department, and I wish to express my gratitude to all the faculty members who I worked with, and others who I had the opportunity of interacting with one way or the other.
I have had the opportunity of meeting several graduate students of different backgrounds, and I have really enjoyed their company. I am grateful to all of them.
I would finally like to acknowledge the tremendous moral, psychological and material sup port I enjoyed from our two wonderful secretaries, Darlene Wallace and Gretchen Moyer.
Thank you all. Àkpé (Ewe) Mèdàmôàsè (Akan) Spasiba (Russian)
-DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my wife S elina and my children Gifty, Samson, J u s tine an d Happy.
Xlll-INTRODUCTION
The la st three decades have d raw n m uch a tte n tio n to th e concept of development, yet the gap betw een the N o rth and the S outh h as been widening not only in absolute value b u t also in relative term s. The rich get richer, the poor poorer, an d th e gap is more th a n economic: it is a knowledge gap, a H u m an ity gap (Ghosh, 1989:76).
Over th e p a st two decades, in terest in the questions of language in education has grown considerably. This in te re st h as n o t grow n am ong only educationists; i t has grown among linguists, psychologists an d econom ists as well. The problems of language in education are invariably re la ted to issues of language policy and im plem entation w ithin the educational system . As Spolsky (1978) says:
Language education takes place in a social context Recognition of the complex sociolinguistic forms w ith in a com m unity is essential to the developm ent of a valid a n d w orkable language education poli cy (p.3).
It is, therefore, not surprising th a t th e stu d y of language education issues has become an interdisciplinary and m ultidim ensional affair.
This study of language p lan n in g in G h a n a ’s economic developm ent is an exploratory case study of language use in th e educational system of G h an a, its relatio n to the general sociolinguistic a n d dem ographic j. rofile of the country, and th e poten tial for greater roles for th e indigenous G h a n aia n languages in th e p u r su it of economic progress. The study a tte m p ts to contextualize the case study of
2 G h an a w ithin the larg er fram ew ork of m ultilingualism and m ultilin g u al educa tion, by analyzing the factors w hich, in the p ast, determ ined and continue to determ ine the language education policies of th e developing nations in the former B ritish Colonial Africa. The th eo retical base for th is study is draw n from research in educational linguistics, sociolinguistics, language planning, bilingual and m u ltilin g u al education. S upport for th is study is draw n from a v ast num ber of studies, am ong them Cooper (1989), C um m ins (1979, 1981, 1989), Kennedy (1984), Mackey (1984), M eliane (1986), R eagan (1986, 1987a, 1987b), Rubin (1984), Spolsky (1978), ju s t to nam e a few.
This study exam ines why G h an a, in p a rtic u la r, an d B ritish Colonial Africa in general, continue to use English as a dom in an t language in 'education, as well as the role played by English in relatio n to th e G h an aian languages in the society. The historical and contem porary dim ensions of the role of English and the G h a n a ia n languages are also exam ined. In the la st three decades (sta rtin g around th e 1960s), several A frican countries have gained political independence from th e ir colonial m asters from P ortu g al, B ritain , France, Belgium etc. One of the im p o rta n t legacies inherited by these countries from th e ir colonial m asters was th e la tte r ’s educational system. The system of education in the independent Afri can countries differed from th a t of the colonial m asters only in content, (depend ing on the resources available), a n d th e philosophy underlying the policies of the various colonial powers.
