Towards a Language-Based Typology of Church Names in Ghana

Over the years, scholars have sought to provide language-based typologies of names, but while attempts have been made for some sub-branches of onomastics such as anthroponymy and toponymy, there is arguably none for ecclesionymy (the study of church names). Consequently, this paper sought to provide a languagebased typology of the hitherto underexplored area of church names. Data of names of churches in Ghana was built for the present study. Adopting content analysis as the analytical approach, the study realized that church names in Ghana are generally homogenous and heterogeneous linguistically. It was also realized that homogenous/unilingual church names involved English only, Akan only and Ewe only. On the other hand, the heterogeneous church names comprised two types: bilingual and trilingual church names, which contained varied language permutations from the three spheres in Osei Yaw Akoto’s classification of languages in Ghana. The paper concludes by making some recommendations for languagein-religion policy in Ghana.


INTRODUCTION
One of the things that have engendered the attention of scholars in the field of onomastics is name typology or taxonomy for surnames, 1 nicknames, 2 place names 3 and names of teams, 4 etc. Typologies in names are provided for convenience, identification, and some kind of ideological labelling. It also reveals crucial information about the naming practices of a particular sociocultural group. 5 These typologies are provided from different names studies. 18 The multi-source method for the collection of the data was necessitated by the absence of a registry or directory for all churches in Ghana. The authors were, therefore, pragmatic in the data collection by adopting a collect-as-you-go approach. As they travelled across the then ten regions (now sixteen) in Ghana, for social, religious and academic purposes, for a ten-year span (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019), they recorded all church names they saw from various sources such as souvenirs, billboards, brochures, etc.
The authors read the data to identify the various languages employed in them, and developed codes for the various languages identified. In all, nine (9) individual languages were identified in the church names. Drawing on Akoto's 19 typology of languages, the authors classified the identified languages into global, local and glocal. The global ones comprise all languages that are not indigenous Ghanaian languages, excluding English which Akoto describes as 'glocal'. It was easy to identify the English and Akan language-medium church names, given their advanced competence in them. For the global languages (i.e. Greek, Latin, Hebrew/ Aramaic, and Yuroba) and the other local languages, different strategies were employed. For the local languages, the authors contacted a lecturer in the Department of Language and Communication Sciences in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana who knows a number of the local languages to guide the authors in identifying the languages employed in the church names. This is in line with Pearce 20 who recounts that this approach is part of the methodology in analyzing multilingual names. On the other hand, for the global languages, there were some expressions which were readily known (e.g. Rhema, Logos) but those not known, Google translate was used to help in identifying the languages. A general Google search was conducted for some of the words in certain cases such as 'Aladura Church'. 'Aladura' is a Yuroba word meaning the praying people or the owners of prayer. 21 After identifying the languages, the authors classified the church names based on the number of languages employed in them. A linguistically homogeneous church name was labelled 'U' for unilingual, while those with two languages were labelled 'B' for Bilingual, and 'T' for trilingual ones. In terms of the degree of multilingualism, the highest church names identified were trilingual.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This section discusses the indispensable issues that came out when data was analyzed.

Classifications of church names
Some church names were found to be linguistically homogeneous and others heterogeneous.These are discussed under unilingual and multilingual church names (ecclesionyms) in the ensuing sections.

Unilingual Ecclesionyms
Unilingual church names are linguistically homogeneous (i.e. comprising one language only). Table 1 shows that three types of this church name-kind were identified in the data: English only, Akan only, and Ewe only -both labelled as mother tongue ecclesionyms. Guihang and Bingjie 22 argue that language choice has commercial, branding, promotional and marketing purposes. Churches that project their identities through linguistic homogeneity seek largely to associate themselves with the wholeness of the chosen languages. The ensuing subsections discuss the two broad identified church names: English only, and mother-tongue (comprising Akan only, and Ewe only).

