Documentation and preservation of the Akan Language

Basic Research Journal of Education Research and Review ISSN 2315-6872 Vol. 1(2) pp. 23-37 August 2012
Available online http//www.basicresearchjournals.org
Copyright ©2012 Basic Research Journal
Full Length Research Paper
Documentation and preservation of the Akan
Language
Kofi Agyekum
Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon
*Email: kofiagyekum@hotmail.com
Accepted 30 July, 2012
Every language should be well kept and saved for proper use and serve as a heritage for posterity.
This paper aims at discussing the documentation and preservation of the Akan language, one of the
major languages of Ghana. It will make readers become aware of the trends of documentation of the
Akan language. It looks at the role of the missionaries, agencies, institutions and individuals in the
documentation and preservation of Akan. It also looks at the use of Akan in the media especially
radio and TV. It further considers the development of the Akan language as a language of education
and provides suggestions for the preservation, documentation and development of the Akan
language for future generations.
Keywords: language documentation, preservation, maintenance, language shift
INTRODUCTION
The paper highlights how the Akan language has gone
through the processes and channels of documentation
and preservation. The goal of this paper is to identify
the people and agencies who have contributed to
language documentation in Ghana, and especially the
Akan language. Another goal of this paper is to provide
suggestions for further and more effective ways of
documenting, preserving and developing the Akan
language both in linguistics and in the media.
The paper also highlights the attempt made at the
documentation of Akan through recording and
production of folktales, proverbs, riddles, routinised
conversation, the translation of the Bible, production of
dictionaries and orthographies, etc. The paper further
aims at outlining the previous efforts made by various
agents and groups to develop, document and preserve
the Akan language.
The paper indicates how these efforts at
documentation have been fruitful; and pushed Akan
ahead of many Ghanaian languages in Mother Tongue
Education from P1 to the tertiary levels. Akan also
leads in the media discourse on radio and TV, and
again in political discourse in the media due to the level
of documentation.
Many languages in the world are in danger of
disappearing from the earth due to the increasing power
and popularity of the few languages like English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, etc (Nettle and
Romaine, 2000). The popular colonial masters’
languages spoken by large western groups with social
prestige or control of economic resources are spreading
faster, while the “smaller” languages are vanishing at a
rapid rate. Crystal (2000) estimates that only 600 of the
6,000+ languages in the world will survive the threat of
extinction. As the popularity of languages diminishes,
the suppressed cultures are deprived of their cultural
identity and this phenomenon affects their world view
and mindset (Dalby 2003, Harrison 2007).
As people shift to these few popular languages, many
social and psychological problems emerge. There is a
negative attitude towards their own languages in that
they are considered inferior. Those whose languages
are considered prestigious may feel superior and this
can bring about linguistic conflicts. One of the main
disadvantages of language shift is that some languages
become popular at the expense of others, and the
extreme cases lead to language death. Because of
language shift and deaths some languages are referred
to as endangered languages since they are in the
processes of language death. Engendered language
progressively become non-functional and are use under
limited cultural contexts (see Batibo 2005:62).

Kofi Agyekum. 24
Linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, folklorists, and
indigenous leaders are trying very hard to resurrect
some of the dying and endangered languages through
projects to reverse language decline (Hinton and Hale,
2001,). Batibo 2005 (chap.8) refers to these measures
as “Language empowerment measures” and outlines
measures such as language planning, ideological
planning, and technical planning. He further mentions
the institutional support and the roles of governments,
regional and continent–wide bodies, NGOs, societies
and associations.
The linguistic projects are aimed at raising awareness
in endangered speech communities, and are meant to
document these languages. The projects are structured
to facilitate language reacquisition, revival, and
documentation. They support local efforts to establish
bilingual programmes, literacy programmes, and other
forms of language rescue. To salvage language revival,
one of the best methods is to have it as part of the
educational curriculum. The teaching of a particular
language in school is one of the bases for language
documentation and we will discuss this in section 7.
The department of Linguistics at the University of
Ghana has a project called “Endangered Languages”
and researchers are trying to revitalize some of the
Togo Mountain Languages in the Volta Region. Nonnative
students are even encouraged to write their
graduate theses on the phonology, morphology, syntax,
and oral literature of these languages.
The paper sees the need for documentation and the
preservation of Ghanaian and African languages to
avoid language death, and the emphasis is on the Akan
language. The paper aims at highlighting the attempts
and efforts made in the past and present to revive it. It
further gives recommendation for achieving a
successful goal through language documentation
The Akan People
The word Akan is considered from two perspectives (a)
linguistic Akan and (b) ethnographic Akan. The
ethnographic “Akan” refers to all ethnic groups that
share some cultural traits with the Akan people and
speak the Akan language as their L2. They include
Nzemas, Ahantas, Sefwis and Aowins who are nonnative
speakers of the Akan language (see Abakah
2003:6-7). The linguistic “Akan” refers to the people
called Akans who speak various dialects of the Akan
language as their native language (L1) . All the
languages spoken by the ethnographic Akans are
genetically related to the Akan language (see Abakah
2003, Boadi (2005). The Akans are the largest ethnic
group in Ghana; according to the 2000 national
population census, 49.1% of the Ghanaian population
are Akans and about 44% of the population speak Akan
as non-native speakers.
The Akans occupy the greater part of southern Ghana.
Akan is spoken as a native language in six of the ten
regions in Ghana namely, Ashanti, Eastern, Western,
Central, Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions. The Akans in
the Volta Region are sandwiched by the Ewe
communities. The Akan language is made up of the
Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Asante, Assin,
Bron, Buem, Denkyira, Fante, Kwawu, Twifo and
Wassaw dialects that are mutually intelligible. Some
Bron speakers are found in Cote d’ Ivoire. Akan is
studied from primary school up to the university level.
The Akan society was until recently an oral society and
their social norms and values were based on oral
traditions. They are very religious and they believe in
God, supernatural beings and ancestors. Akans put
high premium on politeness and etiquette in social
interactions. There is respect for status, age, chieftaincy
and traditional political systems. The Akans practice
matrilineal type of inheritance.
Ghana is a multilingual society with about 76
languages. In an appendix provided by Batibo
(2005:154), 17 of these languages are dominant, 50 of
them are less endangered, while 8 are highly
engendered. All the highly endangered languages are
found in the northern parts of the country. They are
Chakali, Chala, Dompo, Dwang, Hanga, Kamara,
Kantosi and Nchmbulu. The most widely spoken
language in Ghana is Akan. Even though Akan is the
most widely spoken both as a native language and as a
lingua franca for many non-native speakers, it can be
considered as an “endangered language” as compared
to English. It is limited in usage; it is not used in
parliament or in official documents, it is not studied as a
core subject in high schools. Again a lot of native and
non-native speakers cannot write and read it. In many
Akan homes the parents and children communicate in
English, the perceived prestigious language, to the
neglect of Akan. There is the fear that if proper
methods and sensitisation are not put in place, the next
generation of Akan speakers cannot speak Akan.
