Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne is a retired professor of Linguistics.

Prof. Dolphyne served the University of Ghana for 36 years after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Ghana in 1958 and a PhD in Phonetics and Linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1965. From a lecturer in the department of Linguistics, she rose through the ranks to become the Head of Department and later the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, currently known as the School of Arts. She was later promoted to the status of a Professor in Linguistics and advanced to become the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University. She taught at the University in the Department of Linguistics from 1965 to 2001.

In 2004, she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University. She was also a member of the University of Ghana Council. She has served on many boards and societies in Ghana.

She has published several books, including The Akan (Twi-Fante) language: Its Sound Systems and Tonal Structure, A Course in Oral English and the accompanying Teachers’ Handbook, and the best-selling Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective.

  • Special Book Launch Set: Autographed Hardcover of From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor (plus paperback and Emancipation book)

    This is a special launch set – limited – that includes an autographed copy of the hardcover of Prof Florence Dolphyne’s new autobiography, a paperback version of the autobiography and a copy of her best-selling book The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective.

    Blurb for the Autobiography

    An autobiography serves the purpose of relating experiences of the writer. These are usually personal experiences and readers can draw inspiration from such experiences.

    This is a book written by a renowned academician, but unlike many books written by academics, it reads like a story written by an accomplished novelist. It tells the story of a girl of very humble parentage who was able, by dint of hard work and divine providence, to make it to the very apex of academia. It is a book that tells the story of ‘Mmofraturo’, synonymous with the training of girls to influence their world before the advent of militant feminism. It is a story that gives another peep at the practice of racism in Europe.

    But then, it is also the book that confirms the subtle discrimination that women are often subjected to in our education system, even at the highest level.

    Moreover, it is a story that tells the history of the practice of education in Ghana over a number of decades. Then, the writer draws us into the age-old issue of family life, foster children, biological children, and the Ghanaian family set up.

    From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor is a book about friendship and love that tells the story of women, individually and in groups trying to help make others enjoy the life of work and leisure. Furthermore, this book gives a hint that speaking one’s first language can be the source of the survival of an individual in certain critical situations.

    This inspiring story is also a personal history of Ghana from pre-independence by someone who has helped to shape Ghana’s education system, women’s rights during the UN Decade for Women, and human rights through Ghana’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is a story of a phenomenal woman who has made Ghana and Achinakrom proud.

  • From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor: Autobiography of Florence Abena Dolphyne

    An autobiography serves the purpose of relating experiences of the writer. These are usually personal experiences and readers can draw inspiration from such experiences.

    This is a book written by a renowned academician, but unlike many books written by academics, it reads like a story written by an accomplished novelist. It tells the story of a girl of very humble parentage who was able, by dint of hard work and divine providence, to make it to the very apex of academia. It is a book that tells the story of ‘Mmofraturo’, synonymous with the training of girls to influence their world before the advent of militant feminism. It is a story that gives another peep at the practice of racism in Europe.

    But then, it is also the book that confirms the subtle discrimination that women are often subjected to in our education system, even at the highest level.

    Moreover, it is a story that teils the history of the practice of education in Ghana over a number of decades. Then, the writer draws us into the age-old issue of family life, foster children, biological children, and the Ghanaian family set up.

    From Achinakrom to Pro-Vice Chancellor is a book about friendship and love that tells the story of women, individually and in groups trying to help make others enjoy the life of work and leisure. Furthermore, this book gives a hint that speaking one’s first language can be the source of the survival of an individual in certain critical situations.

    This inspiring story is also a personal history of Ghana from pre-independence by someone who has helped to shape Ghana’s education system, women’s rights during the UN Decade for Women, and human rights through Ghana’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is a story of a phenomenal woman who has made Ghana and Achinakrom proud.

    70.00100.00
  • A Comprehensive Course in Twi (Asante)

    Asante Twi is the most widely spoken of the dialects of the Akan language. Akan is spoken by about 44 percent of Ghana’s population as a first language, and is also used as a second language by a large number of the remainder. This book is meant to introduce a non-Twi beginner to the spoken language.

    It may also be used by those who have some knowledge of the language, but who want to improve their competence in it, and also has a considerable English-Twi vocabulary. The main focus of this course is the spoken language, and every effort has been made to ensure that the dialogues are as natural and as close to current everyday usage as possible.

    This book is a must not only for anyone who wants to relate to people in Ghana whether he or she is on a short or an extended visit, but also for other Ghanaians who are interested in the Twi language or require a working knowledge in the language.

    Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne taught in the Department of Linguistics in the University of Ghana from 1965-2001. She has published several books, including The Akan (Twi-Fante) language: Its Sound Systems and Tonal Structure, A Course in Oral English and the accompanying Teachers’ Handbook, and the best-selling Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective.

  • The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective

    Ever since International Women’s Year in 1975 highlighted the issue of the equality of men and women, various studies have shown that, to a large extent, women the world over suffer similar types of discrimination within the family structure, in employment, in education and access to professional training etc. However, given the differences in the societal, educational and especially, the cultural background of women in different parts of the world, it is inevitable that there will be differences in women’s perception of what emancipation means to them.

    In this book, Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne of the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon, and a former Chairman of the Ghana National Council on Women and Development, explains, from her experience in Ghana and in different parts of Africa during the UN Decade for Women, what she believes  women’s emancipation means to women in Africa. It certainly involves more fundamental issues than the question of who cooks the dinner or changes the baby. Professor Dolphyne discusses a number of pertinent issues such as traditional beliefs and practices that still keep women under subjugation, specific women in development activities that help to achieve appreciable levels of emancipation and the role of governmental, non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations in the process of women’s emancipation in Africa.

    Written in a very simple and lucid language, the book will certainly be useful for those who are interested in issues that affect women, especially Third World women. Indeed, it is a book for everybody, both men and women.

  • Proceedings of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences & The J.B. Danquah Memorial Lecture, Series 4 (Volume IX, 1971)

    Proceedings, 1971. This issue contains the third series of the J.B. Danquah Memorial Lectures delivered by Kwabena Bentsi-Enchill in 1971.

    Contents

    Address by Hon. Mr. J. Kwesi Lamptey, Minister of Defence and Acting Prime Minister, on the Eleventh Anniversary Dinner of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences held on 21st November 1970

    Address by Mr Justice Nii Amaa Ollennu, President of the Academy, at the Eleventh Anniversary Dinner of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences held on 21st November 1970

    Institutional Challenges of our Time (4th J.B. Danquah Memorial Lectures) – Kwabena Bentsi-Enchill

    Legal Education and National Development – Nii Amaa Ollennu

    Some Aspects of Religious Change in Africa – C.G. Baeta

    The Role of Mass Communication in the Formation of Public Opinion – C.E. Fiscian

    Radio and T.V. in National Development – K.B. Dickson

    Computers and the Future of Man – N.R. Smith

    The Ghanaian Woman’s Role in Public Life – Gloria Nikoi

    Problems of Social Status and Education for the Ghanaian Woman – Susan de Graft-Johnson

    The Ghanaian Woman’s Responsibilities in the Home – Florence A. Dolphyne

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