Department of Modern Languages
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Item El Pelo Y La (De) Construcción Del Cuerpo De La Mujer Africana - Un Estudio De La Película Kbela De Yasmin Thayná(University Of Ghana, 2019-06) Siaw – Darfour, A.The concept of self-perception expounds how a person sees him/herself and the way an individual feels, perceives and thinks about his/her body. The image a person has of his or her body is a multifaceted psychological experience which does not necessarily end with the physical appearance but also personal attitudes related to the person's body, such as beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. This study will investigate hair and the "(de) construction" of the African female body. It will comparatively examine the impact of slavery and colonization on the body construction of African women. The study will be based on the analysis of Yasmin Thayná's film Kbela and interviews with Ghanaian women. Yasmin Thayná's film Kbela is a cinematic work that shows the slow and painful journey of the African woman towards self-acceptance after years of disdain, ridicule, abuse and self-hatred in Brazil. Slavery and colonialism left an indelible mark on how black women perceive beauty. Their skin was labeled "dirty", their hair "nappy" or "unruly" and their bodies "sex-crazed objects". The aim of this work is to compare the effects that Eurocentric beauty standards had on women who were colonized in Africa, specifically in Ghana and those who were enslaved in Latin America, specifically in Brazil. This comparison will help determine the degree to which colonization and slavery have affected the African identity of each group. As the film aptly depicts, there is a growing movement of self-acceptance and self-awareness, a return to African roots, people of African descent, in this case, Afro-Brazilians. The study will also discuss the reasons for this self-acceptance and if this journey is the same for Ghanaian women who were colonized (representing Africans) and Afro-Brazilian women who were enslaved (representing people in the Latin American diaspora with African ancestry).Item A Morpho - Semantic Study Of Dericatives In Badīc Al-Zamān Alhamadhāni’s Assemblies(University of Ghana, 2017-07) Ahmed, A.H;ABSTRACT The study focused on the Morpho-Semantic structure of derivatives in Badīc al-Zamān al-Hamadhāni. It sought to answer three key questions: To what extents has the maqāmāt featured derivatives? What are the major types of derivatives in maqāmāt? And what are the connotations of these derivatives in various contexts? In order to answer these three questions, the researcher had to combine descriptive approach with contextual analysis. This made it possible for him to trace, identify, and classify the various derivatives found in the maqāmāt, and to describe and analyze them appropriately. The study contributes towards a purposeful application of grammar rules on relevant classical text, a phenomenon that many researchers have been calling for in recent times. Below are some of the major findings of the study: 1. Derivation is one of the crucial tools of generating words and increasing vocabulary stock and jargons in Arabic language. 2. Derivatives contribute in identifying the actual root of words, which in turn helps to differentiate foreign words from original ones. 3. There is a clear variation in the degree of occurrence of the derivatives; the descriptive derivatives occurred 278 times, while prescriptive derivatives occurred 384 times. 4. The various connotations of the derivatives contributed towards enriching literary images and portraits in maqāmāt.Item Verb Structure in Imām Shāfi’s Anthology: A Morphosemantic Study(University Of Ghana, 2017-07) Musah, A. I.This study seeks to investigate verb structure in Imam Shafi’is poetic works. It is a theme oriented collection of poems attributed to him which deals with specific themes in a general style. The choice for this particular literary piece is informed by its exhibition of deliberate and extravagant display of rhetorical devices, as well as easy accessibility of its content relative to other classical poetic works, which could barely be appreciated without an advanced Arabic dictionary. This collection of poems however is made up of nineteen different parts under each of which are group of assemblies with varying themes. While most of the themes are inter-locked, a few others are absolutely different. One thing is certain though, beneath each assembly, one will discover a strong religious tone, a sound moral lesson, as well as a good pearls of wisdom. Though Imam Shafi’is poetic works certainly lacks the sheer ingenuity, aesthetic flair, and imaginative thrills unlike other classical poetic works, yet it is replete with vast socio-cultural knowledge and rich linguistics material worthy of attention. This study on the other hand sought to highlight how the various forms of Arabic verb structure, mainly three consonantal root and four consonantal root, and their related extensions contribute to meaning formation in this literary piece. This was accomplished jointly via a descriptive linguistic analysis & text interpretation (hermeneutics). The study discovered that, the various verb structure as used in the poetry had strong connection with the context within which they were used. The most frequently used verb structure is the three consonantal root. The three consonantal root, mainly used for the passive voice usually had two meanings: the literal and the metaphorical. It is envisaged that the study will help readers appreciate the unique role of verbs in Arabic sentence in building vocabulary stock, and to discover how abstract rules governing the derivation of words are applied on a contemporary Arabic textItem A Translation Into English of A Spanish Document Titled: Guía País Ghana(University of Ghana, 2017-11) Elikem, C.A.This project is a translation of a document titled Guía país Ghana (Guidebook to Ghana) from Spanish into English. Authored by the Commercial and Economic Office of Spain in Lagos, this source text is a broad-spectrum document presenting some vital statistics on Ghana in the area of industry and international relations among other topics. The choice of the document for our translation project is motivated by our desire to make known to our English audience the challenges that Ghana had to grapple with for some time after her independence up to the year 2008 when it was updated. We believe the translation of a document of a semi-technical nature such as the present one would provide our English audience useful insight into the economic life of Ghanaians. It is also our hope that fellow translators, translation students and the language-loving public would appreciate the input we made in order to produce a target text that can hardly be recognized as a piece of translation, one devoid of all the twitches and jerks akin to translated documents. Most importantly, we pray that fellow translators who shy away from specialized texts in view of their massive load of information and unfamiliar terminology take a cue from our work.Item Challenges of Terminological Equivalence In Translation: A Translation of “Loi N° 2012-21 Portant Lutte Contre Le Financement Du Térrorisme En République Du Bénin.”