Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-22T22:49:58.802Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

French influence on English in Togo

Evaluation of the expression of gendered language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2015

Extract

This paper looks at English language use in law discourse and particularly in university classrooms in Togo. Togo makes extensive use of the English language despite the fact that it is a francophone country. English is taught in almost all public institutions, except for primary schools. Financial institutions, such as banks, make extensive use of English. This is evidenced at first glance at the large computer screens positioned at the entrances to these institutions. At the Université de Lomé alone, there are several ESP (English for Specific Purposes) programs. Each of the five faculties (with several departments) and ten schools and institutes have an ESP program. The ESP course is applicable to first-year students on BA programs and to those on MA programs. However, despite this extensive presence of English, traditional language norms and the influence of French on English in Togo in general are still very strong.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Apeli, K. A. 2003. Politique et aménagement linguistique au Togo: Bilan et perspectives. Thèse de Doctorat d'Etat. Tome 1 et II. Togo : Université de Lomé.Google Scholar
Coicaud, J-M., Doyle, M. W. & Gardner, A-M., 2003. The Globalization of Human Rights. New York: United Nations University Press.Google Scholar
Davis, K. 2009. ‘The emperor is still naked: Why the protocol on the rights of women in Africa leaves women exposed to more discrimination.’ Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 42, 3, 949–92.Google Scholar
Donnelly, J. 2013. International Human Rights. Colorado: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Holmes, J. 1995. ‘Women's talk in public contexts.’ Discourse & Society, 3, 131–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (eds.) 2003. The Handbook of Language and Gender. Massachusetts, USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jespersen, O. 1922. Language: Its Nature and Development. London: George Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Lakoff, R. 1973. ‘Language and the woman's place.’ Language and Society, 2, 4580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reeves, L. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff, R. 1998. ‘Words and meaning: From primitives to complex organization.’ In Gleason, J. B. & Ratner, N. B. (eds.), Psycholinguistics, second edition. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, pp. 157226.Google Scholar
Revue Togolaise des Sciences Juridiques (RTSJ). Janvier-Juin 2012. No 0002. Faculté de Droit, Université de Lomé, Togo: Presses de UL. ISSN 2221–4445.Google Scholar
Sandra, D. 1990. ‘On the representation and processing of compound words: Automatic access to constituent morphemes does not occur.’ The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 42A, 529–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takassi, I. 1992. Pluralité des langues nationales, frein ou facteur de développement? Document présenté aux états généraux de la communication et de la culture. Lomé, Togo. J. Rech.Google Scholar
University of Technology Sydney, n.d. ‘Sexism and sexist language.’ Online at <http://www.equity.uts.edu.au/policy/language/sexist.html> (Accessed May 13, 2013).+(Accessed+May+13,+2013).>Google Scholar
Zap, C. 2013. ‘Washington State gets rid of sexist language.’ July 3. Online at <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-sideshow/washington-state-gets-rid-sexist-language-162549523.html> (Accessed June 23, 2014).+(Accessed+June+23,+2014).>Google Scholar