English-only Ecclesionyms
It is shown in Table 1 Eclipse and Tenedero,23 English's dominance reflects and affirms its increasing impact as the language of globalization, and the Englishization of discourses across the globe. 24 Akoto 25 describes English in Ghana as a glocal language, given its long-standing association with the Ghanaian sociolinguistic and cultural context. Ghanaians generally identified themselves with the English language. In fact, a significant number of Ghanaians have either passive or active knowledge of the English Language. Ghanaians' attitude towards English project it as a linguistic summum bonum, which seems to define an individual by designating an enviable language-oriented ethos to the users. Consequently, English medium church names are likely to attract a larger following given 'glories' and ideologies surrounding it as the language of enlightenment, and development.
Politics has permeated almost all facets of life in Ghana, and language is no exception. The English language serves as a 'social differentiator' 26 in Ghana, in particular, and the globe at large. An all-local language-medium or bilingual church name can be considered ethnocentric thereby engaging in a kind of 'us and them' polarity regarding language use for ecclesionymic references. An all-English medium name is considered a unifying one given its ethnolinguistic neutral status. An English-only name arguably enjoys a greater acceptance across ethnic groups than a mother-tongue medium one. Dseagu 27 contends that English as 'an imperial and colonial language of conquest and domination has been transformed into a national language acceptable and accessible to all sections of the nation and identified with peace, progress and development'. The 'peace, progress and development' transcend the physical to encapsulate the soul and the spirit as well. It is thus important to note that the English language resonates with the 'spirit' of most Ghanaian Christians, especially the teeming youth, rather than their local languages. Consequently, aside from the church names in English, English-medium church services, in recent times, have proliferated in Ghana. In fact, some churches that have "International Worship Center' branches that use only the English language for all their church activities and programmes.

Mother-tongue Ecclesionymy
The data revealed that only two Ghanaian languages were homogeneously employed in church names. And as shown in Table 1 with minimal occurrences (i.e. 0.49%). This is evidence of English's hegemony over the local languages. These languages are Akan and Ewe, hence Akan only and Ewe only church names. The practice of using local languages only in the church is referred to as mother-tongue ecclesionymy. The mother tongue only church names are evidence of the language dynamics in the religio-linguistic landscape in Ghana. It was found that in the mother tongue-medium church names, the names were translated bilingually from English to an Akan/Ewe, and vice versa as in "The True Worshippers' Church (Nokware Asorefo Asore)" and "Apostoiowo Pe Dedefia Habobo (Apostolic Revelation Society)". These were found in the 'official' names of the churches in official communications. The local language-medium church names suggest an evolution of the so-called 'sacred' languages to vernacular languages such as Akan and Ewe for church naming purposes. Similarly, Coluzzi and Kitade 28 also found local languages in the Christian LL in Malaysia, while Pan 29 reported that the English-medium church names in China were translated into Chinese. Sawyer 30 attests the use of local languages in church names became prevalent after the reformation when Protestantism became widespread.
Church names ideologically and theologically define the members in a particularly Christian denomination. 31 Thus, the use of the mother tongue in the church names is crucial as Kuwornu-Adjaottor 32 contends that "a mother-tongue is a repository of indigenous wisdom, knowledge, insight, science, theology and philosophy". The local languages in church names allow Ghanaians to Christine their 'church' based on their own worldviews which are inextricably part of their linguistic heritage. 33 Africans in general and Ghanaians, in particular, have sought to de-westernize Christianity by introducing local flavours in the form of language, and performances such as drumming and dance. 34 The use of the local languages in the church names can, therefore, be regarded as one of the attempts to indigenize Christianity to make the churches resonate with the Ghanaian sociolinguistic and cultural context. 35 The Ghanaian-language-only churches demonstrate an emerging 'protest' against the 'foreign language orthodoxy' in church naming in Ghana. This seeks to empower the local languages in order to increase their functional loads in written ecclesiastical discourses.
Yevudey and Agbozo 36 classify languages in Ghana into ex-colonial, dominant and minority languages. The Ghanaian languages homogeneously employed in the church names are part of the eleven dominant or 'majority' local languages that are taught as subjects and used as a medium of instruction. They are part of the first four dominant local languages. 37 In Ghana, local languages in Christendom are employed largely for sermons, songs, and Bible translation purposes. In terms of ecclesiastical titles such as bishop, pastor, archbishop, cardinal, etc., and naming of Christian facilities and artefacts, the most preferred language had been English. Regarding the naming of churches as organizations, it has been perceived to be the preserve of the English Language. To find local language only church names in Ghana appears to be an evolving phenomenon. It can thus be described as a kind of linguistic diffusion. 38 where one observes the use of local languages moving from the 'domains' of higher usage (such as face-to-face conversation) to the hitherto occluded domains such as church naming. Moreover, it can be argued that the rights of the local languages are beginning to be recognized for ecclesionymic purposes. The authors were thus convinced that the local languages with their socio-naturalistic powers, and persuasive force can be adopted for church naming and may even serve greater purposes more than what the church namers anticipated.
In the Ghanaian linguistic landscape in the 21st century, the mediatization of the local languages has increased their competitiveness in the business, entertainment, and most importantly the religious sector. 39 This emerging reality largely challenges the Matthew effect phenomenon applied in sociolinguistic studies, which supports the widening of the gap in favour of the dominant language. 40 Consequently, the use of the local languages in church names suggests that the local languages are gradually narrowing the gap of English coverage in Ghana.
Historically, the English language enjoyed some kind of monopoly in the naming of churches in the early days of the introduction of Christianity in Ghana. 41 However, this monopoly is gradually being challenged as the local languages, although representing just 0.49, are beginning to share this discourse responsibility/ right with the English language. The emergence of mother tongue-medium church names may be attributed to the lack of proficiency in English on the part of the founders of the churches. However, this view can be quickly refuted such that some founders of some megachurches in Ghana who are known to have little or no formal education have English-medium church names. Again, it is known that in some cases the name of the churches did not originate from the founders. For example, "The Church of Pentecost" is recorded to have had its name through prophecy by one Apostle George Alfonso Woode. 42 Moreover, the local languages are chosen largely to give ethnolinguistic flavour to such churches to make them appealing to the local speech communities. In this regard, members may have a natural flair of owning such churches given that they are named in their own languages.
It may, therefore, be argued that proselytizing or evangelizing may be facilitated or enhanced through "familiar language." 43 Arguably, the local language-medium church names may have greater recognition and acceptance by the teeming uneducated population than the English-medium named churches. This may even explain the existence of English-to-local language church names, a 'nativizing' strategy believed to increase the local folks' acceptance of the church. The use of the local languages in the church names may even have some doctrinal and theological implications, as Kuwornu-Adjaottor contends: "A mother-tongue is a repository of indigenous wisdom, knowledge, insight, science, theology and philosophy". 44 It may be used for socio-rhetorical purposes to persuade the communities that the God of our church speaks your language, and that He is not an "unknown God" (See Acts 17: 23 of the King James Version of the Bible). 45 On the other hand, even if the Christian God remains unknown to the people, communicating discourses on and about him such as church name in the local languages seems to draw Him closer to the people, in a kind of maxim, the unknown God in a known language. Just as some scholars are advocating mother tongue-medium education 46 and hermeneutics in Ghana, the 'owners' or names of such churches are also probably arguing for mothertongue ecclesionymy in order to meet the religio-linguistic needs of the people. 47 Nonetheless, the mother tongue-medium ecclesionyms may suffer some disadvantages. One, there may be some ethnic sentiments associated with the languages as some people unwilling to cede their ethnolinguistic rights may decide not to accept and welcome such churches. This view is echoed by Dseagu: 48 "Akan could have been officially used as a common language but for the fact that, it being the language of the Asante, speakers of the other languages would resent what they would have perceived as a modern version of the age-old Asante domination". Besides, the use of the local language may also be a barrier to the global spread of the church since the other nationals may not understand the adopted languages in the names of the churches. It is likely that such churches may adopt a global language when they begin to operate beyond the shores of Ghana.

