The Linguist

32 The Linguist Vol/59 No/6 2020 thelinguist.uberflip.com INSTITUTE MATTERS A life with languages In his native Ewe, Harold Assou-Dodji discusses his trilingual upbringing in Ghana, and the lack of recognition and professional support when working in an African language A s a native Ewe, my childhood education was split between English- speaking Ghana and French- speaking Togo. Trilingualism was therefore part of my family's linguistic identity. But when I joined the University of Ghana as a biological science student, I never considered that my career would be in the language and bilingual communication services sector. In high school I had developed some interest in language and culture, and the link between language and thought. The inspiration to become a bilingual A be Eʋevi dzidzi ene la, nye sukudede le ɖevime ma ɖe dukɔ eve siwo nye Togo kple Ghana la dome. Le esia ta la, gbe etɔ̃ dodo nye nyeƒomea ƒe gbegblɔdzeside. Ke esi mege ɖe Legon yunivɛsitia me abe dzɔdzɔmeŋutinunyasrɔ̃ la ene la, nyemebui kpɔ be mava zu dɔwɔla le gbegbɔgblɔ kple ame siwo zã a gbe eve la dome o. Esime menɔ sekendrisuku dem la, nyemelɔ̃ a ŋu le gbegblɔgblɔ kple dekɔnu kpakple kadodo si le gbegblɔgblɔ kple susuɖeɖe dome la gbɔ o. Ke nusi de dzo lã me nam be mazu Franse kple Iŋlisigbe gɔmeɖelae nye esime woda akɔ nam meva zu yunivɛsiti la ƒe Franse Habɔbɔa ƒe nunɔla. Nublanuitɔe la, esi mebia mɔ be maɖɔli nye nusɔsrɔ̃ ayi ɖe Susuŋutinunya kple Fransegbesɔsrɔ̃ me la, womeda asi ɖe edzi o. Le nye ƒe ɖeka ƒe subɔbɔ na conference interpreting jobs led me into private practice. Translation from/into Ewe (spoken in Ghana, Togo, Benin, and parts of southwest Nigeria) came later. The Ebola pandemic created opportunities for the translation of clinical trial questionnaires into African languages. The challenges of translating into African languages like Ewe seem insurmountable in terms of the gap between Western and African cultures, with a lack of vocabulary for concepts and terminologies in both social and applied sciences. me ŋu la nye nukpekeame aɖe ƒomevi ɖe vovototo si le yevuawo ƒe dekɔnu kple Afrika dekɔnuwo dome la ta, kpe ɖe nyawo ƒe anyimanɔmanɔ na susu kple nyatiwo le hadome nunya kple dzɔdzɔmeŋutinunya me la ŋu. Kuxi bubuwoe nye nyagɔmeɖedɔwo ƒe asì ɖeka dzi manɔmanɔ; dɔnalawo kple dɔwɔhatiwo ƒe ame makpɔmakpɔ ɖe naneke me kple tutuɖo maxɔmaxɔ edziedzi. Akpa si ŋu ko fetu le lae nye dzidzeme kple dzidzɔ ƒe seselelãme si vana nenye be dɔwɔha gãwo kple gbeta dɔwɔhawo abe Xexeme Dukɔwo Katã Ƒe Habɔbɔ ene tsɔ dɔ nam be mawɔ le Anyigbe Sahara Afrika nutowo me. Le nye vovoɣiwo la, mekpɔa dzɔdzɔmeŋutinunya-nyakpakpa ƒe vidiowo eye mexlẽa agbalẽ siwo ku ɖe Afrika nunya goglo kple susu ƒe gbe la ŋu. dukɔa vɔ megbe la, mewɔ dɔ abe Iŋlisigbefiala kple dɔnunɔla ene le suku gã aɖe si le Gɛ dua me la me, kpe ɖe Fransegbefiafia ŋuti. Le ƒe 12 siwo kplɔ esia ɖo me la, mewɔ dɔ le asitsadɔwɔƒe gã aɖe siwo hiã gbe eve sese deto la me le Afrika-Ɣedzeƒe dukɔ siwo doa Fransegbe kple Iŋlisigbe la me. Nyagɔmeɖeɖe ƒe hiahiã siwo vana edziedzi kple gbegɔmeɖedɔ siwo mewɔna le takpekpe veviwo me lae meva zu ɖokuisidɔwɔla. Nyagɔmeɖeɖe tso/yi ɖe Eʋegbe me (si hã wodona le Gana, Tɔgo, Bene, kple Nigeria ƒe Ɣedzeƒe-Anyiehe du aɖewo me) ya va emegbe. Ebola dɔlélé dranyi la na mɔnukpɔkpɔ geɖem be maɖe kɔdzi dodokpɔ biabiawo gɔme ɖe Afrika gbegbɔgblɔwo me. Kuxi siwo ku ɖe nyawo gɔmeɖeɖe ɖe Afrika gbegbɔgblɔwo abe Eʋegbe ene professional (French and English) came when I was elected president of the university's French Club. Sadly, my request to change course to a BSc in Psychology and French was denied. Following national service, I worked as an English teacher and head of department at a prestigious school in Accra, with additional responsibility to teach French. Over the next 12 years, in both French- and English-speaking West Africa, I worked in corporate organisations requiring strong technical writing and bilingual communication skills. Regular requests for translation and Other difficulties include a lack of standardisation in pricing for interpreting and translation contracts; lack of recognition by clients and some colleagues; and lack of continuous professional development. The rewarding part is the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when contracted by big corporate and international organisations, such as the UN, to cover meetings in Sub-Saharan Africa. In my leisure time, I watch science-fiction films and read books on African philosophy and the language of thought.

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