A fter independence, m ost A frican governm ents were faced w ith the problem of language of education: w h at languages were to be used for educational purposes;
which language(s) is/are to be used for in stru ctio n ; w h at should be th e role of the indigenous languages vis-a-vis the colonial language. In each of the independent A frican countries, the dom inant language in education was the colonial language w hich had been used as the m ajor language of schooling. In th e Portuguese and French territories, these colonial languages were used th ro u g h o u t th e school sys tem rig h t from the first year of schooling. The B ritish allowed some years (in m ost cases, three) of in itia l m other tongue in stru c tio n (Bamgbose, 1976). Years afte r independence, A frican governm ents are still grap p lin g w ith th e language-of- education problem. A p art from a few countries like T an zan ia, Som alia a n d E th io pia, m ost A frican countries continue to use th e colonial languages as "official" or "n atio n al" languages. Because of th e m u ltilin g u al n a tu re of the situ a tio n in these independent African countries, th e ir governm ents have to grapple w ith the con flicting dem ands of "n atio n alism " a n d "nationism ".^ The history of m ost of these countries shows th a t they were a n am alg am atio n of h ith e rto independent and lin guistically distinct kingdoms w ith th e ir own trad itio n ally organized system s of governm ent (i.e, they were n atio n alities). They were b ro u g h t together under colo n ial rule through conquests a n d tre a tie s. Despite these am alg am atio n s, th e peo ple still m ain tain th e ir eth nic id en tity as d istin ct peoples. For exam ple, the A santes of G h an a consider them selves first an d foremost A santes. Being a G h an a ia n comes second. The sam e is tru e of other ethnic groups like Ewes, GSts, F an tes, Gonjas etc. (see W ard, 1965 for a full history of G hana). A frican
govern-^ N a tio n a lis m refers to the feelings th a t develop from and su p p o rt n a tio n a litie s. It
is more concerned w ith "ethnic a u th en ticity " a n d it is b est served by develop ing an indigenous language w ith a n ethnic-based p a trio tic force (see E a stm a n ,
1983). N a tio n is m , on th e o th er h an d , is p rim arily concerned w ith o p eratio nal
efficiency of the su p ra n a tio n a l u n it an d i t is best served by political in te g ra tion.
4
m ents were, therefore, faced w ith the problem of how they could satisfy the n atio n alistic pressures of the various ethnic groups w ithout jeopardizing the requirem ents of th e nation.
This case study of educational language planning in G h a n a ’s economic devel opm ent is a n a tte m p t to in v estig ate how far th e p resen t language of education policy is a reflection of colonial language policy, how effective this policy has been, a n d w h a t the possible outcomes of a n extended use of the m ajor G h an aian languages in th e educational system m ig h t be. Because of the m ulti-dim ensional n a tu re of the problem, the study combines various methodological approaches to the research. It is p a rtly h isto rical an d descriptive; historical in the sense th a t the forces th a t shaped th e p re se n t d o m in an t s ta tu s of English in m ost of former B ritish colonial Africa are described an d analyzed in a historical context. The
study is also p a rtly sociolinguistic, in th a t affective d a ta on language a n d la n guage use was collected by m eans of questionnaire an d interview s.
1.1 Nature and Purpose o f the Study.
This stu d y seeks specifically to exam ine w hether the present educational la n guage policies of G h an a promote or fail to promote economic developm ent. Studies by F ish m an (1968a) and Pool (1971) show some correlation between economic developm ent an d m ultilingualism . In o th er words, countries t h a t are m u ltilin g u al tend to be less economically developed. This kind of investigation is not easy or straig h tfo rw ard . Pool m entions th ree difficulties associated w ith such a study.
The first is w h at to m easure and how to m easure it; th e second is u n reliab ility in sources of s ta tistic a l inform ation, and the th ird , and probably m ost dangerous, is the risk of m aking erroneous causal inferences.
While it is necessary to keep these cautions in m ind, it is nevertheless appro p riate to give these studies some thou g h t. For exam ple, why does m u ltilin g u alism correlate w ith poor economic grow th? Are there any in h e re n t problem s in societal m ultilingualism th a t have adverse effects on economic perform ance of certain countries? Are there an y ways t h a t th is effect can be minimized? My in itia l hypothesis is th a t poor language p lan n in g is a factor in th e poor economic, social and political developm ent in G h an a, and in m ost A frican countries. The role of language in the functioning and developm ent of h u m an society c an n o t be over emphasized. However, w hen faced w ith heterogeneous m u ltilin g u al societies in S u b -S ah aran Africa (especially those w ith d o m in an t exoglossic lang u ag es a n d no official n a tio n a l languages) and w ith complex sociolinguistic profiles an d high illiteracy rates, one needs to identify the place of the local lang u ag es in develop m ent. The solution to the m u ltilin g u al problem s of G h an a or A frica does n o t lie in the m arginalization of the m inority languages, w hich play sig n ifican t roles in the lives of th e ir speakers. I t is possible for th e functional roles of some of these languages to be extended so th a t they can serve th e ir speakers b etter. This study assesses the roles of h ig h -sta tu s English and th e various G h a n a ia n languages in G h a n aia n society an d how th is is reflected in educational language policies. The assum ption is th a t education plays an im p o rta n t p a r t in a n a tio n ’s developm ent (see Ashw orth, 1985). It is possible for education to m ake sig n ifican t co n trib u tions to the economic developm ent of a n a tio n if it assists th a t n a tio n in realiz ing some of its economic goals, w hich m ay include;
G 1. raisin g the sta n d a rd of living through in du strializatio n and m oderniza tion;
2. giving the citizens g re a ter economic security thro u g h o u t th eir lives; 3. producing th e goods and services th e consum ers need;
4. increasing exports;
5. becoming more self-sufficient.
