University of Ghana - UG Course Outlines

Courses Under Linguistics and Language University of Ghana UG

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PROGRAMME STRUCTURE LEVEL 100

First Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
UGRC 110 Academic Writing 3
UGRC 120 Numeracy Skills 3
UGRC 141-146 Science and Technology in Our Lives 3
UGRC 150 Critical Thinking and Practical Reasoning 3
LNGS 101 Introduction to Linguistics 3
Other Subjects 2 Courses from other 2 assigned departments 3
Minimum Credits Required 15

NOTE: Students may choose any 2 of the University Required Courses for 6 credits.

 

Second Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
UGRC 110 Academic Writing I 3
UGRC 120 Numeracy Skills 3
UGRC 141-146 Science and Technology in Our Lives 3
UGRC 150 Critical Thinking and Practical Reasoning 3
LNGS 102 Structure of English Words 3
Other Subjects 2 Courses from other 2 assigned departments 3
Minimum Credits Required 15

NOTE: Students may choose any 2 of the University Required Courses for 6 credits.

LEVEL 200

First Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
UGRC 210 Academic Writing II 3
UGRC 220-238* Introduction to African Studies 3
LNGS201 Phonetics 3
LNGS203 Morphology 3
Other Subjects 2 Courses from other 1 assigned departments 6
Minimum Credits Required 15

NOTE: Students may choose either UGRC 210 or UGRC 220-238*.

 

Second Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
UGRC 220-238* Introduction to African Studies 3
LNGS202 Introduction to Syntax 3
LNGS204 Languages in Ghana 3
Other Subjects 2 Courses from other 1 assigned departments 6
Minimum Credits Required 15

NOTE: Students may choose either UGRC 210 or UGRC 220-238*.

 

LEVEL 300

A Linguistics Major student must take at least 24 credits by the end of the year.  This should be made up of TWO core courses and any TWO electives offered in each semester.

A Combined Linguistics student must take at least 15 credits by the end of the year.  This should be made up of TWO core courses and any ONE elective offered in each semester. A Minor Linguistics student must take at least 6 credits by the end of the year.  This should be made up of ONE core course per semester (LNGS 301 and LNGS 302). Such a student cannot pursue Linguistics at Level 400.

 

First Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
LNGS301 Introduction to Phonology 3
LNGS303 Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian Language 3
LNGS305* Phonetics and Phonology of English 3
Any TWO elective courses 6
Other Subjects Any ONE  course from the other assigned department 3
Minimum Credits Required 15

*For those whose languages are not taught as LNGS 303/This should not be taken by students from the English Department

      

 

Second Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
LNGS302 Syntax I 3
LNGS304 Morphology and Syntax of a Ghanaian Language 3
LNGS306* Morphology and Syntax of English 3
Any TWO elective courses 6
Other Subjects Any ONE course from the other assigned department 3
Minimum Credits Required 15

*For those whose languages are not taught at LNGS 304/This should not be taken by students from the English Department

 

 

LEVEL 400

A Linguistics Major student must take at least 30 credits by the end of the year.  This should be made up of TWO core courses in the first and second semesters plus any THREE electives in each semester. A student who offers to write a LONG ESSAY (6

CREDITS) may take the TWO core courses and at least ONE elective in the second semester in addition to the Long Essay.

A Combined Linguistics student must take at least 15 credits by the end of the year.  This should be made up of TWO cores plus ONE elective in the first semester and TWO cores in the second semester.

 

First Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
LNGS401 Phonological Theory 3
LNGS403 Syntax II 3
Any THREE Elective Courses 9
Minimum Credits Required 15

 

Second Semester

Course Code Course Title Credits
LNGS402 Semantics 3
LNGS404 Morphological Theory 3
Any THREE Elective Courses 9
Minimum Credits Required 15

NOTE: A student who decides to write LNGS400: Long Essay (6 credits) has to take the core courses (LNGS402, LNGS 404) and any ONE elective.

