Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates whether or not the level of acculturation among female migrants of northern origin plays a role in their acquisition and use of the dominant language (s) of their host communities (3 highly multilingual urban markets) in the south.

Paper long abstract:

In this study, I re-examine basic assumptions of Schumann's Acculturation Model, a socio-psychological model of L2 learning in three highly multilingual markets in urban Ghana. Ghana is a highly multilingual country with over 80 living languages spoken by some 25 million people across 10 geographical and administrative regions (Ethnologue 2016). Typically, linguistic diversity is very dense in urban centres which become melting pots for the various ethnolinguistic groups in the country. The literature is replete with studies on the migration of young females from Northern Ghana to urban markets in the south as head porters (load carriers), popularly called Kayayei. Nevertheless, many of these studies have been concerned with either sociological factors or economic ones, or even health. Very little research has focused on the linguistic dimension of rural-urban migration in Ghana. Ansah et al (2015) have reported evidence of linguistic challenge as well as second language acquisition (with varying degrees of success and use) among female migrants in three urban markets in Accra.

Specifically, I investigate the role social dominance patterns plays in second language acquisition among these female migrants in urban markets in Ghana, i.e. are migrants who are originally from sociolinguist groups with high level of linguistic vitality more likely to acculturate to the dominant language of their host community than their counterparts from sociolinguistic groups with less vitality. I also examine the integration strategies these migrants adopt in their acquisition and use of the dominant language in their host communities.