Prof Kwofie: Father of French Linguistics in Nigeria

For almost 42 years, Emmanuel Nwiah Kwofie, Ph.D, a Professor of French, has bestridden the academic landscape like a colossus, charting pathways of excellence, expanding the frontiers of knowledge and raising as well as mentoring great academics across the globe.

Popularly referred to as father of French Linguistics in Nigeria, Kwofie has been a Professor for 28 years. As a pathfinder, he has scored many firsts in his field. Apart from being the first Professor of French in Covenant University, where he currently teaches, he was also a pioneer Professor of French at the Central University College, Ghana and the first African Professor of French at the University of Lagos, Akoka, where he has remained a major reference point each time the history of the Department of Modern European Languages of that University is being told.

As a matter of fact, his contributions to the development of French language teaching and learning in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. Besides his numerous articles on French language/linguistics, Prof Kwofie has positively touched the lives of many Nigerians. In other words, many professors of French, seasoned administrators and many other people in various walks of life in Nigeria today must have in one way or the other passed through the hands of Professor Kwofie, who became a citizen of the country in 2001 through naturalization

Educational Background
Born on the 16th November 1939 in Atuabo, Southern Ghana, Prof. Kwofie obtained a B.A. French degree with Second Class Upper Honours in 1965 from the University of Ghana, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Linguistics of the same institution in 1966. He attained the M.Phil degree of the University of York in 1968 (conferred in July 1969) as a University of Ghana Scholar, the M.A. degree of Indiana University in 1974 while an Associate Instructor there and a Doctorate degree (Doctorat es Lettres) of Laval University, Quebec, Canada in 1975.

Journey to the Academic Promised Land
Prof. Kwofie started his teaching career as a First Graduate Teaching Assistant in Linguistics at the University of Ghana in October 1965. On 3rd October 1969, he was appointed at the University of Lagos as a Lecturer 11. Since that time, he has been teaching, in key aspects of French language and linguistics (i.e. synchronic, diachronic and applied), stylistics and socio-linguistics at different levels of the undergraduate curriculum. Prof. Kwofie did not limit his teaching to French language and linguistics; he also showed creditable performance in the teaching of literature in French. Between 1969 and 1972 and between 1975 and 1976, he taught aspects of French literature at the undergraduate level with emphasis on the 20th Century French "special authors" like Malraux and Sartre. He also taught, within this period, African French novels.

Professor Kwofie, a renowned and acknowledged academic, has been a visiting Professor to many institutions both within and outside Nigeria. He was an Associate Instructor in French, Department of French and Italian at the Indiana University Bloomington, USA, between August 1972 and December 1973. Between 1974 and 1975, Prof. Kwofie was a Research Associate, Teaching Associate and Lecturer, respectively, at the departement de langues et de linguistique, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.

Before becoming the first Professor of French Linguistics in Nigeria and the first African Professor in the Department of European Languages in 1980, Kwofie was already a visiting professor in the Graduate Department of French at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he taught the linguistics and sociolinguistics of French in Africa to M.A. and Ph.D. students from June to August 1977. He later taught at the University of Benin, Benin City in Nigeria, as a Senior Associate Lecturer of French translation at the M.A. level in the Department of Foreign Languages of the University. After becoming a full professor of French Linguistics at the University of Lagos, Professor Kwofie taught again at the University of Benin, Benin City, as a visiting Professor, in the Department of Foreign Languages from March 1991 to February 1992. Here he taught the M.A. French Translation programme, Documentation and Terminological Research; Critical Appreciation of Literary Translation; Applied French phonetics, Advanced Translation, French Grammatical structures and Oral and Written comprehension. From the forgoing, it is very clear that Professor Kwofie is not only a professor of French linguistics but also a good master of all other aspects of French. In actual fact, he could be qualified as an "all-rounder" professor of French.

A professor of high repute and of international acclaim, Professor Kwofie was, between November 2002 and September 2003, appointed visiting professor in the Department of French at the University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana, where he taught linguistics courses at the BA level and applied linguistics, general linguistics and socio-linguistics at the M.Phil level.

Professor Kwofie has undertaken a lot of academic research in many areas at various times since 1966, on the structure, teaching, use and varieties of both written and spoken French in (West) Africa and France. Such research has provided the basic material for most of his published books and monographs. Apart from his nine highly academically researched books, Professor Kwofie still has to his credit almost two scores of journal articles in both local and international journals of high repute. These publications cover various aspects of French language, which include linguistic typology, French language teaching and varieties of French language in Africa and France.

Professor Kwofie does not limit himself in his research and publications to problems of varieties of French language. As the father of French linguistics in Nigeria, he also has articles that focus on morpho-syntax.

Professor Kwofie retired from the University of Lagos in November 2004 after 35 years of meritorious service. Before joining the faculty of Covenant University on January 3, 2007, he lectured briefly at the Central University College, Accra, Ghana and assisted the institution to obtain accreditation for its Faculty of Art.

He sees his coming to CU as a privilege to help contribute to the actualization of the University’s great vision of ‘restoring the dignity of the black man’ as handed over to its Chancellor, Dr David Oyedepo, whom he considers as a rare pan-Africanist in the mode of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. “The Chancellor is trying to renew the personality of Africans but with spiritual dimension which was lacking in the other perspectives that talked about intellectual and political dignity of the Blackman.”

Prof Kwofie, who was born into a royal family, does not parade himself as a prince because “it is not germane to academics.” However, he enjoys deep spiritual connection with God whom he remains grateful to for the unusual strength and privilege in contributing, even at the age of 68, to the development of humanity.

He is happily married to Mrs. Grace Kwofie (nee Unwah) and they are blessed with godly children.