 

LEVEL 100
 Core
Old Code                                New
LING 111         LNGS 101        Introduction to Linguistics 3
LING 112

 

LNGS 102        Structure of English Words 3
                                               LEVEL 200
Old Code  New
LING221          LNGS 201        Phonetics 3
LING 222 LNGS 202        Introduction to Syntax 3
LING 223          LNGS 203        Introduction to Morphology                                         3
LING 224

 

Core:

         LNGS 204        Languages in Ghana                                                      3

Level 300

Old Code                                 New
LING 331          LNGS 301        Introduction to Phonology                                            3
LING 332          LNGS 302        Syntax I                                                                            3
LING 333 LNGS 303        Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 334          LNGS 304        Morphology and Syntax of a Ghanaian Language      3
LING 335          LNGS 305 *     Phonetics and Phonology of English                          3
LING 336

Electives

         LNGS 306 *     Morphology and Syntax of English                            3
LING 347          LNGS 307        Oral Literature                                                                3
LING 348         LNGS 308        Ethnography of Speaking                                             3
LING 345          LNGS 309        Sociolinguistics                                                              3
LING 341          LNGS 311        Child Language Development                                     3
*LING 342          LNGS 312        Introduction to Translation Theory                             3
LING 344          LNGS 314        Discourse Analysis                                                        3
LING 346          LNGS 316        Second Language Acquisition and Learning             3
New  Course          *LNGS 318      Acoustic Phonetics                                                        3
                  LNGS 322:       Introduction to Ghanaian Sign Language                 3
New  Course          *LNGS 324      Introduction to Research Methods in Linguistics     3
                 

 

 

LEVEL 400                  Major: At least 30 credits by the end of the year                  Combined: At least 15 credits by the end of the year.

 

Core

Old  Code                                        New  Code

LING 421                      LNGS 401        Phonological Theory                                                     3

LING 422                    LNGS 402        Semantics                                                                         3

LING 423 LNGS 403        Syntax II 3
New Course

Electives

*LNGS 404      Morphological Theory 3
LING 435 LNGS 405        Language in Business 3
LING 436 LNGS 406        Language and Politics 3
LING 437 LNGS 407        Pidgin and Creole Languages 3
LING 438 LNGS 408        Language Planning and Development 3
LING 439 LNGS 409        Advanced Theory of Translation 3
LING 431 LNGS 411        Syntax of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 432 LNGS 412        Semantics of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 433 LNGS 413        Syntax of English 3
LING 434 LNGS 414        Semantics of English 3
LING 445 LNGS 415        Linguistics and Language Teaching 3
LING 446 LNGS 416        Language and Literacy 3
LING 443 *LNGS 417      Language and Law 3
LING452 LNGS418         Psycholinguistics 3
LING 449 LNGS 419        Advanced Sign Language 3
LNGS 442          LNGS422         Pragmatics 3
LING 444

 

LNGS 424        Language and Gender

Course Descriptions 

3

 

LNGS 101:           Introduction to Linguistics

The course aims at introducing students to the discipline of Linguistics.  It deals with some of the characteristics of human language as a tool for communication. Some of the topics to be discussed include the origins of language, functions of language, language and the brain, the sounds of language, and the basic concepts in linguistic analysis (e.g. morphology, syntax and semantics)

 

LNGS 102:           Structure of English Words

The goal of this course is to help students expand their vocabulary.  It looks at the structure of English words with classical roots.  It examines some of the common roots and the morphological rules that determine the combination of such roots, and rules of meaning change.  Students are also introduced to the history of the English language.

 

LNGS 201:          Phonetics

The course introduces students to phonetics as a branch of Linguistics. It focuses on the mechanisms behind the production of speech sounds. It also deals with the description, classification and transcription of speech sounds. It will further provide students the opportunity to practise the production of speech sounds. Topics include:  speech organs, airstream mechanisms, phonation types and articulation, vowels, consonants and suprasegmental.

 

LNGS 202:           Introduction to Syntax

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the general principles that underlie how words are combined into larger syntactic units. The course deals with the arrangement of words into phrases, clauses and sentences as well as how languages differ in the structure of these units. Topics to be treated include: word classes, phrase structure, sentence structure and syntactic processes.

