BA M.Phil (Ghana), MRes, Ph.D (Lancaster)
Dissertation: My lioness wife’: Constructions of gender identities in the discourses of Ghanaian couples in the UK Diaspora
Language and Gender
Language in Business
Language Planning and Development
Semantics of a Ghanaian Language (Akan)
Introduction to Syntax
Introduction to Research Methods in Linguistics
Syntax of a Ghanaian Language (Akan)
Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian Language (Akan)
Language in African Society
Business Communication
Language and Identities: Gender, Ethnicity and Class
Research Methods
Special Topics in TESL
Trends in Linguistics
Advanced Phonology of a Ghanaian Language (Akan)
Research Projects
PhDl, Linguistics
1. Nuworsu, Anastasia (ongoing). Corolang: A linguistic analysis of COVID-19 discourses in Ghana.
MA, Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
1. Klidza, Anthony (2014). Analysis of gender bias and stereotyping in Junior High School English Language textbooks in Ghana.
MPhil, Linguistics
1. Poakwa, Asare (ongoing). Multilingualism at Anum in Asamankɛse,
2. Ofori, Victoria (2019). Humour in Akan: The case of draught and selected radio programmes.
3. Agyarkwa, Elizabeth (2018). Language Choice in the Ɔkere speech community.
4. Nuworsu, Anastasia (2015). Language use in inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in Accra.
5. Dundaa, Mark (2013). Aspects of Birfor Phonology.
6. Obiri Yeboah, Michael (2013). Aspects of Gua (Gwa) Phonology.
7. Obeng, Patience (2007). Fantse Fɔnɔlɔgyi: Bɔrbɔr na Edwumako mu nsonsonoe (The phonology of Fante: Differences between the Bɔrbɔr and Edwumako dialects).
8. Gyamea, Cecilia (2007). Gyaman Bono ho mɔfɔsentase adesua bi (Aspects of the Morpho-syntax of the Gyaman subdialect of Bono).
Selected Long essay supervision
Undergraduate
1. Gasu, Gifty (2020). Attitudes of students towards the study of Ghanaian language courses: The case of third and fourth year linguistics students at the University of Ghana.
2. Fosu, Boahoma Jude (2015). The impact of language barrier on the growth of business in Ghana: The case of Chinese small-scale miners in Dunkwa-Offin.
3. Mohammed, Ukasha (2013). Gender and age-related differences in the use of politeness strategies in Dagbanli.
4. Gyabaah, Zwart (2013). Differences and similarities between the Dormaa and Berekum sub-dialects of Bono.
5. Essuman, Maxwell (2013). Autonyms in Akan: A case study of the Accra Metropolitan Area.
6. Blay, Afua Mmra (2007). A historical development of the Asante dialect of Akan: A phonological Analysis.
7. Afful, Maame Afua Potsi (2006). A closer look at the phonology of Wassa: Is it related to the Asante or the Bono Dialect of Akan?
8. Baah, Johnson (2005). A comparative study of the Dormaa, Sunyani and Techiman sub-dialects of Bono.
Publications
Journal Articles
1. Ofori, V., Diabah, G., Wiafe Akenteng, N. A. and Agyekum, N. (forthcoming). A Pragmatic Analysis of Humour in the Kookurokoo Morning Show. Ghana Journal of Linguistics.
2. Ofori, V. Diabah, G. and Agyekum, K. (forthcoming). An ethno-pragmatic analysis of humour in Akan the draughts game. Ghana Journal of Linguistics.
3. Diabah, G. (forthcoming, April 2021). Negotiating Language Barriers: Customer Care Delivery Practices of a Selected Telecommunication Company in Ghana. Sociolinguistic Studies. 15(1).
4. Agyepong, D. P. and Diabah, G. (2020). ‘Next time stay in your war room and pray for your boys’ or return to your kitchen: Sexist discourses in Ghana’s 2019 National Science and Math Quiz. Discourse and Society. 1-25. DOI: 10.1177/0957926520977220.
5. Diabah, G. (2020). Projecting Masculinities or Breaking Sociolinguistic norms? The Role of Women's Representation in Students' Profane Language Use. Gender & Language. 14(1), 99–120.
6. Diabah, G. (2020). A Battle for Supremacy? Masculinities in Students’ Profane Language Use. Journal of Men’s Studies. 28(3), 260-280. DOI: 10.1177/1060826520905096.