By investing in h u m a n c a p ita l th ro u g h a sound basic education, along w ith vocational and re tra in in g program s, governm ents can help build an informed workforce of skilled m anag ers, technicians, a rtis a n s and even farm ers. The net effect can be g reater efficiency, resu ltin g in increased productivity and a rise in th e Gross N atio n al P roduct (GNP). The earn in g power of the individual is affect ed by his/her level of education an d productivity. The educational system, th ere fore, m u st provide th e m eans by w hich people can acquire those skills necessary for effective economic developm ent. The language of education is, therefore, cru cial in this respect, especially in m u ltilin g u al countries.
The question of which language(s) among the num erous languages of most m u ltilin g u al countries should be used in education is crucial. M other tongue (MT) education h a s been advocated in m any studies (Cummins, 1981, 1989; Fish m an , 1984; Szepe, 1984; P attan ay ak ,1 9 8 6 ; UNESCO, 1953). The c u rre n t policy of G h an a is th a t m other tongue in stru ctio n is used in the first three years of the s tu d e n t’s whole period of education, w ith English taking over from the fourth year. I t is an undeniable fact th a t E nglish is the most popular in te rn a tio n a l lan guage today an d a knowledge of it is necessary for in te rn a tio n a l com m unication a n d co-operation and for access to research in various fields of endeavour. At the
sam e time, if the p a tte rn of language use is carefully observed in Africa in gener al and G h an a in p a rtic u la r, it is clear th a t a g reat disservice is being done to the masses of th e people by the educational system s operating in m ost A frican coun tries, I wish to argue th a t equal em phasis should be given in th e educational sys tem to English and the major G h a n aia n languages. This position stem ^ from the following considerations:
1. the m ass of the people (about 60%) cannot speak E nglish (see Bokamba, 1984; M yers-Scotton, 1993), Even those who speak E nglish have very restricted use for it (i.e., only a t the workplace).
2. th e school drop-out ra te is high; a lot of the drop-outs can n o t claim to have literacy in any language;
3. th e m ajor G h a n aia n languages have a considerable lite ra tu re . They have the p o te n tia l for being used to perform m any of th e functions being perform ed by English today (provided th ey are given th e rig h t treatm en t). 4. the conditions necessary for a n effective learn in g of E nglish are no t ade quately present. As a resu lt, it takes stu d en ts longer to acquire the neces sary skills in English for them to be able to use it effectively. M ost s tu dents drop o u t before this "threshold" stage.^
Because the m ajority of the people can n o t use English, they are c u t off from the system in w hich they are supposed to p articip ate. This creates a com m unication gap between the elite an d the m asses. I t is easier for children of all classes to become lite ra te in th e ir m other tongue or a G h a n aia n lang u ag e th a n in English.
I use the term "threshold" in th is context to refer to a m inim um level of profi ciency below w hich a person would n o t be able to com m unicate effectively in a language. In G h an a, th is threshold would be equivalent to th e G eneral C ertifi cate of E ducation (GCE) O rdinary Level (" 0 " Level), w hich is th e basic profi ciency level in English required for en try into colleges a n d univ ersities.
s
The tasks they have to perform in learn in g th e m other tongue are lessened by the fact th a t they have already acquired a considerable a m o u n t of the spoken la n guage.
