About

I am an Associate Professor of Linguistics and the Ghanaian Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana (UG) where I have been working since 2004. In 2016, I taught at the Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University in Sweden on a staff exchange programme. My PhD in Linguistics (2013) from Lancaster University in the UK, was sponsored by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (GHCS-2008-94). I also spent one academic year (1998-1999) at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania studying Kiswahili.

I am mainly interested in word structure and word formation with additional interest in syntax. A principal concern in my research is how to account for properties of complex linguistic structures that do not emanate from their constituents.

I have participated in the governance of UG through service on statutory and ad-hoc boards and committees, including the Business and Executive Committee, University Academic Board, College of Humanities Academic Board, Graduate Studies Board and the Joint Examiners Board. Before my current position as Ghanaian Director of the Confucius Institute at UG, he served as the Head of the Linguistics Department (2021-2023), Hall Master of Akuafo Hall (2019-2021), Coordinator of the Chinese Section of the Department of Modern Languages (2017-2019), Acting Chapel Warden of Akuafo Hall (2017-2019), Seminar Coordinator for the School of Languages (2014-2017) and Examinations Officer of the Department of Linguistics (2013-2015).

Outside of Academia, I serve as Member/Secretary to the Board of OneWay Africa, a Missions Organization and CEO of Gramophone Ghana, a music development and production company specialising in choral and classical music. I am a singer-songwriter with an album (M’enyidado) recorded in 2001 and many singles, including Aseda released in April 2024. During my undergraduate years at UG, I served as the Deputy (1996-1997) and Substantive (1997-1998) Music Director for Chosen Vessels Choir (CVC) of the University Christian Fellowship and the Methodist-Presbyterian Union (MPU) Choir.

I am passionate about youth development. so, I teach youth groups and organise youth-oriented programmes that are aimed at helping the youth develop personal and leadership skills. I speak at various youth development workshops and camp meetings in Ghana and Germany. I also speak regularly at the Livingstone School of Ministry and the Livingston School of Leaderships organised by OneWay Africa in Accra – Ghana.

I occasionally MCs events. I am also a regular speaker at orientation programmes for graduate students in the School of Languages, UG and an instructor on the School’s Special Courses as well as the Pan-African Doctoral Academy (PADA) where I teaches Speaking and Presentation Skills. As a former Commonwealth Scholar, I occasionally spend time with would-be Commonwealth Scholars coaching them on How to write good impact statements. I also teach on Gramophone Ghana’s New Year Voice College where I combines my training in Linguistics and experience in singing to help singers hone their craft.

Education

PhD, Linguistics, Lancaster University, UK, 2013
MPhil, Linguistics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2003
BA, Linguistics and Swahili, University of Ghana, 2000

Research Interest

• Akan linguistics
• Morphological Theory (Construction Morphology)
• Word formation: nominalization, compounding
• Lexical inventiveness
• Internal grammar of numeral constructions
• Expression of exocentricity in complex words
• Evaluative morphology
• Serial verb constructions

Publications

Book Chapter
Kambon, O. B., C. K. I. Appah & Reginald Akuoko Duah. (2019.). Serial verb nominalization in Akan: The question of intervening elements. In E. Clem, P. Jenks & H. Sande (eds.), Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from ACAL 47 (361–386). Berlin: Language Science Press.

Review Articles in Refereed Journals
Appah, C. K. I. (2020). "Book Review: Therapeutic Communication Competencies for Nurses and Midwives". GJL 9(1):97-103. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v9i1.5

Published Research Work in Refereed Journals
Appah, C. K. I., & Broohm, O. N. (2023). Partial Motivation in Kwa: The case of complex nominals with non-lexical bases. Lingue e linguaggio, XXII(2), 231-262. doi:10.1418/109048.

