Scientific Director & Chief Editor
Komla M. Avono (Ph.D.)
ISSN 2710-4699 Online
3 issues per year
Poetry as a Travelogue: AncestralLogic & CaribbeanBlues as a Journey back to the African People’s Fragmented History
Abstract
AncestralLogic & CaribbeanBlues (1993) is the fourth collection issued by the Ghanaian poet Kofi Anyidoho. The book represents an important literary endeavour through which the poet reflects from a pan African perspective on the mutilation of the black race throughout history. This article analyses the collection of poems from a postcolonial theoretical lens, arguing that it serves as a poetic travelogue through which Anyidoho revisits the fragmented, traumatic history of African peoples and highlights their enduring resilience. This is done through the concept of Sankofa that allows the reader to capture the particular interest that the poet devotes throughout the entire collection to the conditions of the descendants of Africans in the Caribbean. The survey has thus allowed to shed light on the people’s enduring challenge against Western hegemonic tutelage allowing them to progressively rise up from the endemic subaltern conditions that is their lot.
English SMS Language Use: Between Linguistic Appropriation and Identity Affirmation Among English Learners
Abstract
This article explores the role of English SMS language as a vehicle for linguistic appropriation and identity affirmation among non-native English learners. Drawing on linguistic identity theories and the sociocultural approach to learning, it analyses how digital exchanges, digital interactions via WhatsApp, constitute spaces for linguistic experimentation, socialization, and identity construction. Using a qualitative methodology combining corpus analysis and questionnaires, this research highlights learners’ linguistic creativity and their ability to negotiate their English-speaking identities in a multilingual environment. The results invite us to reconsider pedagogical practices by valuing the skills developed during these digital interactions and to recognize text messaging as a powerful tool for learning and social emancipation.
The Role of Machine Translation in African Languages: Potentials and Pitfalls
Abstract
This article examines the evolving role of machine translation (MT) in the context of African languages, highlighting its potential for linguistic equity and digital inclusion. With over 2,000 languages spoken across the continent, MT technologies present a unique opportunity to bridge linguistic divides, enhance access to information and services, and promote cultural and educational inclusion across diverse linguistic communities. However, deploying MT in African contexts is fraught with challenges. These include the scarcity of high-quality linguistic data, the structural and typological complexity of many African languages, and the lack of culturally adaptive translation models. The majority of extant MT systems are optimized for high-resource languages, frequently resulting in low accuracy and cultural misrepresentation when applied to African languages. The article posits a multidisciplinary, locally grounded approach to MT development, prioritizing the creation of inclusive datasets, investing in low-resource language technologies, and integrating cultural and contextual awareness into translation models. It is imperative that these issues are addressed in order to ensure that MT can serve as a tool for linguistic equity and digital inclusion across the continent.
Beyond Dystopian Tragedy: Louise O’Neill’s Dystopian Martyrs as Models of Resistance to the Beauty Myth
Abstract
Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours is received as a young adult dystopian novel which, through its fatalistic depiction of women’s oppression, functions as a cautionary tale about the normative beauty discourses conveyed by contemporary popular media. Without questioning the effectiveness of the dystopian tragic scenarios to warn and educate, this article investigates whether the martyrs of O’Neill’s dystopian regime embody resistance. Through the lens of Naomi Wolf’s theory of the beauty myth, it examines the politics of O’Neill’s characterisation and argues that, though grounded on dystopian fatalism, O’Neill’s portrayal of women goes beyond mere dystopian tragedy to serve as a model for resistance to dominant beauty ideologies in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland. While the character of isabel [sic], through her defiant eating and dressing habits, demonstrates a rejection of consumerism and the aesthetic conformity, freida’s [sic] critical awakening offers a confessional narrative that encourages readers to question internalised beauty standards.
Human Predicament in Stoppard’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (1966)
Abstract
This article investigates the theatrical and philosophical representation of the human condition in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (1966). It explores Stoppard’s tragicomic depiction of modern existential anxieties, with an emphasis on the meaning of existence and mortality within a world stripped of spirituality and direction. It also analyses the role of drama performance in confronting life’s uncertainties and in fostering meaningful human connections. While closely analysing the existential dilemmas of Stoppard’s characters, this study situates his work within a broader intellectual tradition. It engages in a rich dialogue with the writings of prominent twentieth century poets, playwrights, and philosophers. In doing so, it positions Stoppard’s play as a significant contribution to modern philosophical theatre. It is a compelling reflection on the collective search for meaning in a chaotic, modern cultural landscape.