I t is tru e th a t m ost A frican governm ents, educators an d individuals have too m any languages to deal w ith. B ut it should be possible to cultivate a few major ones for in te rn a l developm ental use. O utside th e dom ain of public ad m in istratio n an d education, the m ajor languages of G h ana, which are also regional linguae francae, dom inate in ter-eth n ic com m unication. The em phasis on an in te rn a tio n a l language (E nglish) has done m uch to sep arate the elites from the masses.
The p re se n t language policies of several A frican countries, including G hana, raise a lot of questions, w hich th e p resen t study sought to investigate. The m ain question is: w h a t is the role of education in a n a tio n ’s developm ent, and w h at has language p la n n in g got to do w ith it? This m ain question brings up other sub questions, am ong which are:
1. W h at factors shaped the presen t educational language policy in G hana? 2. W h at should th e relatio n be betw een L anguage Policy and E ducational L anguage Planning? T h a t is, w h a t im plications h a s language policy a t the n a tio n a l level for the educational system?
3. Does G h a n a ’s educational system provide th e necessary tool or skills for economic development?
4. W h at is th e relatio n between school language an d home/community Ian- guage(s)?
1. W hat are some of th e arg u m ents in favor of the use of English as a medium in G hana schools?
2. Is the em phasis on English m aking any positive im pact on development? 3. W hat level of proficiency in E nglish do people need to be able to func tion better in the system?
4. W hat is th e proficiency in E nglish of G h a n a ia n stu d e n ts after 6 to 9 years of education in English?
5. W h at are the a ttitu d e s of a cross-section of th e G h a n a ia n population tow ards English and the G h a n a ia n languages?
6. Does the whole population need English for occupational purposes? 7. W hat should the role of th e local languages be?
8. How can language policies in education reflect th e needs of both th e u rb a n and ru ra l populations?
9. W hen, and for how long, should English an d the G h a n a ia n languages (i) be ta u g h t as a subject (ii) be th e medium of instru ctio n ?
10. Should teachers in G h a n a be able to teach in two or more languages (e.g., English and a G h a n aia n language)?
A com bination of historical, th eo retical an d em pirical investigative procedures was used to investigate the questions of the study. The focus is on th e factors t h a t shaped the p resen t language-of-education policy a n d w h eth er the p resen t policy is w orth p u rsu in g, considering th e economic, social an d political needs of G h an a in p a rtic u la r an d Africa in general (since m ost of these countries sh ared the same fate). As G orm an (1973) notes:
Most A frican states inh erited from th e colonial regimes political, economic, social, and, in some cases, a rtis tic in stitu tio n s in which the language of the colonial power was characteristically employed.
1 0 an d have m ain tain ed these through the offices of the bureaucracy, whose mem bers are tra in e d to work in the second language (p. 75)
The study is divided into three sections, th e descriptive, the em pirical and the program m atic.
1.2 Components o f the Study.
T h e D e s c r ip tiv e C o m p o n e n t, This com ponent has two p a rts to it; the first p a rt is con
cerned w ith th e historical and contem porary aspects of language education policy. The factors an d considerations th a t determ ined the introduction of English, not only in G h an a, b u t in several o th er A frican countries, are exam ined. The role of th e m issionaries as th e early agents of education is explored, as well as the ideol ogies an d principles w hich guided and determ ined the general education policies of the colonial governm ents in G h an a an d Africa. Pre- an d Post-independence lan guage of education policies of G h an a are also exam ined in th is component.
The second p a r t of uhis com ponent exam ines the concepts of L anguage P lan ning, language p lan n in g processes and research studies in L anguage Planning (henceforth LP). B ilingualism an d studies in bilingual and m u ltiling u al education are also explored. V arious bilingual program s are exam ined, as well as some of the case studies of bilingual program s in o th er p a rts of the world.
T h e E m p ir ic a l C o m p o n e n t. This involves th e analy sis an d description of affective and
cognitive d a ta . The perform ance of Ju n io r Secondary stu d en ts on several tests is m easured. T h eir perform ance on English proficiency tests constructed on th e basis
of the "Basic Education C ertificate E xam ination" (BECE) conducted by the West African E xam inations Council (WAEC) is described and analysed. The study involves a sociolinguistic survey conducted on a ttitu d e s to language in education and language use of a selected sam ple of th e G h a n a ia n population com prising teachers, stud en ts, p aren ts, educators, tra d e rs, a rtis a n s , ad m in istra to rs etc. The results indicate th a t the G h a n aia n languages play a m ajor role in the lives of the m ajority of G h an aian s (both a t home and in w orkplaces). It w as also found th a t the em phasis laid on English in th e educational system does n o t yield the expect ed results. Coupled w ith the fact t h a t m ost stu d e n ts drop ou t afte r p rim ary school w ithout an educational com m and of any language, it is logical for language p la n ning policies to be re-exam ined, tak in g into consideration some of these results. The resu lts of th is survey are discussed in th e em p irical component.