Already there is a negative attitude towards Akan. This
situation calls for language documentation and
preservation to redeem it.
Language documentation
Language documentation is a proactive process and
actions meant to record, maintain and preserve a
language for the future and to protect it from language
shift and death. From this standpoint, language
documentation precedes preservation. Trilsbeek and
Wittenberg (2006:3140 ) identify three agents in the
archiving of language and these are (a) the
depositors, (2) the users, and the (3) the archivists.
The depositors are those who make the recording, and
notes, create different sorts of material and hand these

25. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
over to the archivists (documentation). The users
arethose who want to use the materials, and the
archivists are those who solve the long-term
preservation problems (preservation).
According to Himmelmann (2006:1), “Language
documentation is a lasting, multipurpose record of
language.” It is multipurpose because it entails a lot of
strategies in recording the language to serve the people
for a longer time. The strategies involved include audio
or video recording of all communicative events such as
narratives (folktales), ordinary conversations and
observable linguistic behaviour. It may also be notes
taken when the language documenter is eliciting
information from people, or notes from earlier
documents like written literature, history and religion or
court proceedings recorded by literate native speakers,
and notes from the Bible.
Language documentation is multi-varied and hence it
should include as many varied records as possible and
everything that is related to language. To Himmelmann
(2006:3), “The goal of language documentation is to
create a record of language in the sense of a
comprehensive corpus of the primary data which leaves
nothing to be desired by later generations wanting to
explore whatever aspect of the language they are
interested in.” Since language is dynamic, no matter
how thoroughly we record and document it, there would
be areas that are undocumented. The Akan language
seems to go into this holistic aspect of language
documentation from all frontiers with the aim of
capturing much information.
In documentation, we collect the language materials,
and put them into archival database, and then
disseminate the information for public use (see Salffner
2006:106). The scope of language documentation
covers a large set of primary data that provide strong
evidence of language use in their natural sociocultural
settings such as funerals, traditional rituals, greetings,
linguistic routines, like greetings, requests, apology,
thanking, political discourse and chieftaincy (cf. Austin
2006). The Akan language preservation and
documentation veer into all these. Research works by
ethnographic scholars like Obeng, Agyekum and
Yankah also focus on these ethnographic topics.
In specific subject language documentation, the
researcher could set some limits based on his focus
and needs. The major theoretical problem is how to
determine a boundary for the recording of
communicative events for language documentation.
There is the danger of producing what Himmelmann
(2006:4) calls “data graveyards”; this refers to large
heaps of data with little or no use to anyone. On the
contrary, if one collects very few data, the documented
information may not reflect the real nature and state of
language under study. We need to sample the
communicative events for documentation to avoid
constant repetitions, but we should still make sure that
no communicative event is neglected. The paper
therefore outlines the major researches and
publications with specific reference to those done at the
Department of Linguistics, Legon.
Language documentation researchers should
obligatorily involve the native speakers who are the
custodians of their own language. If the native speakers
are actively involved in the creation of the document,
the researcher gets firsthand information about the
language, and this increases the productivity of the
language documentation and preservation. Even when
the research is based on secondary data, primary data
from the people is very important.
Every language documentation project needs a
theoretical background regarding the objectives, scope
and methodology of the project. The methodology
includes the recording, processing and preservation of
the primary data. The researcher should rely on the
metalinguistics knowledge of the native speakers that
helps them to employ their abilities as native speakers
to systematically interpret linguistic units. Their
knowledge includes the folk taxonomies of things within
their environment, and how they are able to categorise
flora and fauna, kinship systems, artefacts, food items,
basic categories, religion, etc.
METHODOLOGY
The aim of this paper is to use the secondary sources
of data based on works on Akan language and
documentation. Pieces of information were collected
from the libraries of the Universities of Ghana. I was at
the University of Ghana, Legon, University of Cape
Coast, University of Education Winneba, and the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology. I consulted students’ theses and long
essays, as well as research and publications by
lecturers, and also textbooks and other supplementary
books in Akan. I further consulted the library at the
Akrofi-Christaller centre at Akuapem Akropong. The
centre gave me much information about the
documentation of the Akuapem Twi version of the Akan
language documented by the Basel Mission and the
Akwapim scholars.
I got much information from publishing houses like
Ghana Publishing Corporation, Bureau of Ghana
Languages, Adwinsa Publishers. I also contacted
people from the Ghana Bible Society and Asεmpa
publishers, and the missionary press houses such as
the Presbyterian Book Depot, Seventh Day Adventist,
Methodist Book Depot, and other new publishing
houses like Black Maz, Unimax, Sedco and others.
With regards to primary data, I interviewed retired
reverend ministers of orthodox churches, and retired
scholars and writers of the Akan language. The aim
was to get first-hand information about their contribution

Kofi Agyekum. 26
to the preservation and documentation of the Akan
language. I further contacted the programme directors
of three FM stations who use Akan as their major
language for broadcasting. The stations were Peace
FM, Adom FM and Oman FM, all in Accra, the capital
city of Ghana.
The research questions used in this research paper
were as follows:
1. What is language documentation and preservation?
2. How far has the Akan language been documented?
3. What are the agencies who have contributed to
Akan language documentation?
4. What is the role of the missionaries in Akan language
documentation?
5. What was the role of universities and publishing
houses towards the development and documentation of
the Akan language?
6. What is the state of Akan language documentation in
post colonial Ghana?
7. What is the nature of language attitudes towards the
Ghanaian languages?
Types of Documentation and Preservation
To salvage situations of language death, linguists
counteract language death through; language
preservation, language revitalisation and language
documentation. To Craig (1997:257), “The linguistic
documentation of dying languages is sometimes
labelled as “salvage linguistics”. The documentation of
language is the major technique that acts as the
catalyst for its preservation because it is a way for
putting up materials in the form of books, CD Rom, and
all kinds of electronic forms. These versions of the
language act as the sources which people can consult
for the specific aspects of language for teaching,
learning and research.
Domains to be considered in documentation
Proper language documentation pays attention to areas
like the following.
1. Writing of primers for the major domains: agriculture,
health, customs and institutions.
2. Lexicography and dictionary making.
3. Collection and printing of word lists.
4. Writing of basic readers and grammars.
5. Provision of linguistic terminologies for various
disciplines: like grammar, phonetics, phonology,
literature, education, basic science, health,
environment, mathematics, economics, politics, culture,
religion and sociology (see also Austin 2006) In Akan,
the Ahmadiyya Movement has translated the Holy
Quran into Asante Twi. The title is Kuraan Kronkron no.
