ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
A sociolinguistic study of lexical borrowings in Dangme

This thesis investigated lexical borrowings in Dangme (a language that belongs to the Kwa family of languages of the Niger–Congo Phylum) from a sociolinguistic perspective. It investigated the borrowed items that permit nativization or adaptation and those that resist nativization in Dangme. The dialectal variation in the use of lexical borriwings for same entities in Dangme was also investigated. The Processes and Products Framework propounded by Winford (2003) to explain lexical contact phenomena was adopted to explain the linguistic features of the lexical borrowings in Dangme. Again, the Variationist Sociolinguistic Theory propounded by Labov in 1966 was adopted to explain and discuss the dialectal variations in the use of lexical borrowings in Dangme. Data were drawn from both primary and secondary sources. The convergent parallel mixed method research design, which merges both quantitative and qualitative data at the same time of the research before integrating the information in the interpretation of the results, was deployed in collecting primary data in this study. Elicitation, interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather primary data from 100 respondents from the Ada, Gbugblaa, Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo dialects of Dangme. The findings of the study showed that some borrowings to Dangme are localized to the extent that speakers of Dangme in direct contact with the source languages (Akan, Ga and Ewe) have knowledge and prefer to use them. It was also established that some Akan words borrowed to Dangme and most English words borrowed to Dangme are evenly distributed among all the respondents selected for the dialectal variations in the use of the lexical borrowings in Dangme. It also emerged from the study that whilst some lexical borrowings permit phonological, morphological and semantic adaptations in the course of borrowing, others also resist phonological adaptation during borrowing into Dangme.

Source: UEW
A sociolinguistic study of the language of Kente cloth at Agortime

This dissertation employs a theoretical perspective, bringing together concepts from social, symbolic interactionism, symbolic consumption, patterns and sociolinguistic theory. The study adopted mixed design to collect qualitative and quantitative data for the study. Using purposive sampling techniques, 70 participant s where selected to participate in the study. The participants include weavers and users of kente cloth. Questionnaire and interview guide, were used to collect data for study. The qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive strategies such as Visual Rhetoric and Semiotic. The quantitative data, on the other hand was analyzed using Variotionist theory such as frequency and percentages. The findings of the study revealed that kente of authority and royalty have messages to both the weaver and the user. These values and beliefs are learned early on from their fore-fathers and maintained through constant interaction with the Agortime Traditional culture through parents and family. The Weavers cultural values drive the way kente communicate gender, attractiveness, age, and social class. Another important part of this work explains the competency that kente have in communicating the different roles of their identities through clothing and appearance. Finally, this study illustrates the interconnection between the different aspects of the kente clothes by pointing out sensorial experience, fit, and interpersonal influence as the major drivers of adoption among Agortime Weavers.

Source: UEW
A sociolinguistic survey of the Farefari dialect in Damongo

The study is a sociolinguistic survey of the Farefari dialect in Damongo, seeking to investigate the various domains in which the dialect is spoken, the attitude of speakers toward their dialect, and the extent of the threat to the dialect from the dominant language. The study covers the six Farefari settlement areas within the Damongo community, where the settlers are Farefari speakers who were resettled from the Farefari-speaking community of the Upper East region of Ghana. The study focused on language use, language attitude, and the perceived vitality of the dialect in Damongo. The study used the Ethnolinguistic vitality theory that was proposed by Giles et al. (1977) to investigate the role of socio-structural variables in intergroup relations, crosscultural communication, second language learning, mother tongue maintenance, and language shift and loss. The study adopted a mixed methods methodology, focusing on a convenient sampling technique. The source of data for this study is mainly primary. The analysis has shown that home is the basic domain in which the dialect is used most. The respondents demonstrated that they have a very high positive attitude towards the dialect by speaking it at all times and wish that the dialect be maintained in the region. Agriculture is the mainstay economic activity the Farefari are mostly engaged in as their occupation. There are indications that the dialect is not threatened by the dominant language group, even though it is not used in schools and other government institutions in the region. However, poor crop yields, the threat from Fulani headsmen, and the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural context of the language could eventually force speakers to shift linguistically towards other language groups. There is no indication that the language will be used in school any time soon, even though there is evidence that its use in the media particularly on the radio could expand.