 

LNGS 203:          Introduction to Morphology

In this course, we will consider what morphology is and its place in relation to other areas of linguistics such as phonology and syntax. The course will also examine certain morphological phenomena found among  classification of morphemes according to position, distribution and function.  We will also discuss such morphological processes as inflection, derivation, compounding, reduplication, and other word-formation processes.

 

LNGS 204:           Languages in Ghana

This course provides an overview of the language situation in Ghana, within the context of the West African sub-region.  It aims to give students a working knowledge of the genetic and typological groupings of languages spoken in Ghana.  Issues of language development, language in development, and national language policy will also be examined.

 

LNGS 301:          Introduction to Phonology

The course introduces students to how speech sounds are organised across languages. It deals with the identification of distinctive sounds, the combination of these sounds into unique patterns and the changes that take place when sounds are combined. Data from a wide range of languages will be used in problem solving sessions.  Topics to be treated include: phonemes, distinctive features, phonological processes, suprasegmental features and phonological rules.

 

LNGS 302:          Syntax I

In this course, we will be discussing some of the more recent developments in syntactic analysis. Students will be expected to know the different lexical and grammatical categories and their morphological and syntactic behaviours.  They will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of phrase structure rules and the different types of clauses and clause combinations and be able to apply this knowledge to the analysis of simple problems in various languages.

 

* LNGS 303:       Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian Language

This course is designed to enable students apply the principles of phonetics and phonology to the description of the sounds and sound patterns of a Ghanaian language (e.g. Akan, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme Ewe, Ga, and Guren(). It assumes some level of proficiency on the part of students in the language concerned. Topics include: segmental phonemes (vowels, consonants) and their distribution, syllable structure, tone, and phonological processes.

*This course is not available to students of the English Department.

 

LNGS 304:          Morphology and Syntax of a Ghanaian language

This course is designed to enable students apply the principles of morphology and syntax to the description of the words, phrases and sentences of a Ghanaian language (e.g. Akan, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme Ewe, Ga, and Guren(). It assumes some level of proficiency on the part of students in the language concerned. Some of the topics to be treated are: word classes, word formation processes, and basic phrase and sentence structure.

 

LNGS 305:          Phonetics and Phonology of English

This course is designed to enable students apply the principles of phonetics and phonology to the description and analyses of English. In this course, L1 and L2 accents of English are discussed. The course covers the following areas: consonants and vowels, the syllable, stress, intonation and some phonological processes.

*This course is not available to students of the English Department. 

 

LNGS 306:          Morphology and Syntax of English

This course is designed to enable students apply the principles of morphology and syntax to the description and analyses of the English language. Some of the pertinent areas to be covered include word classes and their morphological and distributional properties, word formation processes, inflection, derivation, phrase structure and basic clause patterns.

 

LNGS 307:           Oral Literature

This course surveys various forms of oral literature in Africa, and discusses theories of composition and aesthetic formations.  It will examine the dynamics of form, language, style, content and performance of verbal genres including:  libation poetry, praise appellations, abuse poetry, dirge, narrative forms, proverbs, riddles, drum poetry, traditional songs, and popular music.  It also considers how such genres are perceived and evaluated in the contexts in which they occur, and how they have been adapted to deal with contemporary and emerging trends.

 

LNGS 308:           Ethnography of Speaking

This  course  discusses  the  social  and  cultural  norms  governing communication in general, discussed include:  linguistic relativity, linguistic determinism, cultural attitudes to speaking, the power of the spoken word, secret languages, silence, indirection, norms of speaking in various forums, non-verbal communication and verbal taboos.

 

LNGS 309:          Sociolinguistics

This course is designed to help students (a) gain insight into the social dynamics of language use and (b) understand certain basic concepts and issues in sociolinguistics.  Topics include:  definition and scope of sociolinguistics, linguistic varieties, speech communities/communities of practice, communicative competence multilingualism,, politeness and solidarity, language and gender, and language attitudes.

 

LNGS 311:           Child Language Development

This course is designed to introduce students to theories that explain how and when children achieve proficiency in the language they are exposed to without receiving deliberate instruction in the rules of language.  Students will be required to design and administer simple experiments to test  include: linguistics and language acquisition, phonological acquisition, morphological development and innovation, acquisition of syntax, syntactic and semantic development, cognition, environment and language learning.