It was published in 2008 Accra: Islamic International
publications limited.
6. Provision of textbooks and supplementary readers in
phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax, customs
and institutions, oral and written literature.
7. Recording and documentation of oral traditions and
history.
8. Recording and documentation of oral literature
genres and linguistic events.
Before the Akan language was put into writing, the
richest channels for its preservation were through oral
literature genres like folktales, proverbs, riddles, dirges,
appellations, folksongs, myths, etc.
Preservation methods and electronic devices
We can document the Akan language through books,
manuscripts, journals, dictionaries and other materials.
The language can again be documented using
electronic devices like: CD ROMs, cassettes, pen
drives, electronic and print media, and internet. One of
the most reliable ways for language documentation is
video recording and this should ideally be supported by
note-taking. It is evident that the Akan language has
gone through a lot of these methods towards the
documentation and preservation of the language; the
major problem however is storage facilities and the
absence of high level technology.
Formatting of data
Data is of no importance if it is not well formatted,
documented and catalogued for easier accessibility.
There are two ways of accessibility: (1) the data should
be accessible to the compilers of the document (2) it
should be user friendly and accessible to a broad range
of users including children, researchers, and foreigners
who want to learn the language in future. Himmelmann
(2006:11-12) outlines some information that should go
with the documents as follows.
Name of the session which uniquely identifies it
within the overall corpus, A session is the records of
individual communicative events (similar terms are
document, texts, or resource bundle.
When and where the data was recorded?
Who is recorded and who else was present at the
time?
Who is allowed to access the data contained in this
session?
Eho is allowed to access the data contained in this
session?
An indication of the quality of the data according to
various parameters (recording environment and
equipment, speaker’s competence, level of detail of
further annotation):
In the case of audio or video recordings of communicative

27. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
communicative events, the documenter should provide
an accurate transcription and translation to help nonnative
users of the language to understand it better.
The general document should have information
accompanying the primary data called “general access
resources” (see Himmelmann 2006:13). The
information should include:
General background information about the
speech community and the language.
The fieldwork settings, including the data
collection methods.
An overview of contents, structure, quality and
scope of the primary data.
Brief sketches of major ethnographic and
grammatical features being documented
An explication of the various conventions used
(orthography, abbreviations and symbols)
Indices for languages/varieties and key analytic
concepts,
Links and other references to other resources
(books and articles previously published)
Brief History of Language Preservation and
Documentation of West African Languages
The first attempt at the introduction of Mother Tongue in
formal Education in West Africa is traceable to Senegal
where in 1817 the first Christian missionary school used
Wolof and French as media of instruction. The
development of African languages is one of the greatest
legacies that the missionaries bequeathed to Africa.
The work of Christian missionaries in the development
of mother tongue in Anglophone West Africa started in
Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1787. It was started by the
British government during the time of the suppression of
the slave trade. Many Africans of diverse linguistic
backgrounds settled there. Fourah Bay College was
founded years later, and it contributed immensely
towards the development and documentation of West
African languages. The development and production of
primers in West African languages is attributed to
people connected with Freetown and Fourah Bay
College.
The Role of Missionaries in the Documentation of
the Akan Language
The early Ghanaian languages books were written by
the missionaries. The earliest recording of Ghanaian
languages was made in 1673 by the Rev. W. J. Muller
in his book Die Africhanische Landschaft Fetu, which
contains 500 words of Fante. This was followed by F.
C. Protten’s (1764 , book (he was a mulatto from the
Gold Coast), A Useful Grammatical Introduction into
Twi Hitherto Entirely Unknown Languages Fante and
Akra: the 29 page book contains a grammar of Fante
and Ga and also various religious extracts. We also
have J.G. Christaller, G. C. W. Locher and J. A.
Zimmerman (1874) A Dictionary of English, Tshi
(Asante), Akra.
The interest of the Christian missionaries in West
African languages was motivated by intended religious
objectives, and the pedagogical aspects were only byproducts
of the religious motives, especially in the
Anglophone colonies. The Christian missions in the
Francophone played little role in the development of
mother tongue education. Their role was very limited,
because in the early days of the French Republic, the
church was regarded as the enemy of reason, the
stronghold of conversation and an obstacle to
development and progress (cf. Awoniyi 1976: 32). Very
few Francophone countries had missionary schools.
Their objective was to spread their religion and the
gospel properly, and they needed an intimate
knowledge of the African indigenous languages. They
also needed trained Africans to help them propagate
the gospel, hence the introduction of schools. Awoniyi
(1976: 36) posits clearly that “the formal school was
regarded as the institutional agent of the spiritual
church, with the mother tongues as the media.” The
missionaries thought the best medium for the spread of
the gospel was through the mother tongue. If the
indigenous people become literate they can spread the
gospel.
The Basel Mission in Ghana
The Basel Mission had an open policy of using Twi, Ga,
and Ewe languages as media of instruction. Before the
arrival of these missions, the country had no
established written tradition. It was only in Northern
Ghana where the Arabic script had been introduced but
that was very negligible. The initial credit of the
development of Ghanaian languages by the Basel
Mission goes to Rev Andreas Riis who decided in 1843
to evangelise from inland and had to rely on the local
languages (cf. Nkansa-Kyeremateng 1996:63).
It was the renowned Johan Gottlieb Christaller who
translated the Bible into Twi. His major works Twi and
Fante Grammar and Akan Dictionary came out in 1875
and 1881 respectively (see McWilliam and Kwamena -
Poh 1975: 34). The most serious works on Twi during
the early missionaries’ activities were the two grammar
books of Rev. H. N. Riss. One of the books, published
in 1853 in German, was entitled Elements des Akwapim
Dialects Odschi Sprache. The English version,
published in 1854, was entitled Grammatical Outline
and Vocabulary of the Oji Language.
The Basel Mission was the first to publish the Twi and
Ga newspaper, “Christian Messenger”, in 1883.
Nkansah-Kyeremateng (1996) records that, up to 1960;

Kofi Agyekum. 28
almost all the available literature in Ghanaian
languages was produced by the Presbyterian Book
Depot. It was established to print, publish and distribute
the Ghanaian language literature. The Presbyterian
Church established the Waterville Publishing House in
1963 to take charge of its publications. The
Presbyterian Church also translated their hymns into
vernacular, and the first Twi hymn was sung in July
1844, and the first Twi sermon was preached on August
11, 1844.
The Wesleyan Mission in Ghana
The Wesleyan mission first arrived on the Gold Coast in
1835 and first settled at Cape Coast. They realised the
importance of the mother tongue in the promulgation of
the gospel and in teaching and learning, and therefore,
reduced the Fante language into writing in 1859. The
Wesleyan mission took advantage of the tremendous
work done by the Basel mission in the Twi dialect and
translated some Twi books into Fante for the schools.