Appah, C. K. I., Kambon, O. B., & Duah, R. A. (2023). Cardinal numeral constructions in Akan: A Construction Morphology account. GJL, 12(1), 48-72. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v12i1.3

Appah, C. K. I. & G. N. Ansah. (2020). The structure and formation of Dumsor and Dumsor-based neologisms: A constructionist account. Ghana Studies, 23:28-55.

Lawer, R. A. and C. K. I. Appah. (2020). "Noun-Noun Compounds in Dangme." SKASE Journal for Theoretical Linguistics 17(2):2-22.

Appah, C. K. I., & Anderson, J. A. (2019). Lexical inventiveness in Ghanaian Socio-political Discourse: The form, meaning and motivation for Dumsor and Dumsor-based neologisms, Contemporary Jouirnal of African Studies, 6 (2): 23-53.

Appah, C. K. I. (2019). “Exocentric compounds in three Kwa languages: Akan, Ewe and Ga.” GJL, 8 (2): 1-26

Appah, C. K. I. (2019) On rank and successor relations: numerical and non-numerical expression of relative position in Akan. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, 16 (4): 2-21.

Appah, C. K. I., Broohm, O. N. & Lawer, R. A. (2019.). Beyond cardinals and ordinals: A Constructionist account of other numeral constructions in Akan. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 28(2): 1-27

Appah, C.K.I. (2019). Ordinal numeral constructions in Akan. Constructions+, 1/2019, 11pp.

Appah, C.K.I. (2019). Analytical issues in the study of Verb-Noun compounds: How does Akan fit in? Acta Linguistica Academica, 66 (1): 1–29.

Amfo, N. A. A. & C. K. I. Appah. (2019.). Lexicalization of Akan diminutive forms: Accounting for the motivation. Linguistik Online. 94 (1): 3-18

Appah, C. K. I., Duah, R. A. and Kambon, O. B. (2017). Akan Noun-Verb nominal compounds: The exocentric synthetic view. Language Sciences, 64: 1-15.

Appah, C.K.I. (2017). Personal attribute nominals in Akan: A Constructionist perspective. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 28 (2): 49-72

Appah, C. K. I. (2017). Exocentric compounds in Akan. Word Structure, 10 (2): 139-172..

Appah, C. K. I. (2017). On holistic properties of morphological constructions: the case of Akan verb-verb nominal compounds. Acta Linguistica Hafniensia. 49 (1): 12-36

Apppah, C. K. I. (2016) Noun-Adjective compounds in Akan. Lingue e lingagio. XV(2): 259-284.

Appah, C. K. I. (2016). A short note on the typology of exocentric compounds. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, 13 (1): 107-113.

Appah, C. K. I. (2016). Akan Verb-Noun Compounds. Italian Journal of Linguistics, 28 (2): 3-24.

Appah, C. K. I. (2015). On the syntactic category of Akan compounds: A product-oriented perspective. Acta Linguistica Hungarica 62 (4): 361-394.

Appah, C. K. I. (2013). The case against A-N compounding in Akan. Journal of West African languages, 40 (1): 73-87.

Appah, C. K. I. and Amfo, N. A. A. (2011). ‘The Morphopragmatics of the Diminutive Morpheme (-ba/-wa) in Akan’, Lexis: E-Journal in English Lexicology, 6: 85-103.

Appah, C. K. I. (2009). ‘The representation of ISVC in C and F structures of LFG: A proposal’, SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, 6 (1), 92–117.

Published conference
Appah, C. K. I. (2005). 'Action Nominalization in Akan', in M. E. Kropp Dakubu and E.K.A. Osam (eds.), SLAVOB III. Accra: Linguistics Department, University of Ghana), 132-42.

Appah, C. K. I. (2004). 'Nominal derivation from Noun Phrases in Akan', in M. E. Kropp Dakubu and E.K.A. Osam (eds.), Studies in the languages of the Volta Basin: Proceedings of the Annual Colloquium of the Legon-Trondheim Linguistics Project. Vol. 2. Accra: Linguistics Department, University of Ghana), 166-82.