T h e P r o g r a m m a tic C o m p o n e n t. This com ponent h a s to do w ith issues of language
education policy an d im plem entation. A fram ew ork for language education is pro posed, based on the an aly sis of the descriptive a n d em pirical components. The historical and contem porary factors th a t sh ap ed lan g u ag e education policies in G h an a, research findings and experiences in o th e r m u ltilin g u al an d bilin g u al set tings, and the views and a ttitu d e s of m em bers of th e com m unity tow ards English an d th e G h a n aia n languages - all these factors serve as in p u t to th e fram ew ork th a t is deemed m ost su itab le for G h a n a ’s edu catio n and economic development. The suggested fram ew ork m akes it possible for stu d en ts to have m other tongue or a m ajor African lan g u ag e in stru ctio n for a t le a st six years, while learn in g E ng lish as a subject. This enables th e stu d en ts to h ave a com m and of a t le a s t a r .African language, in case they drop o u t a fte r p rim a ry school. It also m akes the tra n sitio n to E nglish g ra d u a l and smooth.
12 It m ay be argued th a t there is no point in acquiring literacy in a language t h a t leads nowhere in term s of upw ard mobility and to economic opportunity. But it m u st also be noted th a t even in th e so-called developed countries, not all people have the sam e economic opportunity. Moreover, we have to look a t the specific contexts in which literacy program s are in itialed . For exam ple, in G hana, about 50% or more of th e population is engaged in ag ricu ltu re, and the majority of this p opulation is ru ra l an d generally sedentary. Moreover, the daily activities of the m ajority of th e population is carried o u t in th e ir local languages. In other words, they do not need knowledge of English to get on w ith th e ir work. So, there is no point in in sistin g on E nglish literacy for this population. W ith the high drop-out ra te in th e schools, literacy in a m ajor G h a n a ia n language is m uch b e tte r th a n no literacy a t all.
1.3 Rationale for the Study.
Developing n ations, including G h an a, are plagued with m any problems - econom ic, social, political etc. Some of these problem s have to do with high population grow th due to high b irth -ra te , poor h e a lth due to m a ln u tritio n , high illiteracy ra te , low per cap ita incomes a n d low life expectancy. A fter three decades of politi cal independence, G h an a is still grappling w ith these problems. The big question is: why are these A frican countries still struggling w ith the q u ality of life a fter so m any years of self-rule? The search for an answ er to th is question will lead us into finding out why the low p er c a p ita income, poor h e alth and high illiteracy ra te p e rsist after so m any years. These problems are in ter-related . For instance.
a high illiteracy ra te may be due to low incomes; and low incomes m ay be due to illiteracy, which lim its one’s job opportunities; low incomes m ay also lead to poor health because people can no t afford h e a lth care expenses or proper n u tritio n . H ealth and education are probably the m ost basic requirem ents for developm ent. H ealthy individuals are a n asset, n o t only to them selves, b u t also to th e larg er com m unity to which they belong - th e n atio n . E ducation h a s been, an d continues to be, looked upon as the m ajor producer of th e personnel req u irem en ts of any nation, developed or developing. E d u catio n al planning, therefore, should be close ly tied to the economic p lan n in g program s of all nations. W hen we ta lk ab o u t educational p lan n in g in m ultilin g u al countries, th en th e question of languages comes in - the question of which of th e m ultiplicity of languages should fe atu re in the educational system and w h a t functions should the various languages play in th e system. One very im p o rtan t aspect of any developm ent p la n is e v alu atio n (which is discussed in detail la te r in the study). It is a way of exam ining the degree of success or failure of a plan o r program by assessing i t to find o u t how far the goals set are being fulfilled. I t is th e m ost neglected aspect of p la n n in g (Reagan, 1986). For language policies to be more effective, th ere is th e need for reg u lar assessm ent of policies to determ ine th e ir effectiveness and the effect they have on the people affected by the policies. J u s t as language is dynam ic, so is h u m an society and, therefore, language use in society. There h a s n o t been m uch work done w ith respect to real case stu d ies of language problem s in A frica (i.e, there is a lack of real d a ta for assessing th e success or failure of language poli cies). This is confirmed by G orm an (1975) in th e following words.
