The Faculty of Languages Education, University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in conjunction with the Department of English, University of Lagos, Nigeria has held a 3 day international conference on the theme "Codification, Standardisation  and Communication: Linguistics and Literary Perspective  on English  and Indigenous  Languages use in Anglophone West Africa." The aim of the conference was to provide a veritable platform for interrogating the place of English language and indigenous languages in the sub-region in terms of codification, standardization and communication and how these have reflected in literary and linguistic applications in the area and also to think of novel solutions for sustainable development in the area of language.

The conference which was held from the 3rd to 5th of February, 2015 at the J. N. Aryeetey Auditorium, South Campus, of the University of Education, Winneba was attended by about 80 participants. The participants included policy makers, academicians, researchers and students from Ghana and Nigeria who presented papers on areas related to the conference theme.Sessions included papers on areas such as gender and communication, language and theory, linguistics and communication, film and media, language and rhetoric and language and post colonial literature. Each day had a session for graduate students to present their thesis or any related research paper.

The Director of the International Relations and Public Affairs Division (IRPAD) Prof. Yaw Ofosu-Kusi, who  represented the Vice Chancellor congratulated the faculty for organising the maiden edition of the conference and urged the participants to continue to advance the frontiers of research in their various disciplines.

Professor Segun Awonusi, a former Vice-Chancellor of Olagun State University delivered the keynote address. In his address, Prof. Segun did not mince words in describing how native African languages continue to be subjugated due to the dominance of what he called ‘ex-colonial languages’. “English is not our language. It never was and will never be” he said. Though Prof. Segun did not call for the total ban of English language in Africa, he  suggested among other things that Universities, Colleges of Education, and Polytechnics must integrate courses on varieties and functions of New Englishes in their curriculum. This way, the African experience can be given expression through English as an adapted language.

The Dean of the Faculty of Languages Education, UEW, Prof. Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo, the lead speaker at the conference also spoke on the indigenous perspective for the appreciation of African Oral Literature. On his part Prof. Sekyi-Baidoo iterated that functional analysis of oral literature should consider both the aesthetic and ethnological functions. According to him, “the practice of analyzing art from borrowed non-inception perspectives can be seen as a case of miscarriage of analytical paradigm or analytical colonization or imperialism”. As convener, he also used the opportunity to welcome the participants and wished them a fruitful conference. The conference gave participants the opportunity to share research ideas to advance knowledge. The 3 day event closed on the afternoon of 5^th February with the conveners promising to make the conference an annual event. The complete papers submitted after the conference will be published in LALICOM; a journal of language, communication and literature. The next edition of the conference would be held next year in Nigeria. 

The Faculty of Languages Education, University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in conjunction with the Department of English, University of Lagos, Nigeria has held a 3 day international conference on the theme "Codification, Standardisation  and Communication: Linguistics and Literary Perspective  on English  and Indigenous  Languages use in Anglophone West Africa." The aim of the conference was to provide a veritable platform for interrogating the place of English language and indigenous languages in the sub-region in terms of codification, standardization and communication and how these have reflected in literary and linguistic applications in the area and also to think of novel solutions for sustainable development in the area of language.

The conference which was held from the 3rd to 5th of February, 2015 at the J. N. Aryeetey Auditorium, South Campus, of the University of Education, Winneba was attended by about 80 participants. The participants included policy makers, academicians, researchers and students from Ghana and Nigeria who presented papers on areas related to the conference theme.Sessions included papers on areas such as gender and communication, language and theory, linguistics and communication, film and media, language and rhetoric and language and post colonial literature. Each day had a session for graduate students to present their thesis or any related research paper.

The Director of the International Relations and Public Affairs Division (IRPAD) Prof. Yaw Ofosu-Kusi, who  represented the Vice Chancellor congratulated the faculty for organising the maiden edition of the conference and urged the participants to continue to advance the frontiers of research in their various disciplines.

Professor Segun Awonusi, a former Vice-Chancellor of Olagun State University delivered the keynote address. In his address, Prof. Segun did not mince words in describing how native African languages continue to be subjugated due to the dominance of what he called ‘ex-colonial languages’. “English is not our language. It never was and will never be” he said. Though Prof. Segun did not call for the total ban of English language in Africa, he  suggested among other things that Universities, Colleges of Education, and Polytechnics must integrate courses on varieties and functions of New Englishes in their curriculum. This way, the African experience can be given expression through English as an adapted language.

The Dean of the Faculty of Languages Education, UEW, Prof. Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo, the lead speaker at the conference also spoke on the indigenous perspective for the appreciation of African Oral Literature. On his part Prof. Sekyi-Baidoo iterated that functional analysis of oral literature should consider both the aesthetic and ethnological functions. According to him, “the practice of analyzing art from borrowed non-inception perspectives can be seen as a case of miscarriage of analytical paradigm or analytical colonization or imperialism”. As convener, he also used the opportunity to welcome the participants and wished them a fruitful conference. The conference gave participants the opportunity to share research ideas to advance knowledge. The 3 day event closed on the afternoon of 5^th February with the conveners promising to make the conference an annual event. The complete papers submitted after the conference will be published in LALICOM; a journal of language, communication and literature. The next edition of the conference would be held next year in Nigeria.