Code-Switching and West Africa: Theory and Its Implications

Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 27, 2007

Graduate Center, University of Ghana-Legon

A conference organized by NYU-in-Ghana and sponsored by New York University (the Vice Provost's Office, Africa House, and the Department of Linguistics) and the University of Ghana-Legon (the Department of Linguistics)

For further information, contact john.singler@nyu.edu

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Intra-sentential code-switching (CS) is a robust part of West African linguistic life, most especially in Ghana. From Barnabas Forson's 1979 dissertation --positing Akan-English CS as a third code for western-educated Ghanaians-- to the present, the scholarly investigation of West African CS has made a meaningful contribution to the study of CS. The current energy in Ghanaian CS scholarship provides the impetus for a two-day conference, ''Code-Switching and West Africa: Theory and Its Implications,'' organized by New York University's program in Ghana and held on the campus of the University of Ghana-Legon on Nov. 26-27, 2007. The conference sponsors are New York University (Africa House and the Department of Linguistics), NYU-in-Ghana, and the University of Ghana-Legon (Department of Linguistics).

The conference brings scholars from outside West Africa and local scholars together to examine the state of the art. Presenters include Pieter Muysken (Radboud), Peter Auer (Freiburg), Melissa Moyer (UA de Barcelona), Federica Guerini (Bergamo), Felix Ameka (Leiden), Evershed Amuzu (UG-Legon), and Komlan Essizewa (LomŽ). The conference will examine the impact of West Africa CS upon existing theories. Participants' work presents a wide range of theoretical perspectives and orientations: the speakers will explore data from both naturalistic and experimental settings. Some will examine language dyads and triads that involve one European and one or more African languages, and--in an important development--others will look at dyads and triads where all the languages are Niger-Congo. Additionally, papers will address the role and meaning of CS in Ghanaian media and education.

Last Modified: November 19, 2007