The Wesleyans established the Methodist Book Depot
that published almost all the Akan-Fante books. The
Methodist Church produced Fante authors who have
contributed greatly to Akan literature. They include Rev.
Gaddiel Acquaah, the author of Oguaa Aban, ‘a history
about the Cape Coast Castle’, who also translated
many English Methodist hymns into Fante, and
composed a lot of Fante hymns, Another great
contributor to the Akan-Fante language is Rev. Gyedu
Bannerman, who wrote the book Fa To Ho, ‘literally
‘Compare’.
The Catholic Mission
The Catholic Mission first landed in Ghana at Elmina in
1529. Compared to the Bremen, Basel, and the
Wesleyans missions, the Catholics did not do much
with the development and documentation of the
Ghanaian languages. The Catholics in Elmina left when
the Protestant Dutch captured the Elmina Castle. The
White Fathers entered Ghana through Northern Ghana;
they first settled at Navrongo, and as part of their
language development, they reduced the Kasem and
Dagaare languages to writing. In the southern sector of
the country, the Catholic did much to develop the
Nzema language. The Catholics Mission now has a
positive policy on mother tongue. They insist that their
priests who are sent to other parts of the country must
learn the local languages in six months after their
transfer. The Church now drums and conducts mass
and liturgy in the indigenous languages. The former
Catholic Bishop of Kumasi, Dr. Peter Kwasi Sarpong
has his own cultural troupe that performs at various
church functions. The Catholic Church has also
translated their liturgy into the various languages. Dr.
Kwasi Sarpong, a renowned Catholic Bishop of Kumasi,
and a cultural anthropologist, has introduced a lot of
language and cultural modifications into the Catholic
Church in Ghana. He has also written a lot of books on
Akan cultural anthropology and has thus contributed
much to the documentation and preservation of the
Akan language. Some of his renowned books are
Ghana in Retrospect ( 1974), Girls’ Nubility Rites in
Ashanti (1977), and the Sacred Stools of the Akan
(1971).
Production of Akan books using Akan
metalanguage
As part of the preservation, development and
documentation of the Akan language, there has been
the need to use the Akan Metalanguage. The term
Metalanguage in this paper implies the use of the Akan
language as the medium of communication. This means
that all the books; on grammar, literature ( oral and
written), customs and institutions, and language usage,
are written in the Akan language. The most recent Akan
books using the Metalanguage are Agyekum (2011)
Kasadwini (Akan Oral Literature) and Agyekum (2010).
Akan Kasa Nhyehyεeε (Akan Syntax). To help with the
teaching, research and production of Akan books,
Agyekum, Osam and Apenteng (2011) have produced
an English-Twi Glossary for Linguistics and the media.
This was a part of Agyekum’s (2003) thesis on Akan
Terminology. Before these works the major existing
grammar book was Akrofi’s (1937) book, Twi Kasa
Mmara (Twi Grammar), with some aspects of Akan
phonology. This was the first comprehensive and
scientifically investigated grammar of a language of the
then Gold Coast. In 1939, C.A. Akrofi’s and E.L. Rapp
produced a Twi spelling book or word list entitled Twi
Nsεm Nkorεnkorε Kyerεwbea (A Twi Word List). This
word list and the Mfantse NkasafuaNkyerVεwee (Fante
word list) have been of immense help to Akan language
usage and documentation. Scholars consistently
consult them if there is any doubt in spelling. In 1995,
the Akan Unified Orthography Committee published a
new Akan standardised word list and the Guide to
Spelling. These two books were based on the
standardisation and the unification of the orthography of
the three major dialects (Akuapem Asante and Fante)
of Akan language. Agyekum et al (2006) published the
Akan Pilot Dictionary where the definitions of words are
given in Akan together with English gloss, Akan
illustrative example and its translation into English.
Since independence in 1957, authors like Boadi
(2005, 1976); Dolphyne (1988), Andoh -Kumi (1981,
1979) and others have contributed a great deal to the
linguistics of Akan. Andoh-Kumi’s (1979) Akan Kasa
Nnyegyeeε Ho Adesua Bi (A Phonology of Akan), was

29. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
the first and only phonology manuscript written in the
Akan language. There are many manuscripts by
graduates of School of Ghanaian Languages, Ajumako,
Cape Coast University, University of Education
Winneba, and Departments of Linguistics, Legon that
are written in Akan. A sector of the Ministry of Education
deals with the education of adult learners who do not
enroll in the formal educational system and who mostly
attend night school and are taught solely in the
Ghanaian languages.
There was an Akan newspaper Wonsom, by the
School of Communication Studies of the University of
Ghana and kyeame by the Institute of Adult Education
that were published monthly. A great deal of material is
found in Akan literature. Plato's Apology, Sophocles'
Antigone and Homer's Odyssey together with other
Greek and Roman plays have been translated into
Akan (Ofosu-Appiah 1977). J.H. Nketia, Apraku, Ahene-
Affoh, Owusu, Safo and others have championed the
cause of poetry, drama and prose in Akan. In the
1960’s there was a Twi newspaper called Nkwantabisa.
Projects towards Preservation and Documentation
of Akan and Ghanaian Languages
Various measures, projects and institutions have been
put up since independence towards the revitalisation,
documentation and preservation of Ghanaian
languages. This section captures three major
categories: (a) foreign agencies, (b) publishing houses,
and (c) academic institutions.
The Legon-Trondheim Linguistics Project (Foreign
and Local Partnership)
This project that started in 1996 and ended in 2009 was
sponsored by the Norwegian Programme for
Development, Research and Higher Education (NUFU).
It was a partnership project established in 1996
between the University of Ghana, Legon, and the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU), Trondheim. The popular name was the Legon
Trondheim Linguistics Project but it is officially
Computational Lexicography, Typology and Adult
Literacy. The Ghanaian coordinator was the Head of
the Linguistics Department in office, whereas Prof. Lars
Hellan, NTNU, was the Norwegian coordinator
throughout the whole period. The original initiative to
the project was signed by the then Head of Department,
Prof. Lawrence Boadi of Legon and Prof. Lars Hellan.
The project was meant to enhance the development,
documentation and preservation of the languages that
are studied at the Department of Linguistics. It has
sponsored M. Phil Theses on the Akan language and
some endangered languages in the Volta and Northern
Regions of Ghana. The project’s publications include:
2008 Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 5
edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu. Legon: Linguistics Dept.
