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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Ghana
Index
More than 100 languages and dialects are spoken in Ghana. In
view of these linguistic and associated cultural differences, and,
as a result of the country's colonial past, English has become
Ghana's official language. It is used for all government affairs,
large-scale business transactions, educational instruction, and in
national radio and television broadcasts. In fact, the Constitution
of 1969 required that members of parliament speak, read, and
understand English. In an effort to increase "grassroots
participation" in government and to encourage non-English speakers
to run for elective office, however, the 1992 Consultative Assembly
on the Constitution recommended that the ability to communicate in
English no longer be required of future members of parliament. In
the mid-1980s, the Ministry of Education also encouraged teachers
to use local languages for instruction during the first six years
of formal education. These changes, however, have not lessened the
importance of English in Ghanaian society.
Although Fante-Twi (a major Akan language), Ga, and Ewe are the
most important Kwa languages spoken in the south, three
subdivisions of the Gur branch--Mole-Dagbane, Grusi, and Gurma--
dominate the northern region. Hausa, a language of northern Nigeria
which spread throughout West Africa through trade, is also
understood by some inhabitants in the northeastern part of the
country. In northwestern Ghana, among the Dagari-speaking people
and around frontier towns in western Brong-Ahafo, various dialects
of the Mande language are spoken. Akan, Ewe, Ga, Nzema, Dagbane,
and Hausa are the country's principal indigenous languages and are
used in radio and television programming.
The literary tradition of northern Ghana has its roots in
Islam, while the literature of the south was influenced by
Christian missionaries. As a result of European influence, a number
of Ghanaian groups have developed writing systems based on Latin
script, and several indigenous languages have produced a rich body
of literature. The principal written Ghanaian languages are the Twi
dialects of Asante, Akwapim, and Fante. Other written languages are
Nzema, Ewe, Dagbane, Ga, and Kasena (a Grusi language). Most
publications in the country, however, are written in English.
Data as of November 1994
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