15,914 Abibisika (Black Gold) Points

Rank: Abibinyansa Member

I was listening to a recent an interview of a young “African American” female who had just repatriated to Ghana, and the host asked her “what is one thing that you don’t like about Ghana” and she said “everybody forcing me to learn the traditional native language.”

And, the host asked her why.

And she responded,

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind learning the indigenous local languages in Ghana, but everything in Ghana is in English. Everywhere you go in Ghana, it is English. I could understand if everything in Ghana was written in the indegenious Ghanaian language, and everyone speaks to you in the local indigenous language. But in Ghana everything is written in English. The official national language is English. The students in Ghana are taught in English. The president speaks to his people in English. The parliament speakes to each other in English. Every government building that I go to in Ghana is in English. Everything in Ghana is in English. Almost everyone in Ghana speaks or understand English at some basic level. Like I said earlier, I will definitely understand if the indigenous Ghanaian language was the official language, and English was just a third language or fourth language that Ghanaians just used to communicate with foreigners or tourists. But in Ghana, English is the official language in Ghana. The English language is everywhere in Ghana. From the presidency to all the down to the educational system, from primary school to the postgraduate to doctorate and PhD programs onwards, everything is in English in Ghana. Majority of Ghanaians cannot even read or write in their local indigenous language. But majority (All) of Ghanaians can read and write in English.

So, Why are Ghanaians forcing me to learn the local language when they themselves don’t even respect, honor and uphold their own local indigenous language but instead have put the English language at the highest pedestal and in front of all the indigenous languages in Ghana. I mean look, English is the national and official language in Ghana, and Ghanaians are forcing me to learn a language that they themselves don’t even respect; and you have Ghanaians that are born in Ghana and have lived in Ghana all their lives and they don’t even speak their own indigenous language on a daily basis. They prefer to speak English to you. Yeah, that’s one thing that I don’t like about Ghana.”

After she said that, I thought to myself, she has a great point.