7. Amuzu, E. K., Diabah, G. and Nuworsu, A. (2019). ‘Look me, hwε ha, ofainε kwεmɔ biε aha mi fioo!!’ Codeswitching at inter-ethnic traditional marriage ceremonies in southern Ghana. Multilingua. Volume 38(3), 283–311 https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2017-0097
8. Diabah, G. (2019). The representation of women in Ghanaian radio commercials: Sustaining or challenging gender stereotypes? Language in Society, 48(2), 261-283. doi:10.1017/S0047404518001343.
9. Diabah, G. and Amfo, N. A. A. (2018). To dance or not to dance: Masculinities in Akan proverbs and their implications for contemporary societies. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 7(2), 179-198.
10. Diabah, G. (2016). SEX-FOR-GENDER metonymy? A consideration of three expressions from Akan. Gender and Language, 10(2), 170-190.
11. Diabah, G. (2015). From ‘Recharger’ to ‘Gidi Power’: The representation of male sexual power in Ghanaian radio commercials. Critical Discourse Studies, 1–21.
12. Diabah, G., and Amfo, N. A. A. (2015). Caring supporters or daring usurpers: The representation of women in Akan proverbs. Discourse & Society, 26(1), 3–28.
13. Anderson, J., Diabah, G. and hMensa, P. A. (2011). Powerful women in powerless language: Media representation of African women in politics; The case of Liberia. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(10), 2509-2518.
Book Chapters
1. Lomotey, B. A. and Diabah, G. (forthcoming). Sex Jokes and Ideology: A Socio-pragmatic Inquiry of the Place of Humour in Gender Performance and Practices. In Humour, Gender and the African Imaginary: Sex Jokes Across Borders, edited by Ignatius Chukwumah. Routledge.
2. Diabah, G. (2019). The Modern Man in Ghanaian Radio Adverts: A Reproduction of or a Challenge to Traditional Gender Practices? In Feminist Perspectives on Advertising: What’s the Big Idea? edited by K. Golombisky, 217-238. Lexington Books.
3. Diabah, G. (2013). ‘I cannot be blamed for my own assault’: Ghanaian media discourses on the context of blame in Mzbel’s sexual assault. In Atanga, L., Ellece, S., Litosseliti, L. and Sunderland, J. (eds.), Gender and language in Sub-Saharan Africa: Tradition, struggle and change (pp. 275–299). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
4. Diabah, G. (2011). Gendered discourses: Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’ vs. George Weah. In Majstorović, D. and Inger, L. (eds.), Living with Patriarchy: Discursive constructions of gendered subjects across cultures (pp. 169–194). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Edited Collections
1. Diabah (nee Bota), G, Hargreaves, H., Lai, C. and Rong Rong (eds.) (2010). Papers from the 2009 Lancaster University Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and Language Teaching (LAEL PG), Vol. 4. Published online: http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/pgconference/v04.htm
Conference Proceedings
1. Diabah (nee Bota), G. and Sunderland, J. (2009). Understandings of Gender and Silence in a Ghanaian Community of Practice. In Edwards, M. (ed.), Proceedings of the BAAL Annual Conference 2008 (pp. 15 - 16). Published online:
http://www.baal.org.uk/proceedings_08_alpha.html or http://www.baal.org.uk/proc08/bota_sunderland.pdf
2. Diabah (nee Bota), G. and Osam, E. K. (2004). Aspects of Some Phonological Processes in Bono. In Dakubu, M. E. K. and Osam, E. K. (eds.), Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin, Vol. 2, (pp. 228-238). Accra: Combert Impressions.
Selected Conferences and Seminars
1. Humour in Akan: The case of Kokurokoo morning show. A paper presented (with Victoria Ofori and Esther Wiafe Akenten) at the 1st African Pragmatics conference, 6-7 February, 2020, University of Ghana, Legon.
2. I don’t like my legs’: Humour in Akan dame ‘draught’ game. A paper presented (with Victoria Ofori and Kofi Agyekum) at the 1st African Pragmatics conference, 6-7 February, 2020, University of Ghana, Legon.
3. A battle for supremacy? Masculinities in students’ profane language use. A paper presented at the Interdisciplinary Symposium for Qualitative Methodologies, 3 March, 2018, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
4. Projecting masculinities or breaking cultural norms? The representation of women in students’ profane language. A paper presented at the Women’s and Gender Studies Brown Bag Colloquium Series, 22 February, 2018, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
5. Masculinities in Akan proverbs: Traditional values versus contemporary realities. A paper presented (with Nana Aba Amfo) at the conference in honour of Prof. Florence Dolphyne. 28 February, 2018, University of Ghana, Legon.
