University of Ghana Vice-Chancellor Labels Term Vernacular Derogatory During Landmark Ghana Academy of Arts Lecture

Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo slams the term vernacular as derogatory to African culture. Read her insights on linguistic identity and gender in the academy.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 25, 2026, 9:39 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Graphic Online

Linguistic Devaluation Challenged at National Academy

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has issued a stern critique of the linguistic terminology used to categorize African dialects. During her inaugural lecture as a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the linguistics professor asserted that labeling indigenous mother tongues as vernacular is an affront to African culture. She argued that the term serves to discourage the use of local languages and actively tarnishes them as recognizable means of communication. This perspective highlights a growing movement within African academia to reclaim linguistic dignity from colonial-era classifications that have long persisted in the continent’s educational systems.

Educational Discipline and the Erasure of Identity

According to Professor Amfo, the marginalization of African languages is frequently institutionalized within schools through enforced declarations that discipline both language and identity. She noted that many educational environments still prohibit the use of local dialects, a practice that further diminishes the status of these languages in the minds of young learners. This systemic exclusion, she posited, is not merely a pedagogical choice but a structural authority that renders indigenous ways of knowing as indiscipline. By restricting primary means of expression, the educational framework inadvertently prioritizes external linguistic standards over the lived realities and cultural heritage of the students.

Critiquing Eurocentric Knowledge Structures in Research

The Vice-Chancellor expanded her critique to the broader global order, noting that knowledge creation is consistently viewed through a Eurocentric lens. She observed that research aligning with Western paradigms is readily accepted, while scholarly work rooted in African realities often faces significant barriers to recognition. Professor Amfo emphasized that authority in the academic world is determined not only by the quality of knowledge produced but by who produces it and where it is published. This dynamic, she argued, forces African scholars into a secondary status where they struggle for legitimacy unless they conform to external academic observers' standards.