Vice Chancellor expresses fear of extinction of indigenous languages

Prof Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw, Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, has said indigenous languages faced a potential threat of being extinct or corrupted because of Ghanaians preference for speaking foreign languages to their own languages.

He said the practice was growing on daily basis as many people in Ghana now speak foreign languages to their children, who would grow up not speaking the mother tongue and that could cause the extinction of indigenous languages if care was not taken.

Prof Asabere-Ameyaw said this when he spoke at a durbar to mark the “Paari Gbielle” festival of the Chiefs and people of the Tumu Traditional Area.

He said steps had been taken to introduce Sissali Language as a course of study and make it examinable.

The Vice Chancellor said the University was collaborating with stakeholders in Sissala to form a board of grammarians in Sissali language to make it examinable and students could study it up to the masters and PhD levels.

The Tumu Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton, said the Sissali Language Development Project had been established and appealed to all stakeholders to show seriousness towards the successful implementation of the project.

He said many Sissala students at the Basic Education Certificate Examination had always written different languages rather than their own and that had affected their performance.

Kuoro Richard Badini Kanton expressed gratitude to the University authorities, especially Prof Asabere-Ameyaw, for developing interest in making Sissali a course of study and an examinable subject.

He has provided a parcel of land free of charge to Mr. Yahaya Mumuni, who emerged the overall National Best Teacher for the 2014 academic year to put up his a house.

He said the move was to motivate and encourage all workers in the traditional area to give out their best.

Miss Abigail Baciara Gbentie, Ghana’s most beautiful for 2014 who hails from the district, presented 10,000 exercise books to some basic schools in the area.