Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, has expressed opposition to the adoption of a single national language.
In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One’s Face to Face on Tuesday, February 24, Madam Gomashie warned that promoting one language at the expense of others will weaken Ghana’s cultural variety.
She noted that the African Union recognised cross-border or “vehicular” languages and has set up commissions for widely spoken languages including Hausa, Ewe, and Kiswahili.
She cited Ewe as an example, noting that the language is spoken throughout Ghana, Togo, Benin, and portions of Nigeria, as well as being studied at a German institution.
According to her, rejecting a language because it is not widely used in Ghana risks destroying its cultural history.
She emphasised that global efforts, such as International Mother Language Day, highlight the necessity of protecting indigenous languages.
Madam Gomashie stated that multilingualism should be supported rather than confined to a single dominant language, emphasising that promoting one national language may infringe on the sensibilities, cultures, and identities of other communities.
“It’s not a policy that I will be championing anytime soon, and here is why.”
“So the African Union, recognising the fact that we have vehicular cross-border languages, has created commissions. So you have the Hausa commission, then you have the Ewe commission, then you have, I think, Kiswahili and others.”
“So it’s languages that are spoken in one, two, three, or more countries. Take Ewe, for example. So Ewe is spoken in Ghana, Togo, Benin, and some parts of Nigeria. Ewe is a course studied in one of the German universities.”
She added, “So you cannot say that because it’s not spoken by the majority of people in Ghana, then it should die. Its death will go with everything else within the cultural space, and that’s why UNESCO brought these languages up, which is why a day has been set aside to be celebrated as the International Mother Language Day. So your mother tongue is yours, you speak seven languages, why should we reduce it to one because the rest are lazy in learning other languages?”
“While acknowledging that some languages are more widely spoken in Ghana, she urged tolerance and accommodation of all linguistic groups.”
“I think we’re trampling on the sensibilities of other people and their cultures and their language, and so as I said, it’s not a thing that I’ll be championing. I would say that, inasmuch as it is widely spoken by the majority of Ghanaians, let it be so. But in that same space, be tolerant and accommodating of other people’s languages and their cultures,” she advised.
She also emphasised the social importance of speaking local languages, stating that utilising one’s native tongue can quickly establish a connection and a sense of belonging within a community.
“You go to even the ‘koko’ [porridge] seller or the beans seller, and you speak Ewe to that person, and they know that you’re not from there, there’s an immediate connection,” she went on.
Source: newsthemegh.com