 

LNGS 312:          Introduction to Translation Theory

This course is meant to introduce students to the principles of translating from one language to another. Students will be exposed to variations in the connotative and figurative use of words across languages, which are necessary for doing translation in an efficient manner. Topics to be covered include: types of translation, analysis of lexical items into semantic features, meaning variation in lexemes, semantic propositions and negation.

 

LNGS 314:          Discourse Analysis

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to learn the tools for text analysis and evaluation.  By the end of the course, students should be confident in analyzing and evaluating a wide variety of written and spoken texts.  Topics include:  nature and scope of discourse analysis; thematic structure; information structure; cohesion; coherence; critical discourse analysis.

 

LNGS 316:          Second Language Acquisition and Learning

The course examines theories of second language acquisition and learning and current issues in the field.  Socio-cultural, cognitive and personality variables affecting second language learning will be examined.  Topics include:  creative construction, interlanguage hypothesis, cognitive dimension of second language acquisition, personality variable in second language acquisition and contexts of learning.

 

LNGS 318:          Acoustic Phonetics

This course deals with the study of the acoustical properties of speech sounds including the basic physical principles involved in the generation and propagation of sound energy and the phenomenon of resonance. It also focuses on an acoustic model of sound production by the vocal tract and the principles and techniques of acoustic analysis of speech. Topics to be covered include the physical structure of sound waves, the human vocal tract as a sound producing device, computer tools for speech processing and acoustic properties of speech sounds in English and other languages.

 

LNGS 322:          Introduction to Ghanaian Sign Language

The course will introduce students to the phonology and morphology of sign language in general as well as some practical aspects of Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL). The course will combine theory with practical work. There will be two hours of practical work each week during which a sign language instructor will teach students how to sign. Topics to be treated include: simple statements, adjectival predicates, kinship terms, polar questions, content questions, negation, directional verbs, possession and modals.

 

LNGS 324:          Introduction to Research Methods in Linguistics

This course introduces students to the basics of doing linguistic research. It focuses on research design, data collection methods and analysis. It also deals with practical issues in fieldwork as well as the ethics of research. Topics include sources of linguistic data and literature, research report writing, referencing and issues regarding plagiarism and academic dishonesty. This course is a requirement for all students intending to write a Long Essay

 

LNGS 401:          Phonological Theory

This course explores theoretical issues that underlie phonological patterns and processes. Attention is given to various phonological approaches and representations within linear segmental phonology, Auto segmental Phonology and Optimality Theory. Data from a variety of languages are used to evaluate these approaches and their relative strengths in the analyses of various aspects of phonology. Areas covered include feature theory, segmental processes, and theoretical issues in prosody such as syllabification, tone, stress, and intonation.

 

LNGS 402:           Semantics

This course will introduce students to some of the basic concepts in the study of meaning in language and the ways in which meaning is conveyed.  Issues in connection with word and sentence meaning as well as the relationship between sentence structure and meaning/interpretation will be explored.  Some of the topics to be discussed are:  semantic relations (such as synonymy, antonymy, polysemy and homophony); semantic relations involving sentences (such as paraphrase, entailment, and contradiction); structural ambiguity and thematic roles.

 

LNGS 403:          Syntax II

This course is aimed at helping students to acquire advanced knowledge in syntactic analysis using data from a wide variety of languages and to prepare them for further work in any syntactic theory.  Students may be introduced to any of the competing theories of syntax such as functional grammar, relational grammar, the principles and parameters, framework and/or the minimalist programme.

 

LNGS 404:          Morphological Theory

This course delves into the various theoretical approaches to the analysis of word structure. The implications of the approaches for our understanding of the architecture of the grammar will be assessed. As part of the course, students will be expected to apply the various theoretical frameworks to the analysis of a morphological pattern in a language other than English. Topics to be discussed include Construction Morphology, Distributed Morphology, Word and Paradigm Morphology and Word Grammar.

