More than 40 indigenous Ghanaian languages are on the verge of going extinct says the Country Director of Engage Now Africa Cecelia Amankwah.
Speaking at an event to mark the 2019 International Literacy Day in Kumasi last week, Mrs. Amankwah did not list the particular languages assessed to be on the path of extinction, but said, “the revitalization of indigenous languages is essential for ensuring the continuation and transmission of culture, customs and history”.
Ghana has about 83 languages of which 40 have been documented but only 11 are recognized in the curricula of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Engage Now Africa, a literacy non-governmental organisation hopes to help promote, protect and project the speaking of indigenous languages.
Meanwhile, it appears the Ministry of Education is worried about the potential extinction, as the Director of Non-Formal Education Division at the Ministry, Francis Asumadu, called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to expand the number of languages recognized in its curricula.
“Where a society’s language is different from the school language, children struggle to become more literate. So the ministry needs to look at the language policy and enhance it for comprehensive and quality education,” he said.
Globally, there are hundreds of indigenous languages disappearing at alarming rates as globalisation imposes few official languages on natives. In Ghana, several middle-class homes have virtually scrapped local mother tongues for English language.
Worldwide, about 2,680 languages are fading. To save the the situation, the United Nations has declared 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Languages to protect speakers of such languages and appreciate their cultural diversity.