2008 Aspect and Modality in Kwa Languages edited by
Felix K. Ameka and M.E. Kropp Dakubu.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
2007 Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 4 (2
Parts). Edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu, G. Akanlig-Pare,
E. K. Osam and K. K. Saah. Legon: Linguistics Dept.
2006 Akan Dictionary, pilot project: 1530 words. Legon:
Linguistics Dept.
2005 Three Major Syntactic Structures in Akan:
Interrogatives, complementation and relativisation by
L.A. Boadi. Accra: Black Mask Ltd.
2005 Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 3
edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu and E. K. Osam. Legon:
Linguistics Dept.
2004 Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 2
edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu and E. K. Osam. Legon:
Linguistics Dept.
2004 The Trondheim Lectures: An introduction to the
structure of Akan: its verbal and multiverbal systems by
E. Kweku Osam. Legon: Linguistics Dept.
2003 Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 1
edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu and E.K. Osam. Legon:
Linguistics Dept.
2002 New Directions in Ghanaian Linguistics edited by
Felix K. Ameka and E. Kweku Osam. Accra: Black
Mask Ltd.
Each of the Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin
series is a collection of papers on Akan and other
languages of Ghana. See Appendix 1 for the various
Akan papers in these volumes, and Appendix 2 for
Akan papers in a book entitled New Directions in
Ghanaian Linguistics sponsored by NUFU. The NUFU
project also sponsored the Ewe Lexicography project
that produced the Ewe dictionary on Health Terms
(2010), as well as the Buli Literacy Project. The Buli
project produced primers such as the following
Teden Chimka Wadaaa:
‘Requirements for Citizenship’
Biamagsika Nyuenta
‘Benefits of Family planning’
Ti Teka Zuk Nyamagsika Nyuenta
‘Benefits of Proper Environmental Care.’
Switzerland Zurich Legon Project
In Switzerland, there is a programme for African
languages including Akan at the Zurich University. The
university has been teaching Twi for over two decades
and this encouraged one Prof. Bearth to source funding
for the Akan Dictionary Project which took off in 1997.
Prof. Bearth has been very influential in a computer CD-
ROM Akan project dubbed “ALI Akan Project “African

Kofi Agyekum. 30
Languages through the Internet”. This project is an
“Introduction to Akan Language and Linguistics”
through new Electronic Technologies (1999-2000). This
is a high tech form of documentation. The project also
gives new insights in key areas like vowel harmony,
tonology, serial verbal constructions, and lexicology to
non-African students. Teaching staff and students have
the opportunity to test the application of new electronic
technology to the teaching and exploration of a
language whose sound system, syntax and lexicon
differ markedly from the European languages.
The Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit
(GTZ)
The Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit
(GTZ), a German organisation that contributes much to
mother tongue education (MTE) in Ghana. GTZ
engages itself in MTE in Sub-Saharan Africa and has
forty years experience in promoting MTE. It is in
constant collaboration with counterparts from African
Education ministries and universities. It organises
workshops in various capitals of African countries. A
GTZ brochure, titled Teaching and Learning in the
Mother-Tongue: Textbooks and Literate Environment,
stated in its preamble as follows;
“UNESCO in the fifties, OAU since its foundation and
recently World Bank educationalists recognised that no
significant progress towards education for all can be
made unless the mother-tongue of the pupils is used as
a medium of instruction. Since 1976, GTZ has
supported the efforts of developing countries to
democratise the access to knowledge, competencies
and abilities through the introduction or enhancement of
mother-tongue teaching. From the very beginning it
became clear that the most effective way of introducing
or improving mother-tongue teaching or learning was
the development of adequate textbooks and teacher’s
guides.”
GTZ started its project on teaching and learning in
MTE in Peru and has projects in Ecuador, Pakistan,
Mali, Niger, Republic of Central Africa, Madagascar and
Ghana. It organises seminars and workshops and
publishes books on MTE, including three Pupils’ Books
and their Teachers’ Guides in Akan and other Ghanaian
languages. These are:
1. Ma Yεnsua Akenkan ne Atwerε 1 (1999) (Let us
Learn Reading and Writing)
kyerεkyerεni Akwankyerε Nwoma (1999) (Teachers’
Guide)
2. Ma Yεnsua Akontaa (1999) (Let us Learn
Mathematics)
kyerεkyerεni Akwankyerε Nwoma (1999) (Teachers’
Guide)
3. Ma Yεnsua Nnoma a Atwa Yεn Ho Ahyia Ho Nsεm.
(1999) (Let us Learn about Our environment
kyerεkyerεni Akwankyerε Nwoma (1999) (Teachers’
Guide)
The languages included in this programme were Ewe,
Gonja and Ga. The writing of Reading, Mathematics
and Environmental Books for Primary 1-3 is a joint
project between GTZ and The Teacher Education
Division of the Ghana Education Service. As a follow-up
of the work of GTZ, the Ghana Education Service
(GES), in collaboration with the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) and Educational
Quality for All Project (EQUALL) have produced books
in eleven Ghanaian languages. The Pupils’ books and
their Teachers Guide entitled Let’s read and write,
cover Kindergarten to Primary Three. The Akan titles
are Ma Ynkenkan na Yntwer KG-P3 (2008) . The
other languages included in this programme were
Akuapem-Twi, Asante-Twi, Dagaare, Dagbani,
Dangme, Ewe, Fante, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema.
The books were meant to enhance literacy at the early
stages of pupils’ education.
Institutions Connected with Language Preservation
and Documentation in Ghana
Various public institutions and organisations are
connected with the promotion, teaching, documentation
and preservation of Ghanaian languages, especially
Akan. These include the publishing houses, Ghana
Book Development Board, the media, and the
universities. The Non-Formal Division of the Ministry of
Education also develops adult literacy materials and
primers in Ghanaian languages as a means of
documentation and preservation. With proper
motivation, management, personnel and resources,
bodies like the Bureau of Ghanaian languages, and
Ghana Publishing Corporation, can help develop
Mother Tongue Education and contribute to the
documentation of Akan and other languages.
The Bureau of Ghana Languages
The Bureau of Ghana Languages (BGL) was originally
established in 1951, as the Vernacular Literate Board. It
was established as an independent statutory
corporation by Gold Coast Vernacular Literate Board
Ordinance, 1950. Its main objectives were to provide
basic reading materials, newspapers and simple
primers in the Ghanaian languages for adult learners
who were reading for the first time. This was part of the
mass literacy drive launched by the Social Welfare
Department. In 1958, it came under the Ministry of
Information; it was not until 1963 when it came under
the Ministry of Education and Culture. Since 1989, it
has been placed under the National Commission on
Culture. It has been the major publisher for Ghanaian
languages, but currently it is not well resourced to achieve

31. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
its aim. This proves the nations’ lukewarm and negative
attitude to our Ghanaian languages.