 

LNGS 405:          Language in Business

In the fast changing world of the workplace, effective communication has become an essential tool for successful career practice.  The idea of this course is to guide students to appreciate the relevant connection between language analysis and the world of work.  Topics covered in the course include business-writing skills, word building strategies, effective use of words, presentation skills, cross-cultural business and communications.

 

LNGS 406:          Language and Politics

The course deals with the relationship between language and politics. It exposes students to language and negotiation and the maintenance of political power relations in traditional and contemporary societies. Topics include the grammar/linguistics and stylistics of power negotiation, language and colonial dominations, linguistic determinism, free speech, language and political persuasion, campaign and propaganda language, language and governance, as well as language and the resistance of dominant ideology.

 

LNGS 407:          Pidgin and Creole Languages

The course will cover various pidgins and creoles of the world, including those of Haiti, Jamaica, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.  It exposes students to theories of their origin, their socio-cultural significance and their use in the modern world.  Their linguistic features will be compared with those of other languages. Other topics include:  structural characteristics, pidginization, and creolization.

 

LNGS 408:           Language Planning and Development

The course looks at the orientations and processes of language planning and their relation to the socio- type of language policy options available and their consequences will be discussed.  The topics include: the language planning process, orientations, underlying ideologies, language planning and socio-type.

LNGS 409:          Advanced Theory of Translation

This course exposes students to advanced techniques and principles of translation. It also examines the assumed co-operation between source author and translator and target receiver, in relation to coherence and readability. Topics to be covered include embedded, parallel, and sequential propositions, textual presentation, cohesion and prominence within information structure.

 

LNGS 411:          Syntax of a Ghanaian Language

This course aims at providing advanced knowledge of the syntactic structures of a particular Ghanaian language (e.g. Akan, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme Ewe, Ga, and Guren(). It assumes some level of proficiency on the part of students in the language concerned. Topics include serialization and other multiverb constructions, complementation, interrogative constructions, relative clauses, reflexivisation, grammaticalisation, and focus constructions.

 

LNGS 412:          Semantics of a Ghanaian Language

This course addresses the issue of how meaning is expressed in a Ghanaian language (e.g.

Akan, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme Ewe, Ga, and Guren(). It provides students with the knowledge of sense relations. Each of this set of courses concentrates on the semantics of aspect and aspectual constructions, including the relations between the semantics of the root and the semantics of the affix.  Verb valency and semantic argument roles, the semantics of derived verbs, topicalization, focus and related phenomena may be considered.

 

LNGS 413:          Syntax of English

This course provides students the opportunity to appreciate some of the advanced issues in the syntax of English.  Informed by advances in various theoretical approaches to the structure of English beyond the word level, the course examines topics such as grammatical relations, complementation, transitivity, relative clause formation, reflexivisation, interrogatives, and identificational and existential constructions.

 

LNGS 414:          Semantics of English

In this course, the basic semantic unit, the proposition, is analysed into a central predicate pluslinked in parallel, in sequence, or with embedding.  Other topics include information units,-language varieties of Standard English.

 

LNGS 415:          Linguistics and Language Teaching

The course will expose students to the relevance of insights from linguistic research to the development of methods of language teaching.  Various methods of language teaching and their effectiveness will be explored. Topics to be covered include the Audio-lingual method, Communicative Language Teaching, Total Physical Response and the teaching of reading, comprehension and spelling.

 

LNGS 416:          Language and Literacy

The course deals with theoretical issues involved in the definition of the concept of style.  Current advances in the theory of style will be treated.  Topics to be dealt with include the definition and functions of literature, stylistics and literature, foregrounding, euphony, imagery, flashback, and style in advertising and political speeches.

 

LING 417:           Language and Law

The course examines notions of meaning and usage that are exploited in the legal field.  Its main focus is on language as a tool for understanding legal matters.  As part of the course, a number of actual legal cases that illustrate the various linguistic notions of ambiguity, vagueness, metaphor, etc. will be examined.  Topics include:  features and structures of legal language, notions of status, states and acts, relevance of speech act theory in hearsay, contract formation and language crimes.

