Samuel Gyasi Obeng : Faculty: About: Department of Linguistics: Indiana University Bloomington

Home
About
Faculty
Samuel Gyasi Obeng

Samuel Gyasi Obeng

Distinguished Professor, Linguistics

Adjunct Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Adjunct Professor, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures

Affiliate Professor, African Studies Program

Affiliate Professor, Hutton Honors College

Affiliate Professor, Islamic Studies Program

sobeng@indiana.edu
Office Hours
M-F
By Appointment Only

Education

Ph.D., University of York (UK), 1988

Research interests

Discourse-Pragmatics
Conversational Phonetics, Firthian Prosodic Phonology
African Linguistics (especially, endangered languages), Multilingualism and Language Contact.

About Samuel Obeng

I work on conversational phonetics with particular attention to showing how conversation analytic methodology informs and reshapes our understanding of the functioning of phonetic detail and phonetic variation in African languages. I also work on discourse-pragmatics and endangered African languages. My work on onomasiology draws on names from multiple African languages and cultures to demonstrate that African names inform us about the functioning of names in unearthing name-givers' experiences, their philosophies about life, contact with other races and ethnicities, geographic environment (climate, landforms, rivers, vegetations), history, politics and other human phenomena in their ecology. My latest research is on language and liberty which examines the linguistic and discursive strategies through which powerless actors demonstrate resistive practice to speak back candidly, and passionately criticize power and request liberty. I enjoy storytelling, political satire, poetry and music (percussionist), and have performed with different musical groups the last being Afro-Hoosier Intl.

Recreations

Fishing (I love this but I am not so good at it)
Drumming
Singing
Playing the Horn
Photography (especially taking pictures of unique plants, birds, animals other than wild cats, and normal people going about their regular businesses in rural Africa.)
Animal watch(ing), especially watching primates monkeying around.
Eating corn on the cob (sometimes to the irritation of others)
Watching Documentaries on the Environment (especially on animals) and World History

Academic and Professional Qualifications

These are grouped into 2— (i) Academic Qualifications; and (ii) Professional Pedagogical Training/Qualifications.

Academic Qualifications with dates

Post-Doctoral Research Scholar in Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles 1993
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Language and Linguistics Science (with specialization in Phonetics-Phonology, Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis), University of York, UK, 1988
Bachelor of Arts with Honors (B.A. Hons), Linguistics with a Minor in Swahili, University of Ghana, Legon-Ghana, 1981
Advanced Level Certificate, Winneba Secondary School, 1978
Ordinary Level Certificate, Asuom Secondary School, 1976

Professional Qualifications with dates
(Professional Language Proficiency/Examiner Training)

Standards Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP), NALRC, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, 2007
Modified Oral Proficiency Interview Training [American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (MOPI–ACTFL)]. Indiana University, 2007
Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Training (OPI–ACTFL)]. NALRC, Indiana University, 2007
Training & Orientation, Chief Examiner of Ghanaian Language (Akan). West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Ghana, Summer 1989-1994
Training and Orientation, Assistant Examiner of English Language. Royal Society of Arts (RSA, London-WAEC, Ghana Division), Summer 1983
Training and Orientation, Assistant Examiner of English Language, WAEC, Ghana, Summer 1982-84

Department of Linguistics