Multilingual church names
Multilingualism in linguistic landscape research can be described as translational or non-translational, which may correspond with code-switching and code mixing. 49 The two forms correlate with the principles: same message, different languages, and different messages, different languages respectively. There were six instances of translational multilingualism, where the church names were translated from either a local language to English as in "Apostoiowo Pe Dedefia Habobo (Apostolic Revelation Society)", or from English to a local language such as "The True Worshippers' Church (Nokware Asorefo Asore)". However, in the non-translational type, different languages are mixed in the church names as in "Aseda Baptist Church", and "Phanerosis Prayer Network International". The first contains Akan and English, while the second has Greek and English. In this paper, the focus is on non-translational multilingualism, which involves bilingual and trilingual ecclesionyms (church names).

Bilingual Ecclesionyms
One subtype of multilingual church names is the bilingual type, which involves two languages. As shown in Table 2, the bilingual church names have different language combinatorics -as many as eight (8). Hebrew-Akan 1 0.7

TOTAL 130
Drawing on Akoto's classification of languages into global, glocal and local, the authors subcategorized the bilingual church names into global-local (e.g. Hebrew-Akan); glocal-local (e.g. English-Ga), global-glocal (Greek-English). No church name was found with global-global and local-local language blends. On the former, given that the identified global languages in the church names are not spoken in Ghana, a blend of the two will reduce the degree of its attractiveness since people may struggle to understand the 'logos' and the 'rhema' of such church names. Regarding the local-local, it is difficult for reasons to be adduced for its  49 Obeng. An analysis of the linguistic situation in Ghana. 63-81. absence given that such blends are common in Christian songs in Ghana.
The mixed churches particularly those with local language-present probably seek to establish dual identities as churches of Ghana and the world. 50 These linguistically heterogeneous church names position themselves in the worlds of the blended languages. In addition, such churches concurrently associate themselves with the glories (past and present), ideologies, and even theologies associated with the employed languages. The degree of local presence in a glocal-local ecclesionym is greater than the global-local ones. In the glocallocal, the 'localness' is felt twice (i.e. in the English and the Ghanaian indigenous languages employed). For example, the church "Apam Prayer Camp" which contains English and Akan can be said to have a higher degree of Ghanaian flavor than "Adonai Daada Kwasiada Awurade Kasa Mpaebo" which contains Hebrew (i.e. Adonai), which is a language unknown to most Ghanaians, and Akan (i.e. Daada Kwasiada Awurade Kasa Mpaebo).

