Christal Perdison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages, Literatures and Linguistics from the University of British Columbia. During her MA studies, she worked as a teaching assistant for OLBI’s Centre for Language Learning (CLL) English Intensive Program (EIP).
Research project abstract | Language Hierarchies, Plurilingualism and Translanguaging in Ghana: Moving Beyond Classical Diglossia
This study examines multilingual language practices and perceptions of linguistic prestige in Ghana, focusing on how language hierarchies are constructed, maintained and negotiated across social, educational and professional contexts.
Ghana’s linguistic landscape reflects a complex hierarchy in which English holds the highest institutional prestige, while Ghanaian Pidgin English and more than 80 indigenous languages, including Akan, Ga and Ewe, occupy less dominant yet socially and culturally significant roles.
Rooted in colonial legacies and reinforced through education policy and broader sociopolitical structures, these hierarchies have traditionally been analyzed through classical diglossic frameworks that position English as a “high” language and local languages as “low.” However, such binary perspectives often fail to capture the fluid and dynamic multilingual practices of contemporary Ghanaian speakers.
Drawing on sociolinguistic frameworks of diglossia, translanguaging and plurilingualism, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach consisting of 40 questionnaire responses and 10 semi-structured followup interviews with Ghanaian multilingual speakers.
Research origins
When Christal started her Master’s, her goal was to further her academic career and passion for languages in an interdisciplinary program that advanced her understanding of bilingualism and second language acquisition. She chose the course-based option because she felt it provided a structured pathway to practical expertise in applied linguistics and second language pedagogy, which would allow her to transition smoothly into the workforce.
Her research project was born from a class project where she conducted a mini research study. Christal is from Ghana and she found the framework used to research languages in Ghana was outdated. Professor Nikolay Slavkov encouraged her to pursue this work and submit the study for a conference.
After she presented her research at the Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy and Planning LPP Conference in Ottawa June 18, she first thought about doing a doctorate, to become a professor and continue with her research.
As for working with Slavkov (with whom she presented in June), Christal says, “It’s the best. He’s so patient with me and detailed in the feedback he gives me, so responsive and very encouraging.”