The BGL now produces literature in eleven
government-sponsored Ghanaian languages, namely:
Akuapem-Twi, Asante-Twi, Dagaare, Dagbani,
Dangme, Ewe, Fante, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema.
BGL promotes the development of these eleven
languages in terms of orthography, grammar, literature
and terminology. It conducts research into Ghanaian
customs and oral traditions and thereby documents and
preserves them in print and electronic forms for the
public. It serves as an information centre on Ghanaian
languages and culture for local and foreign inquirers
and researchers (both governmental and private). BGL
translates materials from English into Ghanaian
languages, and vice-versa. The beneficiaries of the
services of the BGL are the schools, colleges, tertiary
institutions, libraries, booksellers, and the general
public.
BGL interacts with agencies, organisations and
institutions like the Textbook Unit of the Ministry of
Education, the Non-Formal Education, the Ghana Book
Development Council, Ghanaian Book Publishers
Association, the Printing Houses, the Ghana Library
Board, the Departments of Linguistics and Ghanaian
Languages at Legon, Winneba and Cape Coast.
Other Publishers of Ghanaian Language Materials
Apart from BGL and GTZ, the state owned Ghana
Publishing Corporation, established in the first regime,
also publishes most of the Ghanaian language books.
The Ghana Book Development Board also publishes
some few books in the Ghanaian languages.
The various universities’ presses in Ghana publish
books on the language, literature and customs and
institutions in the Ghanaian and English Languages.
Examples are Dolphyne’s A Comprehensive Course in
Twi (1996) and Akan Sound System and Tones (1988),
published by the Ghana Universities Press. The
universities’ journals like Legon Journal of Humanities
(Faculty of Arts), African Research Review (Institute of
African Studies) Asεmpa (University of Cape Coast)
have articles on Ghanaian languages and culture,
especially those that relate to Akan.
Other publishing houses like UNIMAX have produced
books in Akan and other Ghanaian languages like Ewe,
Dangme and Ga; Asante and Akuapem Kasasua
(Books 1-6) is already on the market. All these
programmes and publications are created for the
documentation of written versions of Akan and the other
languages.
Apart from the written versions, there are other
channels for the documentation and preservation of the
oral forms of the Akan language. The FM and other
radio stations, both private and state-owned, record all
their programmes on CD ROM, cassettes and other
electronic forms. These are well kept in their libraries.
For example, in 2012 the Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation, in collaboration with the German
government, put all the “highlife and folk songs” from
the 1960s, into digital forms for preservation. These
media houses have various programmes in Akan; they
range from folk songs and other oral literature genres,
political discourse, health, agriculture (see Agyekum
2000, 2011)
The Institute of African Studies and the School of
Performing Arts (SPA) and the Department of
Linguistics, all at the University of Ghana, Legon have
recorded and documented a lot of oral literature
materials into electronic forms for preservation. These
include texts and performances on folktales, libation
(traditional prayer texts), funeral dirges, folk songs, etc.
Mother Tongue Education and the Teaching of Akan
at various Levels in Ghana
This section looks at the preservation, documentation
and development of the Akan language, through
teaching, learning and research at the pre-tertiary and
tertiary levels in Ghana. We can best document our
Ghanaian languages if they are core subjects
throughout our educational curriculum.
There are two sides to the coin in terms of
documentation. If the language policy in Ghana pays
positive attitude to our Ghanaian languages, most
students will offer the Ghanaian languages, and many
publishers would be encouraged to publish more books
since there would be ready markets. In that case, the
school programmes will call for documentation. Since
the language is already part of the school programme
we will have to document a lot, so that the school can
get materials. On the other hand, some policy makers
will argue for the inclusion of a Ghanaian language in
the curriculum for schools if they are convinced that the
language has enough existing documentation. This
tallies with the view raised by Batibo (2005: 112) that
“There should be existence of materials for language
educational literacy. The greater the variety of materials
available in the language, and the more they are used
in education, the stronger the language is. This is
because a language is usually better maintained if
education is conducted in the language with materials in
oral, written and other forms. Amount and quality of
documentation: The more historical and contemporary
materials there are on the language, the stronger it is”
Whichever way we look at it, if the language is taught
at school, it enhances documentation and preservation.
At any rate it is only when many people are literate in
the Ghanaian languages that we can have scholars to
write and document the language. A language that has
few scholars to document it cannot enhance its literacy,

Kofi Agyekum. 32
unless the few writers are very prolific.
The mother tongue is used as a medium of instruction
in our basic schools for the first three years. In year
four, English takes over and the Ghanaian languages
are taught as subjects of study. Pupils will continue to
study them up to year 9 (the end of the Junior High
School) where they are compulsory subjects at the
Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Students can continue to study the Ghanaian
languages as electives at the Senior High School.
Before 1987 when the new education system was
introduced, Akan was studied at the Ordinary (O) and
Advanced (A) Levels. At the secondary level it was
compulsory for the first three years and an elective for
Form 4 and Form 5 and also at the Sixth Form. At each
level of Akan studies, the examination was made up of
two papers. The paper 1 comprised essays,
comprehension and summary, phonology, syntax and
semantics. Paper 2 consisted of oral literature, customs
and institutions and written literature. Since the
Ghanaian languages were only electives, very few
students opted for them, and writers and researchers
were not encouraged to research and write more books
since it was not economically viable and prudent to
publish books for a handful of students.
At the training colleges the Ghanaian languages are
now compulsory subjects so that trainees can master
them and teach them well after their training.
Universities in Africa have played very significant roles
in the development of African languages through
teaching, research, seminars, workshops, conferences,
documentation and publication. Postgraduate and
Diploma courses and higher degrees in African
languages are now available in many African
Universities in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania,
Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ethiopia, Swaziland,
South Africa, etc. Most universities have departments
and institutes for linguistics and African languages.
Batibo (2005:126) disc ussed the professional
societies and associations that are concerned with the
promotion, development, documentation and
preservation, and the effective use of African
indigenous languages. The societies include West
Africa Linguistic Society (WALS), African Languages
Associations of Southern Africa, and World Congress of
African Linguistics, etc. In Ghana, we have the
Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG) that meets
annually when linguistics scholars present papers on
their researches on languages, especially the
endangered ones. These papers are published in the
LAG journal
In Ghana, the Linguistics Department was established
at the University of Ghana in 1964 and has been
researching into the various Ghanaian languages
especially Akan. In 1992, a Ghanaian Languages
Studies section was added and students can now
branch into Ghanaian Languages for BA, MA, M. Phil.
and Ph.D Courses in Akan, Ewe, Dagaare and Ga.
Legon has produced 10 M.Phil graduates in Akan, I
Ph.D in Ewe, and Cape Coast University has produced
6 M.Phil. The University of Education Winneba has an
MA programme in Ghanaian languages.
