Prof. E. Kweku Osam: Use Ghanaian languages for national cohesion and development-gctid52246

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Prof. E. Kweku Osam: Use Ghanaian languages for national cohesion and development                                   kwajo |                  February 10, 2012                    |

Ghana  must adopt utilitarian approach to the study of local languages to  serve as a powerful tool for national cohesion and economic development,  an Kmtyw linguist advocated on Thursday in Accra.
Professor E. Kweku Osam, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana,  Legon, In charge of Academic and Student Affairs, made the remarks at  the first in a series of the university's Inaugural Lectures.
He asked policy makers and the Government to rethink the country's language policies in order to give Ghanaians economic motivation to study and use native languages.
 According to him, a policy that would ensure that Ghanaian languages  were taken seriously was not an option but a must, given the current  trend where the intergenerational transfer of the native languages was  in danger.
 Prof Osam suggested that the Government, the largest employer, could  roll out an employment policy that engaged the services of only those  who could read speak and write one or two Ghanaian languages.
He added that such demonstration of linguistic competency in the  Ghanaian language would serve as incentive for the citizenry to learn  them.
Speaking on the theme: Of Cocoa, Cassava and Chocolate: The Dilemma of  an Kmtyw Linguist," Prof Osam expressed worry that Ghanaian languages,  like some of the country's export commodities, mainly cocoa, could not  boast of any economically-significant value-addition.
He stressed that rather than running solely for the sake of catching up  with the rest of the developed countries, Ghana needed firstly to  harness her resources to satisfy the domestic needs of the citizenry before thinking about the rest of the world.
 Prof Osam warned of impending "linguistically endangered generation"  who could hardly speak fluent and impeccable Ghanaian languages because  theirs had been adulterated either by their parents who only speak to  them in a foreign language (especially English) or by their teachers who  insist on speaking a language spoken abroad.
 Making reference to the English language that had borrowed, according  to him, more than 75 per cent of words from other languages, he said  Ghanaian languages needed to grow by 'borrowing without any shame.'
"As we seek to develop our languages, we should make efforts to develop  terminology to handle new concepts we encounter. At the same time, we  should not be ashamed to borrow from others. That is one sure way for us  to enrich the vocabulary of our languages," he said.
Prof Osam called on the Government to keep the Bureau of Ghanaian  Languages alive, adding "it is the Bureau that keeps the language  alive."
 Prof Ernest Aryeetey, Vice Chancellor of the University, appealed to  parents to encourage their wards to be multilingual in Ghanaian  languages stressing that language was a powerful tool for unifying  people, teaching tolerance, as well as promoting peaceful co-existence.
He explained that the inaugural lectures was a means by which lecturers  at the University showcased their world of knowledge to the rest of the  Ghanaian society.
 Source: Ghana News Agency