6. To dance or not to dance: Masculinities in Akan proverbs and their implications for contemporary societies. A paper presented (with Nana Aba Amfo) at the 2nd School of Languages Biennial Conference (SOL II), 24-26 October, 2017, University of Ghana, Legon.
7. Like the colorful Kente cloth: Language alternation at interethnic marriage ceremonies in Ghana. A paper presented (with Evershed Amuzu and Anastasia Nuworsu) at the 9th Annual conference of the Linguistics Association of Ghana, 26-28 July, 2016, University of Development Studies, Tamale.
8. Timid girls and their brave brothers: Gender representations in Junior High School English Language Textbooks in Ghana. A paper presented (with Anthony Klidza and Nana Aba Appiah Amfo) at the 8th Annual conference of the Linguistics Association of Ghana, 27-29 July, 2015, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
9. Gender and Language: The representation of male sexual power in Ghanaian radio commercials. A lecture delivered to visiting students from Lancaster University (UK), 25 March, 2015, Lancaster University (Ghana), Accra.
10. From ‘Recharger’ to ‘Gidi Power’: the representation of male sexual power in Ghanaian radio commercials. A paper presented at the 7th Annual conference of the Linguistics Association of Ghana, 28-30 July, 2014, University of Professional Studies, Accra.
11. Caring supporters or daring usurpers? The representation of women in Akan proverbs. A paper presented (with Nana Aba A. Amfo) at the 6th Annual conference of the Linguistics Association of Ghana, 30 July – 1 August, 2013, University of Education, Winneba.
12. ‘She is a female-rooster’: The conceptualization of GENDER as SEX in Ghanaian discourses. A paper presented at the 6th Biennial International Gender and Language Association Conference, 18-20 September, 2010, Tsuda College, Tokyo.
13. What gets lost in translation: methodological issues on translating from Akan to English. A paper presented at the 1st Annual conference of the Lancaster University African Studies Group (in association with the Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research), 21-22 May, 2010, Lancaster University, Lancaster.
14. Ghanaian media discourses on the context of blame in Mzbel’s sexual assault. A paper presented at the 1st workshop of the British Association for Applied Linguistics – Special Interest Groups (BAAL-SiG, Gender and Language in African Contexts), 29 May, 2009, City University, London.
15. Understandings of gender and silence in a Ghanaian community of practice. A paper presented (with Jane Sunderland) at the Annual conference of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL 2008), 11-13 September, 2008, Swansea University, Wales.
16. Gender representation and cultural influence in the Akan language: Any traces of ‘Self-Fulfilling Prophecy’? A paper presented at the Lancaster University Gender and Language weekly seminars, 29 November, 2007, Lancaster University, Lancaster.
17. Powerful women in powerless language: Media representation of African women in politics; The case of Liberia. A paper presented (with Jemima A. Anderson and Patience Afrakoma hMensa) at the conference on Women, Power and the Media, 15 September, 2007, Aston University, Birmingham.
18. Silence as a communicative tool among students: A case study of the University of Ghana. A paper presented at the 4th Annual Faculty of Arts Colloquium, 25-26 April, 2006, University of Ghana, Legon.
19. Sexism in the Akan language: The role of culture. A paper presented at the 3rd Faculty of Arts annual colloquium, 20-22 April, 2005, University of Ghana, Legon.
20. Gender Stereotyping in the Akan Language: The representation of women in proverbs. A paper presented at the 2nd UEW Conference in Applied Linguistics, 7-11 November, 2006, University of Education, Winneba.
Works in Progress
1. The use of gendered (foul) language in social media spaces: Evidence from comments on Chimamanda Adichie’s gendered posts on YouTube.
2. ‘Just for the fun of it’: A socio-pragmatic analysis of gendered humour in a Ghanaian community of practice (with Dorothy P. Agyepong).
3. ‘Papa no’: Humour gone bad – A conceptual analysis integration of humour in Ghana (with Dorothy P. Agyepong and Victoria Ofori).
4. Discourses of humour: Making light the burden of COVID-19 – The Ghanaian experience (with Victoria Ofori and Nicholas Agyekum).
5. ‘The mother of all nations’: Gendered discourses in Ghana’s 2020 elections (with Dorothy Agyepong).
Projects
SOL-PRUDENTIAL Language interventions to fight stigma and misinformation on Covid-19.