 

LNGS 418:          Psycholinguistics

In this course, students will gain an insight into the relationship between language behaviour and the psychological processes that underlie it. It examines crucial issues in the interaction between the brain and language as well as theoretical issues on how language is acquired, stored and processed. Topics include the information processing system, language articulation and production, language processing, bilingualism and aphasia.

 

LNGS 419:         Advanced Sign Language 

The course will build upon what was taught in LNGS 322. It will focus on the syntax and semantics of sign language at the theoretical level, and on interpreting at the practical level. There will be two hours of practical work each week during which students will learn how to interpret for the deaf. The topics to be covered include: clause types, grammatical facial expressions, classifier constructions, aspect inflection on verbs and aspectual particles, the role of sign language in deaf culture and deaf education, sign language and spoken language interpreting, subordination and the sociolinguistics of the deaf community.

LNGS 422:          Pragmatics

The course is designed to study the gap between word/sentence meaning and utterance interpretation. It considers the variation, style, and interpretation of language use and strategies of communication.  Topics to be studied include truth versus non-truth conditional meaning, role of context in utterance production and interpretation, implicit and explicit language use, presupposition, entailment, speech acts, politeness, deixis, and relevance. Others are linguistic routines, request, apology and compliments.

 

LNGS 424:           Language and Gender

The course provides a historical overview of language and gender theory and research. It examines the ways in which language is used by men and women, and the linguistic means by which they are portrayed, in order to understand the process of gender (re)construction in society. Topics include: essentialist and constructionist views on sex and gender, essentialist and constructionist approaches to language and gender, construction of gender identities, notions of femininity and masculinity, and representation of gender and language use in specific domains. It also involves critical analyses of gendered texts from various domains.

  

BA GHANAIAN LANGUAGE STUDIES

 

The Ghanaian Language Studies Programme is offered at Level 300 and 400 only Students

 

Level 200

 

Core:

LEVEL 300

Major: At least 18 credits by the end of the year

Combined: At least 6 credits at the end of the year

Minor:       At least 6 credits at the end of the year

 

Old Code  New
LING 331          LNGS 301        Introduction to Phonology 3
LING 332          LNGS 302        Syntax I 3
LING 333 LNGS 303       Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 334 LNGS 304       Morphology and Syntax of a Ghanaian Language 3
GHLS 331 GHLS 331       Oral Literature of a Ghanaian Language 3
GHLS 332

Electives

         GHLS 332        Use of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 347          LNGS 307        Oral Literature 3
LING 348         LNGS 308        Ethnography of Speaking   3
LING 341          LNGS 311        Child Language Development 3
LING 342          LNGS 312        Introduction to Translation Theory 3
LING 344          LNGS 314        Discourse Analysis 3
LING 345          LNGS 315        Sociolinguistics 3
LING 346 LNGS 316        Second Language Acquisition and Learning 3
New Course          *LNGS 318       Acoustic Phonetics 3
LING 352  LNGS 322:       Introduction to Ghanaian Sign Language 3
New Course *LNGS 324      Introduction to Research Methods in Linguistics 3

 

LEVEL 400

Core
 Old Code   New Code
LING 421 LNGS 401        Phonological Theory 3
LING 422 LNGS 402        Semantics 3
LING 423 LNGS 403        Syntax II 3
New Course *LNGS 404      Morphological Theory 3
LING 431 LNGS 411        Syntax of a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 432 LNGS 412        Semantics of a Ghanaian Language 3
GHLS 441 GHLS 441        Written Literature of a Ghanaian Language 3
GHLS 442

