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Constructing a National Language as a Vehicle for National Identity
... Ghana is a multicultural and multilingual country. She is reported to have 50 mutually unintelligible local languages (Dakubu 1996), over 40 languages (Steinbergs 1992, Kwesi 2011 or 79 languages (Dakubu 1996). There is a lack of consensus on the number of languages in Ghana. ...
... Ghana, as already noted, is a multilingual country priding itself of between 50 and 79 languages (Steinbergs 1992, Dakubu 1996, Edu-Buandoh 2008, Kwesi 2011. But why do these institutions choose languages outside its linguistic jurisdiction and why just three of her numerous languages? ...
A growing body of research has sought to explore the language-identity interrelationship. The present study explored a key identity index – motto– of educational institutions in Ghana. Two hundred and forty-five mottos collected from multiple sources such as newspapers, billboards, and institutional souvenirs from institutions ranging from senior high schools to universities constituted the data for the study. It emerged from the analysis that Ghanaian educational institutions employed three distinct language types: global languages (Latin, French and Arabic), local languages (Akan, Ewe and Ga) and glocal language (English) in establishing their identities through their mottos. The global and local identities foreground the ‘foreignness’ and ‘localness’ of the institutions respectively, while the glocal identity projected the hybrid index of the institutions. The findings point to the theory of identity, linguistic landscape model in Ghana, and institutional multilingualism. It also has implications for further research into mottos.
... People use language as a symbol of social identity. Thus, with language, a community identifies itself as a united group of people having common goals and aspirations (Kwesi 2011). This shows that apart from being a medium through which ideas are communicated from person to person, language functions as an identity marker. ...
Language and identity are two distinct but inextricably intertwined concepts. This implies that people-especially bilinguals-may manipulate their linguistic repertoires in different social settings to portray different identities. In this regard, we examined the language choices of university students in different social settings and how they use language to construct identity. The study employed a sequential transformative mixed method design; thus, qualitative and quantitative data were collected in two separate periods for analysis. In total, 627 participants took part in the study. Sixty students were personally interviewed, whereas 567 participants filled out an online survey. The results of the study indicate that students speak English in formal communicative situations and speak their L1 in informal settings. They speak English to portray an intellectual identity, while their first languages are spoken to divulge their affiliation with their family and ethnicity.
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