About

My research focuses on describing endangered languages. I have successfully written the foremost grammar of the Dompo language, a critically endangered language spoken in the North-Western part of the Bono Region of Ghana.The main contribution of my research to linguistic knowledge is the large body of data it presents. The corpus is a tool for gaining insight into the linguistic structures of this language. It further serves as a repository of cultural and intellectual knowledge of the Dompo language for the Dompo community and beyond. For the very few remaining speakers of the language, it serves as a beacon of hope, which comes with the knowledge that their language is vital and worthy of respect and usage.
I am currently working on advancing the revitalisation of the language.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics
March, 2016 – April, 2020 – La Trobe University, Australia

Master of Philosophy in Linguistics
August, 2010 - July, 2012 – University of Ghana, Legon

Bachelor of Arts in English and Linguistics
August, 2005 - May, 2009 – University of Ghana, Legon

Research Interest

• Language documentation and description
• Language revitalization
• Second language acquisition (of the Dompo language)
• Artificial intelligence and its application to African languages and documentary linguistics

Publications

Manu-Barfo, Esther D. (2024). The Socio-pragmatics of routine expressions in Dompo. In Christopher R. Green & Samson Lotven (eds.) The Ghanaian Linguistics nexus, 101-124. Berlin. Language Science Press.

Manu-Barfo, Esther D. (To Apear). On Language Attitudes and Language Endangerment: The Dompo Language of Ghana in perspective. Contemporary Journal of African Studies

Manu-Barfo, Esther D. (2019). On the status of Dompo, a critically endangered language in Ghana. Anthropological Linguistics, 61 (1): 94-102.