Electives

GHLS 442        Advanced Composition in a Ghanaian Language 3
LING 435 LNGS 405        Language in Business 3
LING 436 LNGS 406        Language and Politics 3
LING 437 LNGS 407        Pidgin and Creole Languages 3
LING 438 LNGS 408        Language Planning and Development 3
LING 439 LNGS 409        Advanced Theory of Translation 3
LING 433 LNGS 413        Syntax of English 3
LING 434 **LNGS 414    Semantics of English 3
LING 445 LNGS 415        Linguistics and Language Teaching 3
LING 446 LNGS 416        Language and Literacy 3
LING 443 *LNGS 417      Language and Law 3
LING452 LNGS418         Psycholinguistics 3
LING 449 LNGS 419        Advanced Sign Language 3
LNGS 442 LNGS422         Pragmatics 3
LING 444 LNGS 424        Language and Gender 3
GHLS 443 GHLS 443        History and Development of a Ghanaian Language 3
GHLS 444 GHLS 444        Topics in Ghanaian Language Studies                           3
GHLS 400 GHLS 400         Long Essay (Written in a Ghanaian Language)          6
GHLS 430 GHLS 430        Project (Written in a Ghanaian Language)                   6

 

NB: GHLS400 and GHLS 430 are alternatives

NB:  The GHLS course codes were not changed hence the new and the old are the same.

 

GHLS 331:          Oral Literature of a Ghanaian Language

This course introduces students to the oral literature of a Ghanaian language.  It looks at the structure, style and performance of genres such as narratives, riddles, drum poetry, dirge, proverbs, and libation poetry.  The course will also provide students the opportunity to develop skills in some of these genres through the live performance of notable performers.

 

GHLS 332:          Use of a Ghanaian Language

The course is aimed at equipping students to be proficient in the various uses of a Ghanaian language.  It would involve introducing students to some of the issues involved in the writing of a Ghanaian language, such as orthography; a focus on terminology relevant in translation from and into the Ghanaian language. Texts for translation will come from varied areas, for example law, the economy, health, politics, international affairs, and culture.

 

GHLS 441:          Written Literature of a Ghanaian Language

For a respectable period of time, a number of Ghanaian languages have developed written literature. The goal of this course is to provide students the opportunity to study some of this work from a critical literary perspective. Attention will also be paid to the cultural underpinnings of such works. The selection of texts will cover prose, drama, and poetry.

 

GHLS 442:          Advanced Composition in a Ghanaian Language

Students are introduced to effective ways of evaluating their own writing as well as that of others. Writing assignments are given on regular basis for class discussion and peer evaluation. At the end of the course, students are expected to have gained insight into the writing process, developed effective writing skills and techniques for evaluating compositions.

 

GHLS 443:          History and Development of a Ghanaian Language

The course is aimed at introducing students to the history and development of the literacy of their language. It is meant to equip students with knowledge about how the writing of their language started and the trends that have taken place ever since. The topics to be treated include: sociolinguistic survey of the language, introduction of writing, the role of the missionaries, pre- and post- independence policies of MTE, and the teaching and learning of the Ghanaian language.

 

GHLS 444:          Topics in Ghanaian Language Studies

This course provides an opportunity for students to explore some topical issues in the area of Ghanaian language studies. The areas to be covered include language and gender, language  and law, language and arbitration, language and politics, language and business, language and advertising, language and the media. Others include language policy and language planning, language attitude, language shift, mother tongue education, the role of indigenous languages and terminology (the creating of terms).

 

GHLS 430:          Project

In this course students are encouraged to engage in projects such as creative writing, translation of texts into a Ghanaian language, collection and compilation of oral material, and related undertakings. Others include recording of radio and TV talk shows, transcribing, translating, and analysing the texts. Code switching and code-mixing will also be studied paying attention to the phonology and morphology of borrowed words. Another area of interest will be the recording of Akan at local arbitration.

 

SPECIAL GHANAIAN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY COURSE

This course is targeted mainly at foreign students who want to take advantage of their stay in Ghana to learn a Ghanaian language.  It will be offered upon demand only and subject to the availability of an instructor already in the employment of the university.  The course provides beginners, intermediate and advanced courses in Ghanaian languages in both their spoken and written aspects.

 

It is aimed at providing the students with survival-level skills in the various languages, so that they can cope with the most common everyday task in contexts where effective communication is very important.  It will also provide those students who need knowledge of a particular Ghanaian language for research purposes; they will acquire the skills they need to facilitate their research.

