Twi: Subject |The State of Ghanaian Languages

A visit to our bookshelf reveals how we cherish the local languages studied as elective subjects that were almost shadowed out of the system in 2024. Yet the study of Ghanaian Language at all levels of our education systems seems very alarming. This article discusses true nature of the situation and its far-reaching effects. The rationale behind suppression of the Ghanaian Languages are thoroughly discussed.

The situation is convincingly a premeditated approach to annihilate our God given languages. Basic schools that form the foundation of our education system predominantly promotes foreign languages at the expense of our own. Many of these schools put posts at their premises that instruct learners to speak foreign languages rather than their own. Those who act contrary to such instructions are invariably subjected to sorts of punishments. Management of such schools and the educational stakeholders as a whole do this to demoralize a learner in order not to promote whatever is of Africa.  This, empirically demonstrates their eternal love to abolish our own.

The government agency in charge of curriculum development, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), gives another better picture of the situation. It emphatically states irrelevance of the Ghanaian Languages.  They have done so by writing the entire curriculum of the Ghanaian Languages in a foreign language. However, that for the foreign languages are written in same language not in another foreign language. Thus, one needs not to be a soothsayer to predict their motives. It is evident that if stakeholders could not develop their basic channel of communication, how successfully could they develop other God given resources? 

It sounds quite hilarious whether textbooks written in same language of the curriculum will be approve or not. If it could not be approved as a common set of textbooks for the entire Ghanaian Languages studied, then there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with management of the institution. Because disapproval of such books is an indictment on NaCCA as the books would response exactly to content of the so called curriculum. It is an undeniable fact that educational institutions that live to their duty of call accept only textbooks prepared in the language in which the curriculum is expressed. However, Ghanaian Languages papers of the national examinations contain rubrics expressed in a foreign language. This is the synchronicity, reality and dichomy of the situation.

The structure of various teacher development programmes further strengthens the assertion being discussed hereof. The distance learning education courses seem to give us a better picture by generally omitting the Ghanaian Language as a course/subject. The organisations that claim to sanitize the society too see nothing wrong with this development. Thus, they have turned blind eyes on it.

The categorization of the subjects at the junior high school is another clue. What is the import of the core subjects which are automatically used to grade candidates? If such subjects have been put to such level so as to push learners to take them seriously, then what is the fate of the Ghanaian language which is our own and not part of such group? The standard and complexity of the BECE Ghanaian language paper is far below that of the foreign language counterpart. Therefore, the aforementioned motive of the stakeholders of education and the influential organisations of the society about this needs not to be disputed.

The situation is better highlighted at various gatherings. People who use Ghanaian language in their daily communication prefer foreign languages at gatherings. Thus, almost all programme materials for even indigenous people are being prepared in a foreign language with the motive of suppressing our local languages. Such influential organisations have loud mouths in other affairs of the society which they claim to be against the will of our creator. This seems to imply, therefore, that development of our natural languages is of no need to the society. Else, such organizations would have frown on destruction of our local languages.

The assertion that our local languages lack vocabularies is the thought of average minded individuals. It expresses their mediocrity and myopic officialdom. There are numerous translated foreign materials containing nouns that never existed in our languages in the pre-colonial era. It is an undeniable fact that anything that is universal has a name in every language. Thus, all foreign items, beliefs, concepts, etc have words coined for them. Such terms become artificial in culture of the people but common to people of a particular fashion. Could people of that school of thought dispute this fact? How were those words coined? Are they not acceptable in such institutions? Or are those materials engineered to destruct our culture? This is another premises that supports the discussion herewith. Almost everything that preserves cultural identity and heritage of us seems to be considered devilish, among which number our local language is one.

Absence of this mess is analogous to existence of this article. Thus, there would be no debate about the language in which  it is being expressed. Yet, it could have been better expressed in Twi, one of our local languages with proverb and idiom. However, it's better expressed in this language as it's being globally.

The Language of Instruction in Ghanaian Schools | Human Rights Infringement 

The study of a foreign language is never out of order. However, it is never expected to be done at expense of our own. Language is a fundamental gift from God, our Creator. They were brought about in his own wisdom. Whatever the Supreme Being creates for humankind is divine and among them languages cannot be excerpted. Thus, everyone one thinks in a natural language. Whatever the person does is well discussed within himself. Every rational being does so by planing through intrapersonal communication.

Every serious and level headed institutions and instructors train learners in a language in which the learners conceive their thoughts. Then where are the human rights activists? What sorts of rights do they protect? Do they protect artificial or natural rights? Do they promote mental slavery? Why should a learner be retarded from educational progress using a foreign language as a negative catalyst. Is there any human rights abuse other than what's being discussed hereof?

The human rights activists therefore need to fight this course. Not only them but also the other organisations that have loud mouths and pretend to protect humanity should also involve themselves in this fight. How could one be arranged to face a language barrier in the course of his education yet could not be considered to be a form of abuse? It sounds much more frivolous for a state that claims to be independent to make national pronunouncements in a foreign language.  

There...

Our Asante Twi Textbook Series

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Onua Publications has therefore prepared a comprehensive series of Twi textbooks. The books are for basic one to basic 9. The content focuses mainly on reading skills without relegating grammar and vocabulary building. They are designed to imbue the learner with Asante Twi communication skills. Stories too are well structured for moral and entrepreneurial development of the learner.