“if culture is a house, then language is the key to the front door; to all the rooms inside. Without it, you end up wayward, without a proper home or a legitimate identity.” – Khaled Hosseini
Language is culture and culture is language, language communicates through culture and culture communicates through language. Language is not only the product of culture but also the symbol of culture. The aforementioned is to say that language and culture are undoubtedly linked.
Language is a fundamental aspect of everyday life. Language helps us understand ourselves and the way of life of a given people. There are currently roughly about 7,000 languages spoken around the world and each one is unique and specific to a culture. Ghana is a multilingual country with an estimated 50 ethnic languages that are spoken by people from different tribes in the country. Article 39.3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana states “the State shall foster the development of Ghana Languages and pride in Ghanaian Culture.”
That being said, should the use and teaching of native languages in Ghana be promoted at all levels?
Dating back to the colonial era, though English, Ghana’s current official language, was imposed on the people who sought after the social and economic benefits that were introduced by colonial education, it has been greatly beneficial in terms of trade relations, and diplomatic relations amongst others. However, native languages are not given pride of place in trade and diplomatic relations.
With regards to schools, some African language activists argue that English as a dominant language in schools is putting learners in danger of losing their native languages, their culture and their identities and is also a huge contributing factor to the devaluation of indigenous languages and cultures. Many parents including policy makers are very much aware of this narrative. Even the National Commission on Culture has pointed to the fact that students who are taught in their mother tongue comprehend scientific and other complex topics better.
This also supports the idea that children learn more effectively when moving from a known language to an unknown language. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt our local language as a medium of instruction. But looking at the general perception that literacy in a native language provides limited opportunities, will parents and guardians embrace a national policy for the use of Ghanaian languages as medium of instruction in schools? It seems there are more questions than answers.