Source: UEW
A sociological analysis streetism in Accra

This study is a sociological analysis of streetism in Accra. It examined the factors that push children into the streets, their encounters and effects of the experiences in the streets, and the social protection mechanisms available to support street children. The main theoretical resource employed was the resilience approach. Interviews and observations were used to collect primary data from a cell of five street children and people in four child protection agencies. The data collected were analysed through template and thematic analysis. Unlike traditional studies where street children are viewed as delinquents, the discussions showed that street children are very resilient individuals who survive the harsh realities of street life. The risk of violence in the streets, and life-threatening experiences there means that children being in the streets needs to be understood in the context of life‘s adversities, injustice and vulnerabilities that children have to endure in making that final decision to be in the streets. In terms of the reasons for the intractability of streetism, it was found that children come to the street because of perplexing familial and micro as well as macro level social and economic issues such as loss of parents, family poverty and gaps in child protection. Street children find solace on the streets because life has become very difficult and unsustainable for them in the places where they originated. In the streets they work pottering, hawking, as driver mates or security for shop owners and other vulnerable people. They suffer several things including health problems, lack of shelter and exposure to all kinds of vulnerable situations. While some occasionally join gangs or engage in activities that are untoward, the majority remain chaste in the hope of a better future. In terms of effects, streetism affects children in several ways: 1) it denies the children their childhood and forces them to be responsible for their own lives; 2) children become prey and vulnerable to many harsh social conditions in the streets; 3) the children depended on peer groups to provide them with security and protection; 4). some become victims of unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse; 5) they are denied basic needs such as security and shelter. Although there are children protection mechanisms to support street children, they are directed to help regular children in schools and communities. As such, street children remain on the margins. Therefore, it is recommended that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection should develop specific protection mechanisms targeted at securing alternative livelihoods and safety nests for street children.

Source: UEW
Solid waste management in the Adenta Flat Community in the Adentan Municipality

The purpose of this study was to investigate solid waste management in theAdenta Flat Community in the Adentan Municipality. Specific objectives of the research were to:(i)describe the state of solid waste disposal in the Adenta Flat Community.(ii)examine the attitudes of the residents of Adenta Flat Community towards solid waste disposal (iii)identify the causes of poor solid waste disposal in Adenta Flat Community and(iv)examine the effects of poor solid waste management in the Adenta Flat Community.The descriptive qualitative case study design was employed to carry out the study. The instruments used to collect data for the study were interviews and observations. Forty participants were selected by means of simple random and convenient sampling methods. The data gathered for the study was edited and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study show that the state of disposal of solid waste in Adenta Flat Community is deplorable. The attitude of some residents of Adenta Flat Community toward the disposal of solid waste is also poor. The causes of poor disposal of solid waste in the community were mainly inadequate bins, irregular offloading and lack of law enforcement by the authorities. Other causes were attitudes of some tenants in the flats. The effect of poor disposal of solid waste in Adenta Flat Community were bad stench, dogs feeding on waste, lots of flies around, rubbish being scattered all over the place, poor drainage, general environmental hazards and breeding of mosquitoes. There is therefore the need for governments MMDAs, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to engage in public education on the effects of improper waste disposal practices on health, provision of adequate refuse containers or bins, enforcement of bye-laws either by fining anyone found disposing of waste inappropriately or offender being punished to sweep a week or over, depending on the offence

Source: UEW
Solid waste management; knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of residents of Techimantia, Ahafo Region, Ghana

The study examined the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of residents of Techimantia toward solid waste management. It specifically sought to; determine residents’ knowledge on solid waste management; examine the values held by residents towards solid waste management; assess solid waste disposal habits of residents; and investigate the impacts of waste collection infrastructure on waste management behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was applied to establish the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and behaviour toward waste management. Based on the pragmatic philosophy, the study adopted the mixed methods research design and the concurrent convergent mixed methods approach. A systematic sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents with a minimum of secondary education or its equivalent. Another 10 participants were purposefully chosen for in depth interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time using interview schedule and interview guide respectively. The study established that, residents have adequate knowledge on the state of their environment – solid waste is a major environmental problem, they understand the implications of indiscriminate waste disposal, have adequate knowledge on waste reduction strategy – shopping with a durable bag and buying less packaged goods reduces waste production and have high values for environmental cleanliness (I feel bad when I dump waste anywhere) but these do not necessarily translate into proper waste disposal practices. There is a gap between their knowledge, values and waste management behaviour. It was therefore recommended that the Tano South Municipal Assembly should form environmental advocate groups among residents and educate, train and equip them with basic knowledge and skills on waste management.

