Linguistic decay: a Ghana man problem

I am going to explore the hype surrounding the ability to speak English in Ghana. People are often praised as though it is some remarkable accomplishment. Why must it be so? Of course, I’m not naïve. The British spread their language effectively through colonialism and trade. That historical context matters.

Still, I must get it off my chest: it feels strange for me to see my fellow Ghanaians overpraise someone for speaking English decently, and shun and even atrophy their own skills in speaking and writing their mother tongue. This feels like linguistic suicide, covered in a veneer of pseudo-intellectualism.

In Ghana, anyone who can speak English reasonably well is often immediately perceived as intelligent. But I want to be clear: learning English is not an extraordinary achievement. It is, in many ways, an inevitability. It has become a basic requirement for participating in the modern world.

That said, I use English every day. My issue is not with the language itself, but with the status attached to it by my own people when I return home. People sacrifice their linguistic heritage for the mere appearance of sophistication, while our native languages slowly decline. Meanwhile, incompetent leadership often lacks a clear plan to preserve and promote these languages.

For me, the ability to speak and write in Twi, Ga, Ewe, and other Ghanaian languages is far more valuable than the ability to speak only English. I can speak Twi, though not in its pure form, and I can barely write it. I’ve noticed this not only in myself as someone living in the West, but also as a growing trend across sub-Saharan Africa. The languages of former colonial powers are celebrated and even used to marginalize those who do not speak it, people who are living in their own countries. They are ridiculed for not knowing a foreign man’s language.

This is a complex issue that deserves deeper exploration and thought. Diving into the role of colonial history and its lasting impact on education and language. But for now, I just needed to express my frustration. Watching people lose their mother tongue is not something to be celebrated, it should be a point of concern.

One of the implications that matters most to me is literature. I would love to see more novels and books written in native languages. Literature is not only a way to communicate with the present society at large, but also a way to propel culture, ideas, and heritage into the future. A language can only develop linguistically and literarily when people have the ability to write it. This will bring along the exploration of new ideas and incorporation of new words and concepts in the language.

But “whom am I!”, as Chairman Wontumi might say—just a mere idealistic programmer?

This is not a simple problem. It is both cultural and political. Progress is possible, but it must begin with awareness and an eagerness to preserve linguistic heritage and prowess. But as Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”