West Africa is currently undergoing a sociolinguistic crossroads. Francophone countries such as the Ivory Coast seem to be embracing English as a more economically viable lingua franca. Meanwhile, anglophone nations like Ghana have initiated more emphasis on French to the point of near officialisation. In the midst of these intersections, local African languages such as Akan and Dioula still have minimal representation in educational and commercial contexts. In this episode, Maciej Nowakowski, master student in linguistics at Oxford, Dr Isaac Mwinlaaru, Lecturer at University of Cape Coast, and Prof Yaw Skyi-Baidoo, from the University of Education in Winneba, will trace age-defining societal transformations within one of our most ineffable traits, language.

Maciej Nowakowski was born in Poland. After having completed his undergraduate studies in Hong Kong, he is currently reading for a Master of Science in Applied Linguistics at Wolfson College, Oxford. His current dissertation work focuses on the sociolinguistic study of understudied postcolonial contexts such as West Africa. This desire to highlight understudied and underappreciated parts of the world has been central to many of Maciej’s extracurricular contributions to Oxford student life, particularly in his articles on culture, food, and sport for the Oxford Student, the Oxford Blue, and the Oxford History Review.

Dr. Isaac Mwinlaaru obtained his Ph.D. from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include systemic functional theory and the metatheory of language in general, functional grammar, language typology, diachronic linguistics. He focuses on English and Niger-Congo languages, particularly Akan (Kwa), Dagaare (North Central Gur) and Kulango (South Central Gur).

Prof Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo is a Professor of English and Dean of Language Studies at the University of Education in Winneba, Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Coast. He is also the founder of the Ghana English Studies Association, and an acclaimed musician and composer.