Source: UEW
Solitude individuelle dans la condition humaine d’andre Malraux

This thesis, entitled "Solitude individuelle dans La condition humaine d’André Malraux", studies the concept of personal solitude in Malraux's novel. The problem investigated centred on the way the author presented the topic in the text. The study thus sought to establish the relationship between solitude and the existence of man between the inter-war period, which was gripped with absurdity. Indeed, Malraux, being a pre-existentialist author, seeks in this book to draw our attention to the loneliness that undermines all humans. Several factors account for this reality that makes so many people suffer. However, all attempts to escape this sad reality of solitude end in failure, with recourse to death sometimes as solution. Data was collected and analysed primarily from documented sources using textual analysis and thematic approach. Despite the plethora of themes in this novel, this study has shown that the theme of solitude is dominant, and it justifies the title of the novel. In this way, the study concludes that solitude is the central subject that motivated the writing of the novel La condition humaine by André Malraux.

Source: UEW
Solutions of nonlinear real world problems by a new analytical technique

Here a new analytical scheme is presented to solve nonlinear boundary value problems (BVPs) of higher order occurring in nonlinear phenomena. This method is called second alternative of Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method. It converts a complex nonlinear problem into zeroth order and first order problem. A homotopy and auxiliary functions which are consisted of unknown convergence controlling parameters are used in this technique. The unknown parameters are determined by minimizing the residual. Many methods are used to determine these parameters. Here Galerkin's method is used for this purpose. It is applied to solve non-linear BVPs of order four, five, six, and seven. The Consequences are compared with other methods e.g., Differential Transform Method (DTM), Adomain Decomposition Method (ADM), Variational Iteration Method (VIM), and Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM). It gives efficient and accurate first-order approximate solution. The achieved results are compared with the exact solutions as well as with other methods to authenticate the applied technique. This method is very simple and easy but more operative. � 2018 The Authors

Source: UEW
Some aspects of morphological and phonological differences between Gomoa and Iguae subdialects of FanteSome aspects of morphological and phonological differences between Gomoa and Iguae subdialects of Fante

This thesis focuses on some aspects of morphological and phonological differences between Gomoa and Iguae subdialects of the Fante dialect of the Akan language. It is a comparative study modeled within the framework of generative phonology. The data used for the study come from recorded speeches and conversations in Gomoa and Iguae subdialects of Fante. The work talks about the ethnographic linguistic Akan and language in general. On morphological differences, the study compares some affixes between the subdialects under study. The discussion on phonological difference deals with the description of the Fante vowels with vowel sequences and some aspects of vowel harmony. Some syllable types and vowel insertion, vowel elision, consonant deletion and also tone, which play a vital role in Akan language, are also discussed. The focus of tonal alternation is on habitual, perfect, progressive and past tense.

Source: UEW
Some aspects of nominalization in Dagbani

The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate some aspects of nominalization as it operates in Dagbani, a Gur language widely spoken in the Northern region of Ghana. The Basic Linguistic Theory (BLT) (cf. Dixon, 2009, 2010 & 2012) and Autosegmental phonology (Goldsmith, 1976) were adopted for this study. The study explores the types, morphological as well as the phonological processes of nominalization in Dagbani. It further examines the syntactic properties that the derived nominal shares with a prototypical Dagbani noun or noun phrase. Nominalization is the process of deriving nominals from a combination of other lexical categories or phrasal entities (Adeniyi, 2010, p.5). Languages of the world adopt one or more strategies for deriving nominals from verbs, adjectives or other nouns (Comrie & Thompson, 2007, p.335). It is revealed in the study that Dagbani employs one mechanism (morphological) in deriving nouns from other word classes. This mechanism or strategy involves affixation, compounding and reduplication. The study also revealed that just like other languages in Ghana, the derived nominals in Dagbani also possess some syntactic properties of a prototypical noun. For instance, it can function as a subject, occur in the object position and can be focused in a clause. It further explores some phonological issues in the study as far as nominalization in Dagbani is concerned. The study applied semi structured interview, observation, focus group discussion and native speaker’s intuition using a qualitative approach. The participants used for the study were purposively selected from both educated and uneducated native speakers of Dagbani. The study was to answer research questions about the types and processes of nominalization. The types identified in the study are ones denoting Action, Actor (agentive), Location, Abstract (ive), Manner, Result and Experiencer. Phonological processes such as vowel harmony, homorganic nasal assimilation, epenthesis and elision were examined. Finally, in relation to Agent nominalization, the study revealed that, the suffixes, -da and -ra are also used for Patient and Experiencer nominalizations.

