Don't call African languages vernacular, it's derogatory - UG Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the University of Ghana, said that it is derogatory to label African languages or local dialects as vernacular. She said the term was "not only discouraging but actively tarnishing local dialects as recognisable means of communication and recognition." She delivered her inaugural lecture as a newly elected and inducted member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) last Thursday in Accra.

The lecture was before one of the largest audiences the academy has ever witnessed. Attendees included the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrissu; former V-C of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Ayeetey; lawyer and Paramount Chief of Asokore Mampong, Prof. S. K. B Asante; former Attorney-General and President John Dramani Mahama's Legal Advisor, Marrietta Agyeiwaa Brew; academic, author and human rights activist, Esi Sutherland-Addy; Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor; acting Director of Legal Education at the Ghana School of Law, Prof. Raymond A. Atuguba; and acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers' Authority, Prof. Ransford Gyampo.

Prof. Amfo, a professor of Linguistics, spoke on "Reclaiming voice in the global order: Language, gender and the African academy." She said knowledge creation tended to be viewed through an Eurocentric lens. She said research that aligned with the established Western paradigm was more readily accepted. She also said that the meaning of language did not reside in words alone but was constructed in context, shaped by relationships, assumptions, and intentions.