In Memoriam: Emerita Professor Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu

Abstract

IN MEMORIAM:

EMERITA PROFESSOR MARY ESTHER KROPP DAKUBU

Emerita Professor Mary Esther Kropp Dabuku (1938—2016) earned her PhD in West African Languages from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, in 1968. In 1964 she was appointed a Research Fellow in the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. She was promoted to the rank of Senior Research Fellow in 1972, Associate Professor in 1982, and Full Professor in 1987. In July 2010, the University of Ghana appointed her Emerita Professor in recognition of her continued scholarship even in retirement. Throughout her active working life she held visiting positions in many universities across the world.

In a career spanning nearly fifty years spent in the service of the University of Ghana, Prof. Dakubu was committed to the analytical study of Ghanaian languages, specifically Ga/Dangme and Gurene. Her contribution to the study of these languages, as reflected in her research publications, has been immense.

Prof. Dakubu dedicated her life to training younger linguists. Some of the people she trained as graduate students are currently holding academic positions in various universities in Ghana and elsewhere.

She was a very active member of the West African Linguistics Society, the then Linguistics Circle of Accra, and the Linguistics Association of Ghana.

In addition to her scholarship, she provided academic leadership in various contexts, especially during her tenure as the Director of the Language Centre at the University of Ghana. For many years, she served as the editor of the Research Review published by the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. From 2011 to 2016, she was the Editor-In-Chief of the Ghana Journal of Linguistics. She also co-edited the six volume series Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin published by the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana.

Prof. Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu passed away on November 17, 2016, in Boston, MA, USA, after a short illness. The Linguistics communities in Ghana and West Africa generally have lost a brilliant academic and a dependable colleague. May she rest in peace.

Prof. E. Kweku Osam

Consulting Editor, GJL