Trilingual Ecclesionyms
The second subtype of multilingual church names involves three languages, hence trilingual church names. Under this subtype, the authors identify only two different language permutations, as shown in Table 3. Hebrew + Ga + English 1 33.33 TOTAL 3 In these churches, there are languages that represent the three spheres in Akoto's 51 model. In the Akan + Hebrew + English church name, Akan, Hebrew and English are adopted from the local, global and glocal spheres respectively. These churches arguably can be said to promote the pluralist, rather than exclusivist or inclusivist, view on language choice. More so, they can be said to align themselves towards a kind of linguistic utilitarianism whereby choices are made to ensure representativeness. The trilingual-ecclesionymic churches relatively support linguistic democracy and rights than the unilingual and bilingual ones. At least, based on the languages selected in the names, the churches present themselves as "all-languages and people" churches, resonating Revelation 7: 9 (NIV): After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands (emphasis mine).
The church namers probably seek to combine the characteristics in terms of past, present and future of the languages in order to present a church 'self' positioned in the global, glocal and the local spheres. Such church names may arguably appeal to a greater number of people from varied ethnolinguistic backgrounds. For example, the church name "Bethel Kwabenyo Prayer Ministry" has "Bethel" from Hebrew, "Kwabenyo" from Ga and "Prayer Ministry" from English. Arguably, all the languages are represented in the name, and thus the people of such languages may find themselves linguistically represented. The churches thus enact trilingual identities largely associated with the glories of the chosen languages. Seeman asserts that "identity, though complex, can be encoded in a name" through, among other things, the language source of the name. 52 In these names, the churches construct global, glocal and glocal identities 53 . Multiple languages in cases like these are employed as mobilization strategies in order to increase one's acceptance in the communities where the chosen languages are used. 54

RECOMMENDATION
Several countries across the globe are advocating Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MTE), which of course does not account for the naming of the religious institutions. Based on this course, the following recommendations are made below.
1. A more nuanced policy can be enacted in religion for the local languages to be employed in naming religious institutions. This law may advocate for what the authors termed translational, or nontranslational forms, whereby the church name in English may officially have its local language version, or the English language and the local languages may be mixed respectively. 2. Further studies may adopt an ethnographically-oriented approach where church 'namers' may be interviewed to ascertain why they chose the languages in their church names.

CONCLUSION
The study showed that the church names in Ghana are broadly homogeneous and heterogeneous linguistically, which are termed unilingual and multilingual respectively. The unilingual church name type involved glocal language (i.e. English) and local language (i.e. mother tongue ecclesionyms). 55 The mother tongue ecclesionym reveals the extent to which the local linguistic 'flavour' has been introduced into the naming practices of churches in the Ghanaian Christendom. Akan and Ewe were the two mother tongues identified to be homogenously employed in the naming of churches in Ghana. Unsurprisingly, Akan is considered the local lingua franca, hence, lingua ecclesia, in Ghana such that it appears that the language seems to travel with Christianity. For example, The Church of Pentecost, the leading Christian denomination in Ghana has over a thousand full time ministers. 56 These ministers, although come from varied ethnolinguistic backgrounds, have active knowledge in Akan. It appears that one's competence in Akan is one of the criteria for 'calling' people into full time ministry in the church. On the other hand, the fact that Ewe is considered among the four dominant languages in Ghana also justified its homogeneous use in church names. Aside from the unilingual church names, the research also identified bilingual and trilingual ones. The multilingual church names had different language combinatorics as shown in Table 2. Drawing on Akoto's 57 typology of languages Ghana, it was discovered that there were global-local language, glocal-local language, global-glocal language permutations. These language permutations project multiple identities of the church and further reveal the language-based ideologies of such Christian denominations or bodies. The findings support the intertwined relations between language and religion in general, and Christianity in particular. In addition, in recent times people have explored the role of mother tongues in biblical studies, specifically biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. 58 The paper has shown that an occluded branch of ecclesiology, which is ecclesionymy, the naming of churches, is also an area for inclusion of mother tongues in church related discourses. Finally, the finding regarding the dominance of English in the church names suggests the need for government to enact laws to regulate language-in-religion, as done in education across the globe.