At the University of Ghana, thus Language Centre
was established for courses in Ghanaian languages,
teaching methods and textbook writing techniques for
regional education officers. The status of mother tongue
education in Ghana was very low until the 70s. At the
Conference on the study of the Ghanaian languages
held at Legon in 1968, participants proposed that the
University College of Cape Coast and the Advanced
Teacher Training College at Winneba train professional
teachers to teach Ghanaian languages in schools and
colleges.
Teachers from the secondary and primary schools
including graduates from Ajumako and Cape Coast
pursued courses in Advanced Diploma in Ghanaian
languages. The programme has ceased since 1996 and
the Centre now organises proficiency course in the
Ghanaian languages for the Legon African Studies first
year programme. The researchers went into the various
languages; however, the concentration has shifted to
English and French and, this was a deviation from the
main objective of the establishment of the centre. This
is another clear evidence of the negative attitude of the
Ghanaian authorities.
A Department of Ghanaian Languages was
established in the 1973 /74 academic year at Cape
Coast University and it has undergraduate and
graduate programmes in Akan, Ga and Ewe. Students
and lecturers conduct research in these languages.
Undergraduate and graduate students use these
Ghanaian languages as the medium in writing their long
essays and theses.
The School of Ghanaian Languages, formerly at
Ajumako and now integrated into the University College
of Education at Winneba, was established in 1973 to
train teachers for 2-Year Specialist Certificate in
Ghanaian languages. It was upgraded to a 3-Year
Teachers’ Diploma in 1975. Presently, it has degree,
post-diploma, and M.Phil courses in eleven Ghanaian
languages. The medium of instruction is the various
Ghanaian languages. Akan is the largest group and
students continue to research and write long essays
and theses in Akan. This language policy has
contributed to the documentation and preservation of
the language. Akan is also studied at the Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the
Presbyterian University of Ghana at Akuapem
Akropong.

33. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
Recommendation and the way forward for the
Documentation of Akan
These suggestions are made from two points. In the
first place, I am making these suggestions as a
researcher in linguistics, and also as a native speaker
of the Akan language and an advocate of Mother
Tongue Education in Ghana, who is actively involved in
the documentation and preservation of the Akan
language. To preserve and document Ghanaian
languages, including Akan, we need to intensify the
teaching, research and the publication of these
languages. If we do that and produce enough books
and materials in the Ghanaian languages, most people
would have access to, and thereby develop interest in
them. Since the Junior High School started in Ghana in
1987, there has not been a single official textbook in
Akan and the other Ghanaian languages. In view of
this, some middle level scholars of these languages
produce “non-standard” books and pamphlets full of
mistakes. If we are able to get good books, learning the
languages will be easier, and research into them will be
enhanced.
In Akan, Andoh-Kumi tried in the 1980s to coin some
terms in phonetics, phonology, syntax and semantics, in
addition to the few ones produced by C.A. Akrofi, J.G.
Christaller, and the earlier linguists of Akan. Agyekum
(2003) Ph. D thesis on Akan Terminology and his
current TALIF Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund
(TALIF) is a project under the National Council for
Tertiary Education (NCTE) of Ghana. Project on Akan
terminology in linguistics and the media are the major
works towards language documentation and
preservation of Akan terminology. These studies will
improve and expand the existing terms to cover other
areas of Akan linguistics, like literature, pragmatics,
sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, etc.
Funds, especially from the Ghana Education Trust
Fund (GET), could be provided to document the most
essential long essays produced by students in the
Linguistics and Ghanaian Languages departments.
There are a lot of long essays and theses in Akan from
the former School of Languages (Ajumako), University
of Education Winneba (UEW), University of Cape
Coast, the University of Ghana, Legon, and Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The
first batch of Ghanaian language specialists from the
School of Ghana Languages passed out in 1975, so
one can imagine tons of long essays and theses that
have been produced. These long essays and theses
can be edited and documented into books and manuals
and other electronic forms to help teaching, learning
and research into the Akan language. This would
enhance documentation and preservation.
The Bureau of Ghana Languages (BGL) should be
strengthened and expanded to produce books in more
Ghanaian languages to cover current needs of
local languages. As a researcher and mother-tongue
advocate, I suggest that BGL could collaborate and
liaise with the Ministry of Education and the Ghanaian
universities to embark on serious programmes on
Ghanaian languages and literature. BGL should be
reverted to be under the Ministry of Education. The
Non-Formal Division of the Ministry of Education could
be strengthened to develop adult literacy materials in
the Ghanaian languages. These institutions could also
collaborate on regular basis to deliberate on lexical
elaboration and expansion and language
documentation. The provision of terminologies for the
teaching and learning of Ghanaian languages could be
made an important aspect of language documentation,
preservation and development. The Departments of
Linguistics and Ghanaian languages in our universities
are advised to incorporate language documentation as
part of their curriculum and expose their students to
theories on fieldwork, language survey and language
documentation.
It is advisable to make textbooks available in
Ghanaian languages by translating some of the African,
Caribbean, and Western literature into the various
Ghanaian languages and document them for the future.
For example, Forson (1998) translated Julius Caesar
into Akan and Anthony Kwame Appiah has translated
some Greek literature books into Akan e.g. Odysseus. It
is also suggested that small glossary books on Akan
phonetics, phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax,
literature, and stylistics should be developed as
reference books for students, broadcasters, translators,
etc.
I propose the establishment of a Ghanaian Language
Centre that will deal with documentation,
lexicographical and terminological work in the various
Ghanaian languages. It will be interdisciplinary and
manned by linguists and personnel from different
disciplines like anthropology, psychology, mass
communication, law, etc. It should be well equipped to
produce word lists, terms and special dictionaries for
the educational levels, radio and TV. We can also
publish a newspaper that deals solely with our
Ghanaian languages. Information on documentation,
lexical elaboration and expansion by experts would be
published regularly to help disseminate information on
terminology very fast.
The university libraries could liaise with most FM
radio and TV stations that use Ghanaian languages and
record all their programmes so that copies of their
programmes could be documented and preserved
electronically for teaching, learning and research.
Since language documentation and preservation
involves funds, we could appeal to the various
developmental partners like UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP,
etc., to assist in the documentation, preservation and
development of Ghanaian indigenous languages. They
can perfectly use the indigenous languages to achieve

Kofi Agyekum. 34
most of their objectives by reaching out to the masses.