A Study of Phonological Correlates between the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), Received Pronunciation and the Nigerian English Accent (NEA)
Abstract
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has shifted global linguistic priorities by emphasizing mutual intelligibility over adherence to native-speaker norms. This study examines the extent to which the Nigerian English Accent (NEA) aligns with Jenkins’ Lingua Franca Core (LFC) – a set of pronunciation features identified as essential for effective ELF communication. Using comparative phonological analysis, the study draws on segmental descriptions of Nigerian English by Awonusi (2004) and Adetugbo (2004), alongside Jenkins’ (2000, 2007) LFC framework. The findings reveal that NEA shares significant phonological features with the LFC, particularly in the preservation of voicing contrasts and initial consonant clusters, suggesting strong potential for intelligibility in ELF contexts. However, divergences such as vowel neutralization, interdental fricative substitutions, and inconsistent nuclear stress may hinder clarity in more complex communicative settings. These features, while common in many World Englishes varieties, highlight areas for targeted pedagogical attention. The study concludes that Nigerian English, as a localized variety, aligns more closely with intelligibility-focused ELF norms than with traditional native-speaker models like Received Pronunciation. Consequently, pronunciation teaching in Nigeria should prioritize features affecting intelligibility rather than enforcing native-like accuracy, supporting learners to communicate effectively while maintaining linguistic identity.
Investment in Human Capital and the Ghanaian Sustainable Development in Darko’s Between Two Worlds
Abstract
When developing his theory of human capital, Theodore William Schultz contends: “The quality of human effort can be greatly improved and its productivity enhanced…. The investment in human capital accounts for most of the impressive rise in the real earnings per worker” (1). The theory sustains that investing in human capital develops his or her productivity, economy and life. This vision is not different from the African postcolonial politics. Africa, conceived as a local space, requires its nations to invest in its human capital to get rid of the colonial poverty. This has always been the concern of the postcolonial Pan-African thinkers. Marcus Garvey’s “Africa for the Africans” is the nativist slogan that perfectly translates this Pan-African vision of investing in human capital for the sustainable development of the African countries. Using the theory of investing in human capital, this article argues that Amma Darko represents in Between Two Worlds this Pan-African leaders’ politics of investing in human capital for the local development of the African countries. Since with colonial heritage in Ghana the dying of the traditional economic system by Western monetary system gives room to the colonial poverty, Nkrumah invests in the human capital for the development of Ghana. Analysing Darko’s novel from the point of view of Theodore William Schultz’s economic concept of investment in human capital, this article concludes that Nkrumah invests in local and diasporic human capital for the sustainable development of the Ghanaian society.
General Ulysses S. Grant: From the American Civil War Battles to the White House
Abstract
This article examines General Ulysses S. Grant’s political and military legacy, in his progression from being a Union general during the American Civil War to the President of the United States. As a war leader with decisive battlefield records, Grant emerged as a national hero whose success on the battlefield propelled him to the White House. As the eighteenth U.S. president (1869–1877), Grant had the challenging task of reconstructing a fragmented nation during the Reconstruction era. The article explores how Grant’s military experience influenced his political values, especially his dedication to upholding the Union and protecting the rights of emancipated African Americans. It also addresses the significant challenges he faced in office as well, such as corruption scandals that plagued his administration and damaged public trust. By analysing key moments from both his military campaigns and presidency, the study offers a more balanced understanding of Grant as a war-tested leader motivated by moral conviction, and rooted in political complexity. From his speeches, letters, and contemporary records, Grant emerges not only as a man of action but also as a pivotal figure in America’s transformation during the post-war 19th century. This article employs a mixed- research approach drawing on New historicism, and Psychobiography as interpretive frameworks.
Immigration Dreams, Gender Struggles, and Disillusionment in the Cosmopolitan Spaces of The Empress by Tanika Gupta
Abstract
In The Empress, the British female playwright Tanika Gupta describes the immigrant experience in Cosmopolitan London. Through the narratives of the main protagonists Abdul Karim and Rani Das, the play puts forward the cultural exchange between Indian and English subjects. It depicts both the difficulties and opportunities encountered by these characters as a result of cultural exchange and integration. This study aims to show how cosmopolitanism shapes and is shaped by the immigrant experience, revealing both the advantages and disadvantages of multicultural interactions. Homi Bhabha’s (1994) postcolonial concepts will serve as a theoretical basis for this analysis.
The Functional Uniqueness of Wessex in the Works of Thomas Hardy
Abstract
This article examines the literary and symbolic functions of Wessex in the novels of Thomas Hardy. Wessex, a fictionalized version of southwest England, serves both as a physical setting and a narrative device that shapes themes such as progress, sexuality, fate, and naturalism. The Wessex is single eyes, alone in the world, beautiful place and meaningful area which is not a surprise guest in the life of Thomas Hardy. The aim is to demonstrate the intrinsic value of this mythical region on Hardy’s literary production and worldview.
Translinguism as a Reason for Transculturality in the Narrative Fiction of Kangni Alem
Abstract
Translinguism is becoming more and more motif which crosses the diegetic universe of Francophone narrative fiction. By its obsessive redeployment, the concept aligns with the dynamics of transculturality. Thus, in the corpus, which serves as the basis for this development, languages interact with the French language to produce coherent and intelligible narratives. From the perspective of Basarab Nicolescu’s transdisciplinarity, this article aims to explore the functioning of translinguism and its axiology through the writing of the Togolese writer Kangni Alem. For that purpose, the argumentation addresses the aesthetic and symbolic dimensions of the English language as well as the inclusion of the writer’s mother tongue gbe in the lens of language globalization.