Language maintenance and shift among Akan immigrant college students in the United States
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Abstract
This study examines First Language (L1) retention and shift among 20 Ghanaian-American college students living in the US. Working within the frameworks of social identity (Fishman, 1991, 1997, 2001; Le Page & Tabouret-Keller, 1985) and ethnography of communication (Saville-Troike, 2000), the paper demonstrates that the students viewed the Akan language as a symbol of their identity, their uniqueness, and their cultural heritage. An examination of the respondents performance in oral composition and listening comprehension suggests that participants who spoke Akan in their homes and/or with friends performed better and thus had higher L1 retention than those whose parents and friends communicated with them solely in English. Also, participants who listened to Akan music and such Internet radio stations as Adom 106.3 FM, Ghana Waves, Kasapah FM, and Peace FM, Sikaradio, performed better in the listening comprehension than those who did not. In addition, gender was identified as an important factor in L1 retention. Specifically, female participants outperformed the male participants in both proficiency tests. It is recommended that, to ensure L1 (heritage language) retention, the immigrant youth must make an effort to use the language regularly and in appropriate social domains.
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