- Languages of Ghana
Different sources give different figures for the number of languages of Ghana. This is because of different classifications of varieties as either
language s ordialect s.Ethnologue lists a total of 79 languages.As with many ex-colonies in Africa, the
official language ofGhana is the colonial language, English. Nine languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: Akan,Dagaare /Wale, Dagbane, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema.Hausa is widely used as a
lingua franca byMuslims inGhana .Languages in education
In the early colonial period, education was in the colonial home language: Portuguese, Dutch, Danish or English. Christian missionaries then introduced education in the indigenous languages, and often developed a writing system to support this.
The British colonial administration took over the education system of the Gold Coast in 1925. From 1925 to 1951 the first three years of primary education were in a Ghanaian language, followed by education in English. In 1957 the colony gained independence as Ghana. The policy for the medium of instruction was varied several times in the following years, and then from 1974 to 2002 it reverted to the pattern of a Ghanaian language for the first three years followed by English.
Since September 2002, the policy is for English to be used from the start of primary education, with a Ghanaian language studied as a compulsory subject up to senior secondary school level.
Government-sponsored languages
There are nine government-sponsored languages. They are supported by the
Bureau of Ghana Languages , which was established in 1951 and publishes materials in them. During the periods when Ghanaian languages were used in primary education, these were the languages which were used.French is spoken 13% in Ghana."See also:"
Regions of Ghana for a map of the regions.Akan
Akan is one of the
Akan languages , which are part of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is the most widely spoken indigenous language in Ghana. The dialects, especiallyTwi and Fante, are often given the status of separate languages.Dagaare
Dagaare/Wale is one of the
Oti-Volta languages within the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken in the Upper Western Region of Ghana. It is also spoken inBurkina Faso .Dagbani
Dagbani is one of the
Oti-Volta languages within the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana.Dangme
Dangme is one of the
Ga-Dangme languages within the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken in Greater Accra, in south-east Ghana.Ewe
Ewe is a Gbe language, part of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken by approximately 2 million people in the Volta Region of south-east
Ghana . It is also spoken inTogo .Ga
Ga is a Kwa language, part of the Niger-Congo family. It is very closely related to Adangme, and together they form the Ga-Dangme branch within Kwa. Ga is spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra.
Gonja
Gonja is one of the
Potou-Tano languages , part of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana.Kasem
Kasem is a Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in
Burkina Faso .Nzema
Nzema is one of the
Potou-Tano languages , part of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken by theNzema people in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in the Ivory Coast.Language classification
The languages of Ghana belong to the following subgroups within the Niger-Congo language family:
*Mande languages
*Gur languages , a subdivision ofVolta-Congo languages
*Senufo languages (represented by Nafaanra; note that the Senufo languages were consided a branch of Gur in the past)
*Kwa languages , also a subdivision ofVolta-Congo languages ee also
*
Ghana
*Demographics of Ghana External links
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Ghana Ethnologue listing for Ghana]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=GH&seq=10 Ethnologue map of languages in Ghana]
* [http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/35/paper1298.pdf Owu-Ewie, Charles. 2006. The Language Policy of Education in Ghana: A Critical Look at the English-Only Language Policy of Education. In Selected Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. John Mugane et al., 76-85. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.]
* [http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Ghana PanAfrican L10n wiki page on Ghana]
* [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/ghana.htm L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde page on Ghana]
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