Source: UEW
Some grammatical and lexical errors in the English essays of students of A.M.E. Zion girls’ Senior High School, Winneba

This study sought to analyse the grammatical and lexical errors in the essays of 60 purposefully selected Form 2 students of A. M. E. Zion Girls’ Senior High School in Winneba. The study identified grammatical and lexical errors committed in the English essays of the students and categorised the errors with a view to gathering perspectives on how the errors could be minimised. Two English language teachers and five students out of the 60 sampled were interviewed on their perspectives on the causes of the errors and ways to minimise them. Data was gathered through qualitative content analysis (QCA) with the help of Corder’s Error Analysis Model for thematic analysis. Findings from the data revealed that students commit grammatical and lexical errors such as agreement errors, article errors, vocabulary and expression errors and spelling errors among others. The errors were noted to have been committed as a result of both intralingual and interlingual interferences. The data also revealed that students’ lack of adequate knowledge on the rules of the English language (L2), mainly contributed to the errors they commit. The perspectives of the participants indicated that the causes of errors were as a result of students’ disinterest in the learning of the target language; students’ inadequate knowledge on the rules of L2; influence of students’ first language (L1) on their target language (L2) and inappropriate teaching strategies used by most English language teachers. The study recommends that error analysis studies, which involves identification of errors and their sources, as well as their treatment, should be an integral part of the training of English language teachers, such that, the knowledge acquired could be beneficial to their students.

Source: UEW
some inflectional processes in Dagbani

This study investigates some inflectional processes in Dagbani, a Mabia language spoken in the Northern part of Ghana. It identifies Dagbani inflections and their associate functions, and as well explored some morpho-phonological processes observable in the inflectional processes. The study is descriptive in nature and used qualitative approach to analyze the data. The data sources are primary and secondary. The primary data were collected through observation and self-generated, through native speaker’s introspection. The secondary data were obtained from Dagbani texts including text books, articles, theses etc. Based on the analysis, it is discovered that there are some significant prefixes and suffixes used as inflections in Dagbani. The prefixes are n-, bu-/bʊ, and dɨba-. The prefix n- has allomorph of -a. The nominal singular/plural suffix pairs are -a/-ba, -Ø/-di, -Ø/-a, -i/-a, -di/-a, -li/-a, -li/-ya, -gu/-a, -a/-hi, -e/-hi, -o/-hi, -u/-hi, -ga/-ri, -ɣu/-ri, -u/ ri, -a/-si, -ga/-si, -gu/-si, -o/-ti, -gu/-ti, -a/-nima, -ba/-nima, -e/-nima, -i/-nima, -u/ nima, and -Ø/-nima. These function as number markers. The adjectival singular/plural suffix pairs are -Ø/-a, -i/-a, -o/-a, -li/-a, -li/-la, -li/-ma, -a/-hi, -e/-hi, -ga/-si, and -ɣu/-si which equally serve as number markers. It is also revealed that The functions of the nominal and adjectival inflectional suffix pairs mark the distiction between their sigular and plural forms in Dagbani. Finally, the verbal suffixes are -Ø, -ya, -di/-da, -ni/-na, -ri/ ra, -ti/-ta, -mi/-ma, and -na. Whereas -ni, -ri, and -ti, are allomorphs of the morpheme di, the morpheme -da too has variants of -na, -ra, and -ta. The suffixes -mɨ and -ma are however observed as seperate morphemes that mark imperative when inflected on some Dagbani main verbs. Hence, the verbal suffixes mark aspect, imperative, and direction as well. It is found that vowel harmony, homorganic nasal assimilation, epenthesis and elision, vowel raising and vowel reduction, vowel lengthening, consonantal alternation are some of the phonlogical processes identified in the inflectional processes.

Source: UEW
Some parasitoids of lepidopterous stem borer pests on maize in southern Ghana

Studies were carried out in Southern Ghana (7 Administrative Regions) to assess the diversity and level of parasitism of some parasitoid species of stem borer pests of maize. Two surveys, one in the major season and the other in the minor season were carried out in seven regions in Southern Ghana in 1996. Maize fields were sampled for stem borers. Parasitoids collected were identified up to species level. The rate of parasitism of the stem borers by the parasitoids was also determined. The main pests collected were: Eldana saccharina walker, Sesamia spp., Busseola fusca (Fuller), and Chilo aleniellus (Strand). Parasitism was recorded in more fields in the minor season than in the major season. In both seasons, percentage parasitism ranged between 0 and 100%. Syzeuctus sp was found parasitizing E. saccharina. Other parasitoids reared from stem borers were Enicospilus (Ophion) sp, Dolichogenidia sp. and Aphanogmus fijiensis. Syzeuctus sp. was the most abundant and most distributed parasitoid species followed by S. parasitica. Hence, the two species (Syzeuctus sp. and S. parasitica) should be mass produced and released into maize fields to augment the number of parasitoids in the field in integrated pest management scheme, when pest population is high. Key words: Stem borer, parasitoid, Eldana saccharina, hyperparasitism, gregarious.

Source: UEW