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
| 55 
shared by members of the Leteh community represent Myers-Scotton’s rights-and-
obligations sets. Johnson’s set of rules (1975) for predicting language choice were also 
applied to the data where relevant. This study has shown that in addition to factors of 
language choice documented in the literature, national language policies play significant 
roles in determining language spoken in some speech domains.
In the educational domain, it was found out that the teachers’ choice of both 
English and Twi in teaching Primary 1 is largely dictated by the Ministry of Education’s 
policy on language. On the part of pupils, their proficiency level in either of the two 
languages governed their language choice during classroom interactions. The RO set in 
the educational domain, therefore, accounts for language choices. Language choice in the 
domain of tradition, for example at funerals, was based on the linguistic repertoire of 
addressees. A combination of marked and unmarked choices was observed. Accordingly, 
it came out that all the three major languages: Leteh, Akuapem Twi, and English were 
employed during funeral activities.
Finally, in the religious domain, whereas Akuapem Twi was the unmarked choice 
in the orthodox churches, it was regarded as the marked choice in the Pentecostal 
Churches. In the Pentecostal Church, the history of its establishment was such that 
English was accepted as the unmarked language choice. Church services were also 
characterized by English/Akuapem Twi codeswitching. Language choice in the Orthodox 
churches was largely governed by the type of domain, whereas in the Pentecostal Church, 
it was a combination of factors. 
The functional distribution of the three languages: Leteh, Twi, and English as 
reported by earlier researches, Brokensha (1966); Johnson (1973, 1975), has changed 
with regard to the use of English. In the educational domain for instance, English is 
combined with Twi as languages of instruction as directed by the language policy on 
education at the basic level. Again, the use of English at traditional ceremonies, such as 
funerals, is also noteworthy. This is contrary to Johnson’s report (1973, p. 122) that Leteh 
is the principal language at traditional ceremonies. Similarly, with the founding of 
Pentecostal churches, English has been introduced as a key language in the Christian 
religious domain. The introduction of English in some domains, as well as the 
comparative increase of its use may be accounted for by a corresponding growth in 
education in the Larteh community. 
In conclusion, I make the following assertions: 
i.
Social change in Larteh over the past three decades has influenced 
factors that dictate language choice. 
ii.
Domains where English is used have increased to the detriment of 
Leteh, thus posing threats of endangerment.