Legon Journal of the Humanities, 25

Ansah, A. M./ Legon Journal of the Humanities 25 (2014) 37-57 

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Legon Journal of the Humanities, 25 
(2014)
P a g e
| 52 
benediction in Twi. After the church service, interactions among the congregants were in 
both Leteh and Twi. 
Language choice in the orthodox churches may be accounted for by their history. 
In the case of the Presbyterian Church for instance, the Basel Mission which introduced 
Christianity in Larteh had as its basic policy concerning missionary work, the utilization 
of Ghanaian languages. Missionary work started at Akropong-Akuapem; Akuapem Twi 
was therefore adopted as the literary standard for use in the churches where Twi is spoken. 
Other factors accounting for the predominant use of Twi over Leteh in the church are that 
many Christian ministers who are posted to Larteh to head the orthodox churches are non-
Larterians. In addition, all Christian materials are printed in Twi and English, and none 
in Leteh. It was, however, gathered that whenever the chief of the town attended church 
service, and he was given an opportunity to address the congregation, he spoke Leteh. 
Language choice in the orthodox churches, typified by the Presbyterian and 
Catholic churches, is governed by factors like domain-type and occasionally by the 
linguistic repertoire of speech participants. In the first place, the unmarked choice was 
Twi, because it is the language of the Christian religion in Larteh and the surrounding 
Akuapem towns in Ghana. Secondly, the varied repertoire represented during special 
services, such as a funeral service, required the use of English in addition to Twi. The 
recourse to English, an unmarked choice, is therefore said to carry additional meaning. 
Finally, the choice of Leteh over Twi by traditional leaders who visited the church 
occasionally may be described as figurative. By using Leteh, a marked choice, the chief 
built solidarity with his subjects. Johnson’s rules on situation, linguistic repertoire and 
metaphoric are applicable to language choice in the orthodox churches in Larteh.
Language choice in the Pentecostal churches was quite different. The following 
are field notes taken at the Lighthouse Chapel International Church branch at Larteh on 
February 5, 2012. The church service began with a prayer led by the Assistant Pastor. The 
Assistant Pastor whose first language is Ewe used English. During the prayer time, 
members prayed mostly in English. This was followed by a period of singing. The songs 
were in Twi. The song leader did English-Twi codeswitching to urge the congregants to 
sing and praise God. Congregants were heard praying in both English and Twi. When it 
was time for church members to share testimonies of God’s intervention in their lives, 
they used Twi with a few English phrases such as “Praise the Lord”; “My sister 
encouraged us; everybody encouraged us.” Although the two speakers were Larterians, 
they spoke Twi mainly. The sermon was characterized by Twi-English codeswitching 
(Figure 6). Both the Twi and English bibles were read. The Senior Pastor welcomed 
visitors using Twi and English. At the close of the church service, members recited a 
prayer (grace- a scriptural verse which has been memorized by members) to one another 
in English whilst they shook hands.