It is a cause for regret, for exam ple, t h a t despite th e num erous E n g lish medium program s developed in former B ritish colonial te rrito ries in th e la st two decades, very few studies have been m ade w hich
14
can be used as a source of reference for subsequent progi am s; since evidence other th a n th e anecdotal regarding the success or failure of aspects of such program s is generally not available (p. xxix)
O th er w riters such as Amonoo (1989), Bamgbose (1976), Boadi (1976), also sug gest th a t informed decisions or policies cannot be tak en or form ulated in the absence of h a rd facts, d a ta and research on the role an d use of English in the educational system. It is th is ta sk th a t h a s been tackled in th is study, though in a sm all way.
The m ain m otivations for the selection of E uropean languages as official lan guages by m ost A frican countries are: first, th a t since the E uropean languages a re cu ltu rally n e u tra l, they could create linguistic u n ity in such m u ltilin g u al A frican countries (see F ishm an, 1968; E a stm a n , 1983). This u n ity would (so it w as thought) generate n a tio n a l consciousness, w hich would in tu rn lead to the developm ent of th e countries; second, these E uropean languages are languages of power, linked w ith great lite ra ry tra d itio n s and scientific and technological devel opm ent. W hat we need to find o u t is w hether the so-called unity has been or is being achieved through the use of a E uropean language. The other question is why Africa is still "backw ard" in science and technology, the very a reas in which p lan n ers th o u g h t they could reap good h a rv e sts by th e adoption of E uropean la n guages in education. W ith the p resen t language policies in m ost African coun tries, where a E uropean language is the official language, we expect th a t prob lems m ay be experienced by persons who are not proficient in the language, and also by persons who are illiterate . The basic issue is w hether or n o t these two c a t egory of people are adequately inform ed regarding, for instance, h e a lth an d safety a t work; can they read an d u n d e rsta n d in stru ctio n s regarding safe procedures;
can they inform themselves about workplace hazards, and can they inform th e m selves ab o u t th e ir rig h ts and obligations contained in relev an t legislation? The purpose of the study, therefore, is to assess the ex ten t to w hich lan g u ag e-related and literacy-related difficulties m ay in h ib it social, economic an d political develop m ent of a nation such as G hana.
There is a growing concern in G h an a ab o u t th e falling sta n d a rd s of E nglish (G hana TV News, A ugust 12, 1992). If resu lts do not m atch th e am o u n t of em phasis placed on English in the educational system (i.e, if th e expected o u t come is not being realized), th e n th ere m u st be som ething wrong somewhere. An investigation of the level of proficiency a tta in e d by stu d en ts h a s to consider such non-linguistic variables as th e average num ber of children in a class, n u m b er and q u ality of teachers, q uality a n d av ailab ility of teaching m a te ria ls etc. The find ings of such a n investigation could lead e ith e r to an im provem ent of conditions under w hich th e E nglish language is ta u g h t an d le a rn t w ith in the school system, or to a reform ulation of th e language education policy. Also, if G h a n a ia n la n guages have been neglected in favor of E nglish b u t th is does not yield th e expect ed resu lt, then it becomes "double jeopardy" for m ost of the stu d en ts, who end up w ithout literacy in a n y language.
