Episode #4: Kareen Phanos

Kareen Phanos, originally from Ghana, is pursuing a Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics at Arizona State University, where she has been since 2022. She is a speaker of six languages: Fante, Twi, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Her research interests include sociolinguistics and natural language processing. Outside of school, Kareen likes to travel and engage in photography. In this episode, we talk discuss the linguistic landscape of Ghana. Specifically, we discuss pidgin English in Ghana, its situatedness in society, and how it evolves over time. Kareen describes how she became interested in learning Spanish and eventually pursued simultaneous undergraduate degrees in French and Spanish, which led to her studying abroad in Cuba. We then discuss a nonprofit organization of which Kareen is a co-founder, ConnectED Ghana. Consider following ConnectED Ghana on Instagram @connected.gh © Hunter Langenhorst, creator of The Language & Life Podcast. All rights reserved. Episodes, audio recordings, original music, and artwork are protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited without written permission.