Assistant Professor Christopher Green is providing a unique spring semester course to students interested in exploring the linguistic makeup of a major language of Ghana, with the help of a native speaker.

The best way to learn the intricacies of a foreign language is through the words of a native speaker. Assistant Professor Christopher Green is making that happen for students who want to explore a particular African language in his spring semester course, “Field Methods in Linguistics.”

Green will be assisted by Maxwell School alumnus Andy Semabia G’10, a native speaker of Ewe, a major language of Ghana, who will be a language consultant and participate in each class—a unique opportunity for students.

“The main idea is to give students some exposure to something outside of their comfort zone. This will open students’ eyes to a completely different language family, and the culture that goes along with it,” Green says. “We learn a lot about culture through language and how people express different topics. It’s not often you get to sit with a native speaker to ask questions about a language you’ve never heard of before.”  Read more...