Twi Comes to the African Studies Center
The African Studies Center, an affiliated center of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, is growing its robust African language program, adding Twi, the spoken launguage of Ghana, in 2015, with a planned 2016 study abroad experience in Ghana to reinforce scholarship in the African nation’s culture.
“Ghana is a very successful democracy and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. In some ways, it’s one of the easier nations in Africa to travel to,” said Tim Longman, director of the African Studies Center. “There are many opportunities for students, particularly in the field of public health, in Ghana, and a grounding in the language is a wonderful opportunity we are happy to provide.”
Twi is the newest addition to the African Studies Center’s roster of tongues offered through their African language program. Since the 1970s, students have been afforded the chance to study Zulu, Xhosa, Wolof, Hausa, and other African languages.
Imperiled by budget cuts, the program recently received a $2.3 million Title XI grant. The story of that process was featured in BU Today’s March 4 article, “Speaking, Cooking, and Singing in Zulu.”
From the text of the article:
“After a spell of federal cutbacks put the program in peril, the US Department of Education (DoE), through its National Resource Centers (NRC) Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants, recently provided $2.3 million to the African Studies Center (ASC) to offer fellowships for students and support Africa-focused education, particularly African language instruction. The NRC and FLAS four-year grants, part of the Title VI program of the DoE Office of International and Foreign Language Education, promotes greater understanding of countries and regions across the globe through foreign language, cultural immersion, and research.”
Part of what makes the African Languages Program so valuable, Longman said, was the clear link between language and practical study.
“We always try to link language instruction to immersion in a country,” Longman said. “The thinking in our rollout of Twi is that students will be able to study in the classroom for a year, then travel to Ghana with a solid grounding.”
Again, from the text of the BU Today article:
“There is a Zulu proverb, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which translates to, “A human being is a person because of others,” says Zoliswa O. Mali, a School of Education clinical assistant professor of curriculum and teaching and coordinator of South African languages. “This means we are interdependent, we need each other as people. No one thrives in isolation.” The saying could also describe the philosophy of African language studies at BU, which teaches language in the context of cultures, presenting them with humanity and exuberance rather than in a clinical, rote way in classes taught by untrained instructors.”