A well-known an d often-cited sociolinguistic survey conducted in G h an a is one u n d ertak en by Ansre (1975). It was a study of language use a n d a ttitu d e s in M adina, a su b u rb of th e cap ital, Accra. According to th e report, M adina was th en a sm all village of ab o u t two th o u san d people. T here h as n o t been any s u b s ta n tia l survey of th a t sort since then. M adina today can boast of about fifty th o u san d
16
people (about 25 tim es the population when the first survey was conducted). Sure ly th ere are going to be m any changes, an d the p a tte rn of language use today would definitely be more complex th a n it was in 1975. This complexity would extend to the school system an d directly or indirectly affect the quality of o u tp u t in th e school system. This study is a n a tte m p t to throw some light on th e existing complex linguistic atm osphere an d to find out w hether the present language of education policy is able to accommodate th is p a tte rn efficiently. The study is an exploratory one, whose resu lts are analyzed, ta k in g into consideration both con tem porary theories of LP a n d M ultilingual or B ilingual Education, an d the fac tors th a t determ ined th e p resen t policies.
1.4 Conceptual Framework
As noted by Cooper (1989), language p lan n in g is still a t the stage of discovering behavioral regularities. Before these reg u larities can be discovered a n d moulded into a comprehensive theory of language p lanning, we m u st decide which v a ri ables it will be m ost useful to describe. This study will adopt the descriptive fram ew ork suggested by Cooper. He suggests a fram ework which will tell us w hat actors a tte m p t to influence w h a t behaviors, of w hich people, for w h a t ends, by w h at m eans a n d w ith w h a t results. Two o th er rubrics th a t m u st be addressed in th is fram ew ork are the conditions under w hich the p lan n in g is u n d ertak en , and th e policy-making process. For LP, th is fram ew ork m u st tell us who m akes lan guage policies; w h a t the goals of such policies are; w h at the n a tu re of the popula tion whom the policies will affect is; w h at m eans are to be adopted to achieve these goals and w h a t re su lts are expected.
1.5 The Language Situation in Ghana
Most A frican countries are m ultilingual. In each of these countries, several la n guages are in use, an d individuals in these countries speak one or more languages in addition to th eir own m other tongue. T hus the concept "m u ltilin g u al" h a s two senses; one w ith respect to a country where several languages are spoken, and the other w ith respect to individual polyglottism. G h an a is no exception. I t is a m u ltilin g u al country w ith over forty m u tu a lly unintelligible lan g uag es an d a pop ulatio n of about 15 million. G h a n a ’s indigenous languages fall into th ree la n guage groups (see language m ap of G h an a on p. 249).
(1) K w a \ made up of the m ajor languages such as A kan, Ewe, Ga; (2) M ande-, made up of two n o rth e rn languages, Ligbi a n d Bisa;
(3) G u r: com prising m ost of th e n o rth e rn languages such as D agbani, Kasem, D agare etc.
The three groups belong to th e Niger-Congo family an d th e N iger- K ordofanian phylum (Greenberg, 1963). There is no available d a ta on th e linguistic d istrib u tion of the present population because the la s t census (1984) did n o t include ques tions on linguistic inform ation. However, educated estim ates give th e d istrib utio n according to ethnic groups as follows:
Akan (Kwa) ; 44.1% Ewe (Kwa) ; 13.0% Ga/Dangme (Kwa): 8.3% Mole-Dagbane (Gur); 16% Guang (K w a ): 3.7% Gurma (Gur): 3.5% Others: 11.4% Source: Chazan (1983:35)
I S Akan is obviously th e m ost popular indigenous language in term s of num ber of m other tongue speakers. A kan is a term used in modern tim es to refer to a cluster of v a ria n t dialects (A sante, Fante, Akwapem, Akim, K w ahu etc.), some of which were formerly regarded and w ritten as sep a ra te languages (A sante, F an te and Akwapem).^ All these are now known to be dialects of the sam e language which is now referred to as Akan. A unified A kan orthography is now available. This was made to elim in ate th e disad v an tag es of producing the sam e texts in three dif ferent orthographies. M eanwhile, F a n te , A sante and Akwapem, which were w rit ten as sep a ra te languages by the early m issionaries, continue to be exam ined a t the G eneral C ertificate of E ducation (GCE), O rdinary Level (0/L) as sep arate languages by th e W est A frican E x am in atio n s Council, the m ain exam ination body for the E nglish W est A frican region. A t th e Advanced Level, however, only Akan is featu red. Ewe also has several dialects (Tongu, Avenor, Peki, Kpando, Anlo etc), b u t it h a s a w ritten stan d a rd . I t is also an exam inable subject a t both "O" an d "A" Levels of the GCE. The o th er m ajor languages ( Ga, D agbani and Nzema ) also have sta n d a rd w ritten forms.