We can also appeal to the Ministries of education, Local
government and Information to collaborate to sponsor
terminological projects so that most of their reports and
information can be well translated into the local
languages; for instance, we can produce the abridged
forms of the constitution, presidential addresses, and
important political discourses in the various Ghanaian
languages. Batibo (2005:129) posits that “by preserving
and empowering the minority languages alongside the
dominant languages, African countries would be
promoting true democracy and equality. One of the
sources of political conflict in Africa is the fact that some
ethnic groups are not granted full participation in their
country’s affairs.” The use of Ghanaian languages on
radio is a clear evidence of this. Many people feel more
comfortable engaging themselves in media interaction
using Akan and other Ghanaian languages. It is
therefore important to intensify the documentation,
preservation, and use of our Ghanaian languages
especially at the grassroots.
CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have examined the various factors that
should be taken into consideration in language
preservation and documentation. We have given a
historical background to language documentation in
Ghana by paying attention to the agencies and
institutions that have contributed immensely towards
the documentation of the Akan language. Some of
these are religious, foreign agencies, academic and
governmental institutions. The paper has looked at the
role of the Bureau of Ghanaian Languages in the
development of Ghanaian languages. We have given a
vivid picture of the nature of language documentation in
Akan and other Ghanaian languages.
Finally, we discussed the development of Ghanaian
languages at the tertiary level. We suggested that, if our
languages should be preserved and documented in the
mother tongue, then the first step is to develop
terminologies in the indigenous languages for the
teaching of African languages. The media, especially
radio, has been a very efficient channel for the
development of the Akan language, and it is ideal for
Akan linguists to work hand in hand with them, and to
document anything Akan that is aired on their networks
electronically. If all the issues outlined in this paper are
well organised and given the necessary booster, and
we change from our negative and lackadaisical attitude
to positive, Ghanaian languages will develop and
function better than they do now. Speakers’ positive
attitude towards their language is the panacea to
language preservation and its continuation for future
generations.
If we preserve, document and develop African
languages, linguistics and literature, it will have a
corresponding impact on African art, politics,
economics, agriculture, industrialization, technology,
medicine, primary health, commerce and trade. If the
modern ideas and information are disseminated in the
indigenous Ghanaian languages, their impact will be
greater, and it will boost productivity in Ghana.
According to UNESCO (2003) (cited in Batibo 2005:
112) “a language is usually stronger if it has
comprehensive grammars, dictionaries, a good range of
reading texts, a constant flow of publications, and
abundant annotated, high-quality audio and video
recordings. Speakers of minority languages become
more positive towards their language once they see an
orthography and documents written in it.”
All in all, documentation is the best way of keeping
our history, language, culture, religion and the
philosophy of the people for future generations. All is
not lost with the Akan language and other languages
since a lot of Ghanaian movies, radio interaction,
religious discourse, advertising and political discourse
and electioneering campaigns are in Akan.
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Kofi Agyekum. 36
Appendix 1
Akan articles in the Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin published by the Department of Linguistics from
2002-2010.
2002: Studies in the languages of the Volta Basin Volume 1. (17papers)
1. Nana Ama Agyeman: On object sharing and referent sharing in Akan serial verb constructions. Pp.3-8
2. Lars Hellan, Dorothee Beermann and Eli Saethero Andenes: Towards a typology of serial verb constructions in
Akan. Pp. 61-86
3. E. Kweku Osam: Derived adjectives in Akan and Ewe: A comparative analysis Pp 171-179.
4. Kofi K. Saah: The nature and functions of Akan verbal Affixes: Pp. 180-196
2004: Studies in the languages of the Volta Basin Volume 2. [22 papers]
5. Gladys Nyarko Ansah and E. Kweku Osam: Lexical innovation in Akan. Pp 1-9
6. Boadi L. A. The “little- birds” Noun class of Akan: Some synchronic and diachronic inferences. Pp. 19-23
7. Clement K.I. Appah: Nominal derivation from noun phrases in Akan. Pp. 166-182
8. Kofi K. Saah and Paul Agbedor: Adverbs in Akan and Ewe: A Comparative study. Pp. 202-216
9. XXX: Causativity in Akan. Pp. 217-227
10 Grace Bota and E. Kweku Osam: Aspects of some phonological process in Akan Bono. Pp. 228-238
2005: Studies in the languages of the Volta Basin Volume 3. [20papers]
11. Nana Ama Agyeman: Middle voice in Akan. Pp. 18-24
12. Boadi L. A.: Predicates of sensation and mental disposition. Pp. 74-87
13. Clement K. I. Appah: Action nominalization in Akan. Pp. 132-142
14. XXX: Polysemy and metaphorical extension of Hunu, ‘Vision -perception verb in Akan. Pp. 147-162
15. Abakah. E.N. Tone in Akan nominals. Pp. 193-218
2005: Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin Volume 4 (1). [12papers]
16. Nana A.A. Amfo, Stella A. Boateng and Yvonne A. Otoo. A comparative study of the morphosyntactic properties
of adjectives in Akan, Ewe and Ga. Pp 60-71
17 Alex Dzameshie: A comparative study of adjectives in Ewe and Akan. Pp.72-84
18. Christiana Pokuaa, E. Kweku Osam and Kofi K. Saah: Adjective sequencing in Akan: A preliminary investigation.
Pp. 134-142
2006: Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin Volume 4 (2) [10papers]
19. Kofi. K. Saah: Anaphora in Akan. Pp. 23-35
20. L.A. Boadi: The participle in Akan. Pp. 36-51
21. E. Abakah and Louisa Koranteng. The interaction of tone and syntax in Akan Pp. 63-85
22. Grace Bota: A descriptive analysis of the Bono tonal system: Its relationship with other Akan dialects. Pp. 117-
130
2010: Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin Volume 6 (2) [12papers]
23. E. N. Abakah, R. Oforiwaa Caesar and J. Ababila: The Tonomorphology of reduplication in Akan, Dangme and
Gurene Pp. 121-140.

37. Basic Res. J. Educ. Res. Rev.
24. C. Ofosu Marfo: The structure of Akan compounds: Some prosodic structural insights Pp. 141-152
25. E.N. Abakah: Tone and aspects in Akan verbal syntax: Pp.165-192
Appendix 2:
Akan papers from the book New Directions in Ghanaian Linguistics made up of 19 papers
1. E. Kweku Osam: The ingressive in Akan: A reconsideration. Pp.113-126
2. XXX: The interpretive marker “s” in Akan. Pp. 127- 146
3. Kofi K. Saah: Children’s knowledge on the constraints on the use of the Akan third person object Pronoun. Pp.
213-242
4. E.N. Abakah: Remarks on the Akan vocalic inventory. Pp. 243-264
5. Samuel Gyasi Obeng: No condition is permanent: Textuality, contextuality and intextuality in some Ghanaian
English Autonyms. Pp. 339-362
6. Akosua Anyidoho: Contemporary funeral eulogies in Akan. Pp. 363-380
7. Kwesi Yankah: Free speech and the therapeutic discourse: an ethnography. Pp. 425-447