 

The main objectives of the programme are:

 

x To help learners acquire the skills in language learning, mostly listening and speaking (and later reading and writing).

x To provide learners with an insight into the culture and customs of the Ghanaian language speaking people as expressed in the language and compare it with their own.

x     To help learners acquire the basic grammatical structures of the language.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Course Code Course Title CREDITS
GHLS 111 Ghanaian Language Proficiency for Beginners 3
GHLS 112 Intermediate Ghanaian Language Proficiency 3
GHLS 113 Advanced Ghanaian Language Proficiency I 3
GHLS 114 Advanced Ghanaian Language Proficiency II 3

 

Course Descriptions

 

GHLS 111:          Ghanaian Language Proficiency for Beginners

-native speakers of Ghanaian languages.  The course introduces the student to the Ghanaian language and gives brief demographic and linguistic information about the language.  It looks at the location of the language, its administrative boundaries, the regions it occupies and the population of the speakers.  The course will also discuss the number of dialects, if any.

The sound system and the orthography (spelling) of the language will be taught with emphasis on what is common to the language and English.  The basic grammar of the language such as:  word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and determiners), tense, aspect, negation and questions will be taught.

There will be oral drills, pronunciation and written exercises to help students to consolidate what they have been taught.  Areas to be covered are:  greetings, description of day-to-day activities, bargaining, giving directions, talking about food, clothing and the body.  Aspects of Ghanaian culture such as religion, family issues, names and songs will also be introduced.   By the end of this course, the student is expected to demonstrate basic oral skills in the language and read and write simple sentences in the language.

 

GHLS 112:          Intermediate Ghanaian Language Proficiency

This course will build on what was learned in the introductory course.  More emphasis will be placed on listening, speaking, reading, translation and writing.  The grammar section will sentences, serial verb construction, phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions.

Students will be expected to do a lot of reading and comprehension exercises using some intermediate textbooks in the various Ghanaian languages.  Students will be encouraged to do more conversation and narration:  dialogues, greetings, description of day-to-day activities, bargaining, giving directions.  There will be outreach programmes where students will interact with traders and taxi drivers.  Aspects of Ghanaian culture including religion, festivals, funerals, politics and the society will be discussed.

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to write simple essays about their day-to-day activities, families, etc. and to translate texts from English into the Ghanaian language and vice versa. Course Requirement:

The respective Ghanaian language.

 

GHLS 113:          Advanced Ghanaian Language Proficiency I

This course will continue to place equal emphasis on areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation.  More complex syntactic structures of the language such as serial verb constructions and their negation, relative clauses and inherent complement verbs will be introduced.  Aspects of the written and oral literature of the language will be taught.  Students will also be required to engage native speakers in complex conversations and also handle topics in various domains.  They will be encouraged to listen and contribute to Ghanaian language programmes on radio, especially Radio University.

 

By the end of the course, students should be able to write various types of compositions in the respective Ghanaian languages and also be able to write reports based on interviews and fieldwork.  They should be able to read fluently and with comprehension some basic primers and supplementary readers in the various Ghanaian language.  They should be able translate various types of texts from English to the respective Ghanaian languages and vice versa.

Course Requirement:

Course in the respective Ghanaian Languages.

 

GHLS 114:          Advanced Ghanaian Language Proficiency II

This course will place much emphasis on both oral and written literature.  The students will be required to read Ghanaian language texts in prose, drama, poetry and oral literature genres and identify the literary devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, pun and idiophones used in them.  They will be engaged in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation.  They will be encouraged to engage native speakers in conversation and also handle topics in various domains like politics, religion, education and health.  Students will be assigned to listen to specific Ghanaian language programmes on radio, especially Radio Univers, Obonu FM, Peace FM or watch TV programmes that use the specific language being taught.  They will also be encouraged to watch news broadcasts in the Ghanaian languages on GTV.  Finally, the course will involve aspects of oral literature and customs and institutions of the Ghanaian languages.  Areas to be covered include folktales, proverbs, folksongs, religion and chieftaincy.

Peter

Peter N. Djangmah is a multifaceted individual with a passion for education, entrepreneurship, and blogging. With a firm belief in the power of digital education and science, I am affectionately known as the Private Minister of Information. Connect with me
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