(University Of Ghana, 2015-03) Robson, R.P.The legal translation of terminological equivalence cannot be performed without considering legal cultural concepts and differences between legal systems. The level of equivalence of the terms depends on how legal systems relate and not on that of the languages involved. Given that culture is one of the key factors for quality translation of a legal document, thorough research on the cultures involved cannot afford to be overlooked. For this purpose, this study analyses this area based on the study of a voted version of Law no 2012-21 Against financing of terrorism in the Republic of Benin. It first examines relevant theoretical frameworks and translation practices. Then a chapter presents the source text of the document which serves as the object of our research and its translation. Moreover, an analysis which critically focuses on the target text in terms of terminological and equivalence issues encountered during the translation process are presented with proofs to back up the solutions to such challenges. And thereafter, on the basis of survey results, the paper basically makes some recommendations which could be considered useful for translators and even student- translators.Item Grammatical Analysis of Nominative Cases in Al-Asmacīyāt(University Of Ghana, 2015-07) Karim, Z.A.A.The thesis investigated the nature of nominative cases in al-asmacīyāt, a legend Arabic anthology compiled by the renowned Islamic scholar cAbū Sacīd cAbd al-Malik bin Qurayb mostly referred to as al-Asmacīyī (d. 828 AD). The collection is considered as one of the fundamental sources of Arabic language and is extensively cited by Arabic linguists, philologists, and literary critics. The main objective of the study was to establish the centrality of nominative cases in Arabic language and to divulge its types and characteristics in al-asmacīyāt. The study adopted a descriptive linguistic approach, which entails compilation and organization of linguistic data, and analyzing them appropriately in order to arrive at the findings that may shed some light on the grammatical rules in relation to nominative cases. The researcher also relied on classical and modern sources of Arabic books which discussed nominative cases in detail. The study among others made the following findings: The most reoccurring nominative case was the agent (fācīl) found in verbal sentence. This seems to be in order, considering that every verb, be it transitive or intransitive, comes with the agent (fācīl). As well, the subject (al-mubtada’) of nominal sentences featured substantively in the collection. This is equally understandable, as nominal sentence is the only substitute to construction of sentences in Arabic. Worthy of attention is the variations associated with the occurrence of the subject of nominal sentences; in some cases it precedes the predicate, and sometimes it succeeds the predicate. In both instances among others, the necessary conditions were met. The predicate of the nominal cases also featured substantively as nominative cases as well. This was expected, because predicate completes the sense conveyed by the subject. Here again, the predicate are either situated after or before the subject, and the conditions pertaining to each have also been fulfilled.Item A Translation into English of “ Flaboration D'un Panel De Lignes Du Reseau De La Sotra”(University of Ghana, 2013-10) Agorvor, D. J.; Kuto, K. E.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Languages, Department of Modern LanguagesIf I was asked to mention one thing that has existed for as long as humanity has, I would without hesitation mention communication. All through life, man expresses the need to communicate with others in both verbal and non-verbal ways. However, differences in languages and in culture hinder communication. Linguists refer to such differences as cultural, linguistic and intellectual barriers. As a solution to this hindrance to communication, people began to practice translation. Translation, like many other disciplines has gone through many phases. In the second half of the twentieth century however, translation studies became an important discipline in the teaching of language in many educational institutions. Adding to its value are the variety of methods and models of translation which include the grammatical rules and structures of foreign languages as well as the cultural model which has also contributed immensely to the development of the discipline. One would ask therefore, what does translation entail and what are the important elements of translation? Translation involves various elements among which are cultural and linguistic issues. However at the heart of every translation is the issue of fidelity - fidelity to the meaning or fidelity to the form or style. Theorists have different opinions concerning this issue. Some believe in staying faithful to the style of the original writer (Mme. Dacier, 1669) while others are of the opinion that the meaning of the message being conveyed to the target reader is more important than the style of the text (Etienne Dolet, 1540). Thus, they believe in fidelity to the meaning while allowing modifications to be made to the style of the text, which has become largely accepted in modern translation.Item Investigating the Use of the Language Experience Approach at La Anglican Basic School(University of Ghana, 2014-12) Mensah, A. J.The importance of reading cannot be overemphasized. It is one of the means through which most of the knowledge we possess now was acquired. Due to the importance of reading, its acquisition must be given a special attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the Language Experience Approach on the reading performance of primary three pupils at the La Anglican Basic School in Accra. The focus was to ascertain whether the use of the Language Experience Approach could facilitate pupils‟ acquisition of reading skills. A sample of 52 pupils, comprising 23 girls and 29 was used for the main study. A pre-intervention test was conducted to assess the reading performance of the participants. There was also a post-intervention test after the intervention. The results of both the control and experimental classes were used to test the hypothesis using the t-test. The findings of the study show that the experimental class performed significantly better than the control class. The use of the Language Experience Approach, thus, improved the reading skills of pupils and may, therefore, have some advantage over the traditional way of teaching reading. The study recommends that further investigations could be conducted on a larger scale to support the findings in this study.