Akan seems to be p opular among speakers of o ther languages. It is spoken by a large num ber of individuals as a second language with varying degrees of profi ciency. The p o p u larity of Akan am ong speakers of other G h a n aia n languages is due to the fact t h a t the A kan-speaking a re a s are the richest a re as of G hana. The area is endowed w ith m ost of G h an a’s n a tu ra l resources - m inerals an d forests - economic resources th a t a ttr a c t a lot of other G h an aian s from the g rasslan d s of
® Dolphyne (1988) discusses the various trib es th a t co n stitu te th e A kan-speaking group. She also distinguishes betw een ethnographic A kans an d linguistic Akans.
the north an d south, where the erra tic rain fall p a tte rn makes farm ing ven tu res unpredictable. A kan-speaking people also own a lot of businesses in th e cities, resulting in the spread of th e ir language in m ost u rb a n areas. Despite th e d ra in to the rich A kan-speaking areas, the m ajority of the other ethnic collectivities still rem ain in th e ir original settlem ents. A few of them move to the cities where they come into contact w ith o ther languages. B ut th e m ajority h ard ly tra v e l o u t side their regions of settlem ent. To these people, A kan is completely foreign. So the picture is th a t even though A kan is th e m ost extensively-spoken G h a n a ia n language, it is still n o t spoken by a m ajority of th e speakers of o th er languages in other regions.
A description of G h a n a ’s language situ a tio n calls for a m ulti-layered an aly sis if the complexity of the linguistic landscape is to be fully understood. A t one level of analysis, we can disting u ish three m ajor types of languages in G h an a: (a) indigenous lan g u ag es (approxim ately 44), (b) exogenous languages (E nglish, French), a n d (c) a n e u tra l language, nam ely, pidgin English. The terra "exoge nous" is used to refer to languages which are not n a tiv e to the com m unity or n atio n in question. A t an o th er level of analysis, th e languages show different orders of h ierarch ical relatio n sh ip , while revealing co n trastiv e an d overlapping ch aracteristics as well as functions. The three language types are exam ined below. The s tru c tu ra l and functional relation sh ip s am ong the languages in each type are highlighted w here necessary.
Indigenous Languages. The indigenous languages vary greatly in th e ir personal, functional, s tru c tu ra l an d sp a tia l characteristics. Based on num ber of speakers.
2 0 range of functions, ex ten t of use in formal education, and degree of official recog n ition, as criteria for classification, the languages display a trip a rtite classifica tion.
N a tio n a l L a n g u a g e s : The n a tio n a l language s ta tu s is given to those lan g u ag es th a t are featured on the n atio n al broadcasting network. They are Akan, D agbani, Ewe, Ga, H au sa and Nzema.
R e g io n a l L a n g u a g e s : are the sam e as the n a tio n a l ones, except H ausa. They
are regarded as the regional lingua francas.
L o c a l L a n g u a g e s : comprise over 30 others.^
L anguages in the first an d second categories co n stitu te ab o u t 80% of G h a n a ’s population. The country is divided into ten a d m in istra tiv e regions: Volta, G reater Accra, E a stern , C en tral, W estern, A shanti, Brong-Ahafo, N o rth ern , Upper E ast an d U pper West. A kan is n a tiv e to five of these regions, nam ely A shan ti, Brong- Ahafo, C en tral, E a stern an d W estern, hence its num erical stren g th . Ewe is native to only the V olta Region, b u t it is spoken across the borders of G h an a, in neigh boring Togo. The m inority languages are concentrated in the n o rth ern p a rt of the country, w here ab ou t 55% of the languages are located.
E x o g e n o u s L a n g u a g e s . E ach of the four exogenous languages - English, Arabic, F rench an d H a u sa - h as its own history, uses an d functions. English, the most d o m in an t of the exogenous languages, was probably the first to arrive in G hana. It firs t came as a language of the tra d e rs in th e 16th century, la te r as a
mission-T here is no legal docum ent giving the s ta tu s of "n atio n al language" to these indigenous languages. They are so regarded by convention.
^ T he s ta tu s classification of G h a n a ’s languages is fu rth e r discussed in C hapter VII.
